actions as well to be feared of his foes as to be beloued of his friends and not to be curious to speake eloquently but to deliuer his mind plainely and wisely it being more necessary for a Prince to doe well then to speake well For wise words are not commendable if the deeds be not answerable whereupon the Philosopher Pacuinus saith those are to be hated who in their acts are fooles and in their words Philosophers They that will therefore saith Plato haue glory in this life and attaine to glory after death and be beloued of many and feared of all let them be vertuous in doing good works and deceiue no man with vaine words And he counselleth the Athenians to chuse a Gouernour that is iust in his sentence true of his word constant in his act secret and liberall These be the principall morall vertues most cecessary in a Prince CHAP. 3. A Prince to be iust in his sentence FOr a Prince ought to be iust in his sentence according to the words of Salomon Sap. 1. saying Loue Justice you that Iudge the Earth For a iust King saith he Pro. 29. doth aduance his Countrey and the King that iudgeth the poore rightly his throne shall be established for euer Therefore he ought not to be led either by fauour passion or gaine but according to equity and iustice and to haue care that all his Counsellors and Magistrates doe the like And to attaine to this vertue of Iustice a Prince must call to God for wisedome which he cannot obtaine being of euill life For wisedome will not enter into a soule possessed with malice nor dwell in a body subiect to sinne saith Salomon Sap. 1. But if thou saith he call for wisedome and encline thine heart to Prudence then shalt thou vnderstand Iustice and iudgement and equity and euery right way Prou. 2. Therefore he prayeth saying Giue mee O Lord that wisedome which assisteth thy seate and cast me not off from the number of thy seruants for that I am thy bond-slaue and the sonne of thy bond-woman a weake man and of short life vnable to vnderstand aright what is Iustice and Law and whosoeuer is the most perfect and excellent amongst the sonnes of men he is to be accounted as no body if thy wisedome doth not assist him Sap. 9. All good and worthy Princes haue laboured to attaine to this wisedome and to execute iustice most exactly insomuch that some haue not spared their owne children so sacred a thing they held Iustice to be As for example Brutus who vnderstanding that his two sonnes were of the conspiracy for Tarquinus Superbus caused them both to be put to death in his owne presence Cassius likewise seeking to get the loue of the people and to make himselfe King was beaten to death by his father Pausanias Generall of the Lacedaemonians receiued 500 talents of gold to betray Sparta but Agesilaus his father vnderstanding thereof pursued him into the Temple of Minerua whither he fled for Sanctuary and caused the doores of the Temple to be nayled vp and so there made him dye of famine then his mother tooke his corpes and threw it to the dogs not suffering it to be interred Darius likewise King of Persia vnderstanding that his sonne Ariobrazanes ment to betray him to Alexander Magnus cut off his head Titus Manlius being challenged by one of the Latins to fight the Combate stepped forth of his ranke and in Combate killed him yet because it was done without license his owne father being then Consull and Generall presently put him to death Posthumius likewise did the same to his sonne Fidericke Earle of Harlebecque and Forrester of Flanders hauing made very straite Lawes for the reducing of his Countrey to lustice and good life put his sonne to death for breaking the Law in taking a basket of Apples from a poore woman and not paying for them Edward the first put his sonne in prison Prince Edward for breaking the Parkes of the Bishop of Chester Henry the fourth also commended the Lord chiefe Iustice of England for committing the Prince to prison for transgressing the Law And King Antiochus had that care to haue Iustice ministred as he writ to all the Cities of his Kingdome that they should not execute any thing he commanded if it were contrary to Law but they should first aduertise him thereof The Emperour Justinian likewise commanded the Lawyers to be sworne that they should not plead in an euill and vniust cause The like Law was made in the ninth Parliament of James the first King of Scotland that all Counsellours and Aduocates before they plead any temporall cause should take oath and sweare that they thinke the cause to be good they plead Lewis the ninth King of France was a iust and vertuous Prince louing the good and punishing the wicked and was a Capitall enemy to sutes commanding the Iudges to doe speedy Iustice so that sutes then were laid away Alexander Magnus was so farre from being transported from Iustice as when any made complaint to him of another he slopped alwayes one