their enemies oftentimes who were valiant and redoubted And afore they would come to fight in good earnest he sent them diuerse times to light skirmishes like good yong greyhounds let slip for the nonce and then led them to it the more safely afterward when he had well fleshed them by giuing them a little tast of the ease and pleasure that commeth of victorie And by that means hee hartned them more and more and made them the more sure and strong insomuch that by such skirmishes they became more hardie and war-like than they were afore Sometime a good captaine turneth the fearfulnesse of his souldiers into a furie of fighting by reason of the trauell that they endure as Sylla did who when he saw his souldiers astonished at the great and puissant host that Mithridâ—â—es led well armed for he would not make them to fight in that feare but kept them occupied in cutting great trenches without giuing any of them leaue to rest to the intent that being weary of the paines that they tooke about such works they should the rather desire to trie the hazard of battell as it came to passe For the third day after they had begun so to labour as Sylla passed along by them they fell to crying vpon him that he should lead them against their enemies Wherunto he made answer That those cries were not of men that were desirous of battell but of men that were wearie of their worke And if ye be desirous to fight said he I will haue you all to go in your armour to yonder passage on the side of the hill Which thing they did and obtained it afore their enemies that were sent thither to get it could come there and so they possessed themselues thereof to lodge therein Morius did almost the same when he went against the Dutchmen for he made his souldiers to runne and to make great and long steps compelling euery man to beare his own fardels and to carie with him whatsoeuer he should need to liue with But he did that to inharden them and to make them the more tough to abide the trauell of warre Iugurth to assure his owne men and to put the Romans in feare slue a souldier at his arriuall and brandishing his bloodie speare to the Romans told them in their owne language that he had learned with them before Numance that they â—ought vpon credit hauing lost their consull Marius Which saying made the whole armie of the Romans in mind to haue fled and they were like to haue turned head had not Sylla staid them Marius a good captaine if there were any at those dayes in Rome intending to fight with the Dutchmen had planted his campe in a place of verie great aduauntage but he wanted water The which he did of purpose to whet the courage of his souldiers by that means For when it was told him that they were in danger of great thirst he pointing them to the riuer that was along the side of his enemies campe said that it beâ—ooued them to fetch drinke from thence and so they did For the pages hauing no water for themselues nor for their beasts went thither in great companies to fetch water and there fell into so whot a skiâ—mish that the Dutchmen were faine to passe the riuer to come to tâ—e bickering where being taken out of order and wanting time to raunge their battels in array they were all discomfited and the most part of them were drowned in the riuer Next vnto pains Despaire is a great incourager to fight when men are forced either to fight or to die and that there is no place of refuge to retire vnto This is a thing that oftentimes maketh men to fight most valiantly in a straunge countrie William duke of Normandâ—e to dispatch his men of al hope of returning home made all his ships to be set on fire Manie others haue done the like But if a generall be accompanied with leaguers and allies it is hard for him to inforce them to fight vnlesse he do it by some policie as Themistocles did at the famous battell at Salamis For when it was vniueâ—sally agreed vpon to fight with the Persians vpon the sea in a strait that was greatly to the aduauntage of the Greeks because it was easie to be kept The Lacedemonians and other their allies confederats seeing the sea couered with the ships of the Persians determined to depart the next morning and euerie man to go home Themistocles being greeued thereat bethought himselfe of this policie He had with him a Persian that was a schoolemaister to his children named Sincinnus whom he trusted him he sent secretly to the king of Persia to aduertise him that Themistocles the chieftaine generall of the Athenians hauing a good will to do him some speciall seruice gaue him knowledge of the good hap that the Greekes were minded to retire and flee away counselling him not to let them scape but to set vpon them lustily while they were so combred and afraid and disseuered from their armie on land and so to vanquish all their whole power by sea at once Xerxes beleuing the counsell enuironed them in such sort that they could by no means depart thence the necessitie whereof made them to resolue themselues to abide the battell wherein Themistocles had the vpper hand and vtterly defeated the whole power of Xerxes by sea Zabdas Constable vnto queene Zenobia being retired to Antioch after he had lost a battel to the emperour Aurelian and fearing least the people should fall vpon him in a rage if they vnderstood the newes of that discomfiture tooke a man that resembled Aurelian and made it to be bruted that he brought the emperour prisoner with him By which guile he kept the Antiochians from rebelling while he caused his men to retire secretly by night vnto him without being perceiued of any man The countie Petilian seeing the armie of