eare saying he must keepe that for the party accused The Emperour Adrian was of that integrity in Iustice as one Alexander accused another before him called Aper and bringing his proofes onely in writing he said that his informations were but Paper and Inke and perhaps forged and that a man ought not to be condemned but by honest and substantiall witnesses and therefore he sent Aper to Rufus Gouernour of Macedonia from whence he was brought commanding him diligently to examine the witnesses against him and to see that they were honest and of good name King Edgar of England had likewise that care to doe Iustice as in Winter time he would ride vp and downe the Countrey and make enquiry of the misdemeanors of his Officers and Gouernours and punish them seuerely that offended the Law And as the followers of Iustice shall not onely be famous in this world but shall perpetually liue and receiue a kingdome of glory in the world to come as saith Salomon Sap. 5. So the Princes that minister iniustice and do not iudge rightly shall reape infamy and incurre the high displeasure of Almighty God as Salomon also witnesseth saying Hearken O Kings and vnderstand learne you who are Judges of the bounds of the earth in respect that power is giuen vnto you from aboue and strength from the Highest who will examine your works and search your thoughts and because when you were Ministers in his Kingdome you did not iudge rightly nor iudge rightly nor keepe the Law of Iustice nor walke in the way of God he will appeare vnto you quickely and horribly for most rigorous iudgement is done vnto those that gouerne With the poore and meane man mercy is vsed but mighty men shall suffer torments mightily Sap. 6. And the royall Prophet saith that God is terrible to the Kings of the earth Psal 75. Which doth very well appeare by the strange punishments
by example may amend or be punished and the good preserued For Pictatus reputed that common wealth to be well gouerned in which wicked men might beare no authority And a Prince is to haue some for Counsell some for execution for very seldome doth it concurre in one man to haue wit to disoourse well vpon any matter in Counsell and to haue iudgement to execute that which by Counsell is determined The Captaine Picinio was in consultation of a weake iudgement but in executing any thing resolued vpon by Counsell very ready Francis the first King of France did exceed all his Counsell in consultation but in his execution was not answerable to his aduise Pope Clement the 7. did exceed all other in Counsell but in executing was inferiour to euery one And as it is necessary that a Prince should haue a graue and wise Counsell so is it requisite hee should haue some about him for his pleasure So Alexander Magnus when he went into Asia against Darius tooke with him two of his most speciall friends and seruants Craterus and Hephestion very different in complexion and in condition for Craterus was graue seuere and stoike and only cared for matters of State and Counsell being one of the Kings principall Counsellors And Hiphestion was a yong Gentleman of good complexion gallant actiue and full of sport and onely cared how to recreate the King So that Craterus was called a friend to the King and Hephestion a friend to Alexander But a Prince had need to be very carefull in choosing of his friend to be inward and familiar with him For Augustus Caesar did not receiue a man to his amity and familiarity but first did proue him and sound his virtues fidelity and loyalty and those who hee knew to be vertuous and that told him freely the truth in all things and that did not flatter and that imployed themselues willingly and sincerely in his affaires and after hauing had good proofe hereof he receiued them for his friends Alcibiades to try his friends made them one after another beleeue that he had killed a man and they all refused to endanger themselues for him sauing one Calias The Emperour Constantius to make proofe of his friends made shew to abandon Christian Religion and to turne to Idolatry he was instantly applauded by a great number whom presently he banished the Court. For a Prince shall neuer want followers in any thing The world counselling those that serue Princes to please them in whatsoeuer though it redound to the losse of their soules and ruine of the common-wealth for so they shall obtaine honor riches pleasure and quietnesse but what is their end Ducunt in bonis dies suos in puncto ad â—nferna descenaunt saith Iob. 21. They lead their dâ—yes in pleasure and in an instant descend into hell For when they shall say peace and security then shall suddaine destruction come vpon them saith Saint Paule 1. Thes 5. And Dauid saith Psal 36. Vidi impium superexaltatum eleuatum ficut Cedrum Libans transiut eum non est inuentus loeu eius I did see the impious mightily exalted and raised on high as the Cedar tree and I passed by and presently he was gone I sought him and his place was not to bee found Saint Augustine therefore affimeth that it is better to suffer torments for speaking the truth then to receiue great rewards for flattery And Saint Chrysostome sayth Feare not them that kill the body least for feare of them thou speake not the truth freely And as Counsellours ought to haue freedome of speech So Predericus Furius doth wish a Prince for tryall of his Councell to aske counsell sometimes in things contray to the good of the Common wealth and to his owne intention And Demetrius Phelarius counselled Ptholomeus King of Egypt to reade bookes which treated of Kings and Common wealths for that in them be should finde many things which his Counsell and families durst not tell hid But Aristeus saith that the greatest and best guard a Prince can haue is to be accompanied with a great number of iust and expert Counsellours who through meere loue setting their owne particular commodity apart regard onely the profite and welfare of the Prince and common wealth speaking freely what they thinke For Counsellours sayth Iulius Caesar in one of his orations to the Senate should not be led by malice friendship anger nor mercy And if they concurre in one lawfull opinion though the Prince be opposite yet it is fitting he should yeeld to them For so did the Emperour Marcus Antonius saying It must bee as You will for it is great reason that I being but one should follow your opinion then you being many Wise and Learned should yeeld to mine CHAP. 21. Not good to commit the charge of the Common wealth to one Counsellor onely BVt it is very dangerous for a Prince to be led by the aduice and counsell of one onely or to commit the gouernement of the Common wealth to one Counsellour onely And so Commines dath witnesse saying that A Prince ought to haue many Counsellours and not commit any cause of importance to one onely and that all his Counsellours should be equall in fauour otherwise if he be led onely by one and make no accompt of the rest not giuing them equall hearing he may endanger himselfe as did Hieronimus King of Cicily who was onely counselled by his brother in law Andronodorus who made him odious to all the Kingdome and then killed him Stillico likewise gouerned all vnder the Emperour Honorius And to get entrance to make himselfe Emperour took pay from the Goths of purpose to make them rebel which thereupon they did and by the aide they got spoyled Thracia Hungaria Austria Sclauonia and Dalmatia Stilico though hee might yet would not quite ouer throw them whereof Honorius being informed put to death both Stilico and his sonne Vnder the Emperour Commodus first Perennis ruled all and for displacing the Nobility and preferring base persons was killed by the souldiers After him Cleander managed all and a great famine and plague beeing in Rome the people imputed the cause thereof to him and thought to kill him Hee to appease this sturre ranne vpon the people with the Emperours horse-men and killed a great number of them The Emperour fearing himselfe sent for Cleander presently cut off his head and sent it to the people wherewith they were appeased yet in the end Commodus himself was killed The Emperor Seuerus permitted Plautianus to gouerne all vnder him at his pleasure who in the end practised to kill him and his two sonnes But Bassianus the Emperours sonne vnderstanding thereof and that his Father meant to pardon him killed him in the Emperours presence The Emperour Galba was a good Prince and wise yet suffered himselfe to be onely gouerned by Titus Iunius Cornelius Lacus and Icellus Martianus who by their wicked gouernement made the Emperour to be hated of all estates
de of Soliman the great Turke against Charles the fifth who fearing by continuing the War that the Turke might get that footing as to ouercome all Christendom made peace with France But then the Turkes Bascha being in Marcelles the King of France could not get him out before hee had succours from the Emperour who was forced to ayde him Therefore when Pope Iulius the second Maximilian the Emperour Ferdinando King of Spaine and Lewes King of France had entred league against the Venetians Selin the great Turke offered to send the Venetians succours which they refused fearing that accepting thereof they should be in danger of the Turke CHAP. 24. A Prince to get and keepe the loue of his Subiects A Prince therefore to the end he may be strong at home and neede no Forraine force should alwayes respect his owne subiects especially men of worth and seruice as well in peace as in VVarre that hee may winne the loue and hearrs of his subiects the meanest whereof may be able to doe him some kinde of seruice at one time or other For Seneca sayth that the onely inexpugnable force of a Prince is the loue of his subiects Wherefore the Emperour Marcus Aurelius in his speeches to his Councell commending his sonne vnto them sayd It is not the aboundance of money and Treasure nor the multitude of sâ—uldiers that maintayneth a Prince and causeth him to be bâ—yed but the loue of his subiects For those sayth hee doe onely long and sarely Reigne who doe ingraue in the hearts of their subiects not a feare by force and cruelty but a loue by bounty and liberality And those that willingly yeelde to obedience and are not contrayned by seruitude ought not to be suspected of the Prince And subiects sayth he neuer refuse to obey but when they are vsed withviolence and contumely Mesissa King of Numidia exhorting his sonnes at his death to keepe amity and concord amongst them sayd It is not the great forces nor Armies nor great Treasure by which a Prince should preserue and maintayne his estate but friends who are not gorten by force of Armes nor with money but by good vsage and loyalty And Cornelius Tacitus sayth that a Prince can haue no greater better nor fitter instruments to keepe and conserue his estate then good friends Wherefore a Prince should haue care alwayes of his subiects and vse them well For Antonius Pius would say that hee had rather preserue one of his subiects then kill a thousand of his enemies And Pribagoras affirmeth that subiects are to the Prince as the Winde to the fire for the stronger the Wind is the greater is the fire So the richer the Subiects be the stronger the Prince But where Matcheuils principle taketh effect there the subiects must be made poore by continuall Subsidies exactions and impositions that the people may be alwayes kept vnder as slaues and feare the Prince which course extinguisheth the loue of the people towards the Prince and ingendreth hatred Therefore Pythagoras counsell is better And a Prince to enrich his subiects the only way is to keepe them in peace without quarrels and dissentions and too gricuous exactions Therefore Philip Commines blameth greatly such Princes as doe not seeke to compound and end dissentions and quarrels amongst their greatest subiects but rather doe nourish the one part wherein they doe but set their owne house on fire as did the Wife to Henry the sixt taking part with the Duke of Somerset against the Earle of Warwicke which caused the Warre betwixt the House of Yorke and Lancaster Likewise Charles the seauenth King of France beeing Dolphin taking part with the Duke of Orleans against the Duke of Burgundy was the cause that the Duke of Burgundy brought Henry the fifth into France And for exactions the Emperour Augustus made a Law called Augusta that no payment should be exacted of the people but for the profite of the Common-wealth And when Marcus Antonius layd a double taxe vppon the people they answered That if he would haue two taxes in one yeare hee must giue them two Summers two Haruests and two Vintages For the people cannot endure to bee ouercharged if they bee great inconuenience may grow thereby For Phillip Le Bell King of France being receiued in Flanders as Lord thereof charged the people with excessiue taxes and suffered the French to commit all insolency and iniuries against the people fauouring the Nobility and exempting them from all taxes impositions and charges whereupon they of Bruges begunne to reuolte and killed all the French in the Towne After this the Flemengs ouer-threw the forces of King Phillip and freed themselues from the French Therefore if the Princes Councell or Nobility doe yeelde to haue any thing imposed vpon the people it is fitting they should not be exempt but beginne and lay it first vppon themselues as the Romanes did for the people murmuring against the Consuls for imposing a great charge vppon them Consull Leuinius sayd As the chiefe Magistrate is in honour aboue the Senate and the Senate aboue the people so ought he to be a guide and the first to submit himselfe to endure all kinde of paine and trouble For if thou wilt impose a charge vppon thy inferiour first beginne and lay it vpon thy selfe and the rest will more easily follow therefore let vs beginne with our selues sayd hee and so they did The great impositions the Prince of Wales layd vppon the Councrey of Guienne was a great cause of the losse thereof The Duke of Orleans Gouenour of France for Charles the sixt was extreamely hated of the Parisians for a great imposition he layd vpon them for reformation whereof the Duke of Burgundy leuyed great forces and in the end caused the Duke of Orleans to bee killed The Duke of Aniou regent of France laying a great imposition vpon the people a Collector thereuppon demaunding a Denier of a poore VVoman for a basket of Herbes which shee refusing to pay hee forced to take her Herbes but she crying was rescued by the people and an vproare did arise which did great hurt before it could be appeased The Earle of Flanders likewise laying a great imposition vppon the people made them rebell against him And Lewes the twelfth King of France making Warre against Lodowicke Sforce Duke of Milan who knowing himselfe to be very edious to his subiects for his great exactions and impositions and fearing that they would abandon him assembled the people at Milane and to gaine their good wills remitted diuers taxes which he had imposed vpon them and gaue them many reasons and excuses for his former proceedings But such hatred they had conceiued against him as all would not serue for within few dayes after they tooke armes called in the French killed his Treasurer and made him flee When the Battell of Cressy was fought the people of France were in extreame pouerty by reason of the euill gouernment of the publicke Treasure of the false-hood of the
Treasurers and Magistrates who enriched themselues by the pâ—uerty of the people and of the increase of Taxes Subsidies and Impositions which orew the people into dispaire oppressed also with Famine and Plagues that when the King would haue leuyed an other Army hee could not get the French to it A Prince therefore should loue and cherish his Subiects but not oppresse them For Tyberius Nero when some perswaded him to take great Tributes of the Prouinces sayd that a good shepheard should sheare his sheepe but not deuoure them And Lewes the ninth King of France his chiefe care in sparing was to ease the people by abating the Taxes and Subsidies layd vppon them by his Predecessors And that State sayth Thales is best ordered which hath it neither too wealthy nor too poore Citizens CHAP. 25. Who to haue the charge in Warre FOrce and Valour most properly should belong to the Nobility and they thereby defend the people and bee their Leaders in Warre Therefore for a Prince to take that charge from them or to displace them if they be sufficient is not conuenient For Perennis hauing the whole gouernement vnder the Emperour Commodus displaced all the Noble Captaines and put other base persons in their roomes whereat the Army being grieued pulled Perennis in peeces as an enemy to the Common wealth Anno enuying the glory of Mutinesâ— tooke his charge from him and gaue it to his owne sonne Whereupon Mutines practised with the Confull and betrayed to him the Towne of Agrigente in Cicily whereby all Cicily was brought in subiection to the Romanes Lewes the eleuenth King of France displacing the Noblemen and his good seruants and giuing the Offices to men or base quality ciuill Warre did arise but the King presently acknowledging his errour restored them againe Yet it behoueth a Prince to be respectiue and not to giue a charge to a seuere man For sometimes a good Prince shall be hated for his wicked Gouernour as was Scipio for the cruelty of his Lieutenant Pleninius And Lucullus though he was wise and Valiant and did many exploits against Mythridates and Tygranes two of the greatest Kings of Asia yet was hee so seuere and vncourteous as his souldiers loued him not neyther would obay him in the end Whereupon the Romanes set Pompey in his place who by his courtesie and clemency wonne the hearts of his souldiers and thereby brought all the East parts vnder the obedience of the Romanes and so reaped the fruites of Lucullus labours and had the honour thereof with Tryumph Appius Claudius vsed in like manner great rigour and seuerity amongst his souldiers insomuch as they would doe nothing for him though he put some of the Captaines to death but reioyced to be ouer-throwne to dishonour him And at another time the Romane souldiers for despite they had against the Ten-men suffered themselues to be vanquished And Marcus Popilius Confull subduing the Lygurians now Geneuois rebelling against the Romanes raysed their Towne walls tooke their armour from them and sold them and their goods which the Senate thought to be a too seuere and cruell part of Popilius and an euill example for others to stand vppon extreamity rather then to yeeld or to trust to the clemency of the Romanes Therefore commaunded all that were sold to bee redeemed their goods to be restored they suffered to haue armour and Popilius to bee called home and his gouernement giuen to another Therefore a Prince for his Warres had neede to appoynt not onely a wise but a temperate and Valiant Commander For Plato sayth that a man temperate not endued with fortitude falleth easily into cowardlinesse and basenesse of minde and that a strong and Valiant man without remperance is easily carried away with temerity and boldnesse So was Flaminius ouer-throwne and killed by Hanniball at Trasamene for not staying to ioyne his forces with the other Consull And Minutius in the absence of Fabius hauing charge and commaund ouer the Army vppon his rash attempt against Hanniball had good successe Whereupon he would needes haue the Army diuided betwixt them and haue equall charge to which Fabius condiscended Hauniball perceiuing his rashnesse and insolence gaue him battell and ouer-threw him but Fabius being at hand gaue him succours whereuppon Minutius conâ—essed his errour And then Hanniball said that the Cloud which had wont to hang vpon the mountaynes sturred with Wind and Tempâ—st was ruined to Raine for Fabius kept the heights and would not fight but with good aduantage therefore Hanniball feared his wisedome And when Fabius had gotten the Towne of Tarent by Treason Hanuiball sayd I perceiue the Romanes haue also their Hanniball But at Treue Hanuiball defeated the Romanes who came to battell fasting which was a great ouer-fight in the Confull But Hanniball commaunded all his men to eate some meate before Marcellus through the default of his owne souldiers was ouerthrowne by Hanuiball but his wisedome was such as first rebuking his souldiers therefore and then encouraging of them he gaue battell the next day to Hanniball and deseated him But the Confull Minutius was of a weaker spirit temperate without fortitude for hee being sent agaynst the Eques durst not come neere them but fortified himselfe in his Campe which they seeing besieged him in his Tents Whereupon Lucius Quintiut was created Dictator who relieued him and subdued the Eques but would giue no part of the spoyle neyther to Minutius nor to his souldiers but rebuked them So that Wisedome Temperance and Valour are necessary in a Generall Dissention likewise in an Army is to be auoyded for by the diffention betwixt the Consuls Hanniball ouerthrew them at the battell of Cannas Therefore Claudius Neron and M. Lucins being enemies and chosen Consuls made themselues friends for the good of the Common-wealth So Aristides and Themistocles sent Embassadours by Athens did reconcile themselues during that imployment Cretes and Hermias not friends and being in their Citty of Magnetia besieged by Mythridates Cretes offered Hermias the charge of Captayne Generall and to depart the Citty himselfe or if Hermias had rather depart then to leaue that Office to him least by their both being in Towne iealousie might grow betwixt them and breed hurt to their Country Hermias seeing the honest offer of his Companion and knowing him to be the more sufficient yeelded to him the charge and left the Towne And as dissention is hurtfull so enuy is not fitting For the French men ayding Iohn King of Castile agaynst Denis King of Portugall had vpon their earnest request the poynt of the battell which did offend the Spaniards who were desirous thereof insomuch that the French-men giuing the charge the Spaniard would not second them but suffered them all to be slayne or taken and then they set vpon the Portugals who hauing vanquished the French and seeing the Castilians come killed all their prisoners and then ouer-threw them also Pope Boniface the ninth and the French King sent great forces agaynst the Turke
Bajazet Their Generall was the Earle of Neuers who against the will of the King of Hungary and of all the Campe gaue the first charge and without order and was ouer-throwne whereupon the Army of the Christians fled Anno 1396. by reason whereof the Turk tooke al Greece and the greatest part of Bulgaria and then besieged Constantinople And it is also very requisite that the Generall should keep his souldiers from idlenesse for Segnities robur frangit longa otianeruos Sloath weakneth the sinewes and diminisheth a mans force and is the nurse of all vice making a man most base Therefore Aeleas a King of Scythia sayd that hee thought himselfe no better then his Horse-keeper when hee was idle A vice to which Gentlemen alwayes haue beene too much giuen Insomuch that in Athens where they did not suffer the people to be idle a Citizen being iudicially condemned for idlenesse one Herondas requested one to shew him the party that was condemned for a Gentle-mans life In Carthage to auoyde this vice the Noble-men did alwayes exercise Armes the common people laboured and the Learned men were euer teaching and instructing others And in the Common-wealth of the Lacedemonians none were idle for all men laboured and they sending one Chilon to Corinthe to treate of a League hee found the Magistrates idlely exercised playing at Dice whereuppon hee returned home and would not speake of his Commission saying That hee would not stayne the glory of Sparta with so great an ignominy as to ioyne them in society with such kinde of people Marius caused his souldiers to make Trenches when there was no cause onely to keepe them from idlenesse Claudius hauing an assured peace for the avoyding of idlenesse kept thirty thousand men twelue yeares in working the Channell Fucinus that Rome might haue good water And when the Lawes were well kept in Rome at the time they had Warres with the Celtiberians in Spaine and with Alexander the Senators went three dayes about Rome with the Censors and could not find one idle man for a messenger to carry their letters But in Marcus Aurelius time there were plenty for he confesseth that hee banished punished and put to death in his time 30000. idle Vagabonds and 10000. idle women And France being troubled with a great number of idle vagabond souldiers Bertrand de Guesclin to free the Countrey of them drew them all to goe with him into Spaine agaynst the Sarazins Bruce King of Scotland exhorted his subiects to exercise Armes alwayes for that idlenesse would corrupt them and for want of practise they would not be able to resist their enemies A Prince therefore being the Lanterne to his subiects should giue good example herein Alfred King of England had that care to eschew idlenesse and to spend his time well as he diuided the day into three parts by a Taper that burned continually in his Chappel 24. houres The first part he spent in Prayer and in study The second part hee employed in the affaires of the Common-wealth and the third part he tooke for his recreation and rest A good president for other Princes CHAP. 26. A Prince to be well aduised before hee begin Warre and carefull in his fight IT is not for a Prince vpon euery quarrell to make War but to be sure that the cause bee good and iust which then wil bring honor to his Person safety to his soule and great encouragement to all his souldiers Yet according to the saying of Octauius Caesar neyther battell nor War is to be vndertaken vnlesse there may be euidently seene more hope of gayne then feare of damage for such as sought after the smallest commodities not with a little danger he likened vnto those that Angle with a golden hooke for the losse whereof if it hapned to be suapped or broken off no draught of Fish whatsoeuer was able to make amends And it is necessary that a Prince or his Generall should consult and take counsell before hee fight for the aduice of his Captaynes heerein may doe great good Therefore the Carthagintans commaunded those Captaynes to be hanged that got Victory without any consultation before And those that did first consult and then were ouer-throwne they did neuer punish And hauing taken counsell and resolution execution is to follow without delay least occasion be lost For Aristotle sayth that a wise man ought to counsell slowly and execuâ—e speedily and if Victory be gotten to follow it hotly is the best before the enemy being discouraged be able to make head agayne For if Hanniball had done so after the battell of Cannas and not lingred to refresh his men he had taken Rome Likewise Pompey in a skirmish put Caesar to the worse which if he had pursued he had quite ouer-throwne Caesar Yet a man must take heed he follow not the Victory too fiercely nor out of order For so Phillip King of Macedonta by following the Romanes too fiercely was defeated So likewise Gaston de Foix hauing wonne the battell at Rauenna pursuing too fiercely a squadron of Spaniards that fled by them was ouer-throwne lost his life and made all that a prey to the enemy which before hee had Conquered in Italy And an enemy is not to be contemned though his Forces be inferiour for oftentimes it is not the multitude of men that getteth the Victory but the couragious and resolute mindes of the fouldiers assisted by God For King Alexander with 33000. foote-men and 25000. horse-men ouer-threw the Persians and Darius army of 400000. foot-men and 100000. horse-men Robert le Frison with a few and without experience defeated Phillip King of Frances great Army and old Souldiers The Earle of Namure with the Flemings being but a few ouer-thre the Earle of Artois sent by Phillip the fayre King of France with 40000. French-men into Flanders whereof 300. efcaped not At the battell of Peitiers the Prince of Wales with 8000. English ouerthrow 40000. French tooke King Iohn and his Sonne prisoners and also a number of Princes and Noble-men Henry the fifth at the battell of Agincourt with 7000 ouer-threw 80000. French Simon Earle of Monford besieged in the Castle of Mirebeau in France by the King of Arragon and others and hauing with him but 2. Knights 60. horse-men and 700. foot-men hauing commended themselues to God sallied and charged the King so valiently that he ouerthrew his Army killed him and 17000. of his men and lost not aboue eight foot-men of all his Therefore a Prince should not presume too much of his owne strength nor be carelesse of his enemy nor charge him but in good order For fighting without order the Carpentines Olcades and Vaceos in Spaine hauing an Army of 100000. were ouer-throwne by Hanniball for they trusted in the number of their Souldiers and kept no order Both the Scipioes being slayne in Spaine Lucius Martius being a man of meane calling yet a good Souldier and of great courage gathered the dispersed souldiers together and was chosen for their