the Italians defeated by king Charles at Foronouo and being escaped out of the hands of the Frenchmen where he had beene a prisoner to the intent to assemble againe the men that were fled and to giue them courage ran as fast as he could to the Venetians and told them that the Frenchmen were vanquished and put all to flight counselling them not to let the victorie scape out of their hands whereby he made them that were astonished to take courage againe in such sort that by the authoritie of his name he made as many as he met to returne into the battell which partly was the cause that the army was not vtterly defeated When Charles duke of Burbon was slaine with a bullet before the citie of Rome by and by his bodie was couered with a cloke to the end that the report of his death should not stay the souldiers from entring into the breach The Romans perceiuing themselues vnable to match the Persians kept themselues in order within the riuer Phasis of which armie
So also did Marcellus cause barly to be deliuered in steed of wheat to the bands that first turned their backs vnto Hanniball Antonie tithed the Legions that had forsaken their trench at a sallie that was made vpon them by the Persians out of Phraata And vnto those also which remained of that tithing was barly giuen in steed of wheate for their food to liue by Licinius the consull being sent against Spaertaâ—us chiefe leader of the bondmen that had rebelled tythed to the number of a 4000 men and yet failed not for all that to obtain the victorie At such time as Timoleon was minded to giue battell to the Carthagineans who were ten to one ther were a thousand of his men that recoiled backe and would not fight wherof Timoleon was well apaid that they had bewraied themselues in good time because that else they had done him more harme than good But when he had once woone the field and was returned vnto Syracuse he banished them euerichone out of Sicilie with expresse commaundement that they should get them out of the citie before the sun went downe Lucullus laid a reprochfull infamie vpon such as had fled in a certaine skirmish against Mithridates causing them to dig a pit of twelue foot all vnapparelled in their shirts the rest of their company standing by to see them doe it Traian would not suffer any souldier to be put to death for any fault committed in war except it were for blaspheming God for treason for flying in battell for rauishing of women or for sleeping in the watch and in those cases he pardoned not any man whatsoeuer he were Albeit that Pirrhus was a stranger yet caused he the law of arms to be obserued straightly among the Tarentines and he punished those that failed Marius was a sore man in that behalfe but when he had once inured his souldiers to abstaine from offending and from disobaying then they found that his sternnesse in commaunding and his sharpnesse in punishing such as forgate their dutie was not only reasonable but also iust and wholesome The laws of the Switzers are such that such as slee and recoile in battell for feare and cowardlinesse shall be cut in peeces by their fellowes in the sight of the whole armie to the end that the greater feare should ouer-wey the lesser and that for dread of the violent death they should chuse the death that is honourable This caused the emperor Iulian in a certaine battell to slea ten of the first that fled away therby to compell the rest to turne againe vpon the enemie Captaine Franget was degraded from the order of knighthood proclaimed vnnoble both he and all his posteritie for yeelding Fontrabie to the Spaniards notwithstanding that he excused himselfe by a secret compact that Don Peter the sonne of the marshall of Nauar had made with the Spaniards because it was thought that although it were so yet he ought not to haue bin negligent in forseeing such coÌ„spiracie Auidius Cassius delt more cruelly thaÌ„ any others in executing the law of arms For he made all such to be crucified as had taken any thing from honest men in the selfe same place where the crime was coÌ„mitted Also he caused the arms legs to be cut off of al such as departed from the camp without pasport and he put them not to death saying that there was more exaÌ„ple to be seen in a miserable catif aliue than dead It happened vpon a time that a verie few of his men of war hauing discouered that the Sarmatians kept no good ward slew of theÌ„ to the nuÌ„ber of a three thousand And wheÌ„ his capteins sued for reward of their good exploit he made them to be al crucified saying it might haue happened that there had bin some ambush of enemies by that means the honor of the Roman empire might haue bin lost in doing wherof he followed the example of Torquatus the historie of whom is known well inough neuerthelesse in the one there was a breach of the prohibitioÌ„ but in this there was no such thing at all This crueltie was far differing froÌ„ the meeldnes of Scipio who said that a good generall of a field ought to deale like the good surgion which neuer vseth launcing but when all other remedies faile And as Plutarch saith in the coÌ„parison betweene Agis Gracchus It is not the propertie either of good surgion or of good gouernor of a state to set his haÌ„d to sword or launcer but only in extreame necessitie wheÌ„ there is no other remedie But to make a man of war obedieÌ„t refrain from doing wrong to any body he must be well paid And as Alexander Seuerus saith he must be wel apparelled well shod well armed well fed haue some mony in his purse For pouertie maketh men hartlesse The same thing was some cause that the soldiers of Macrinus rebelled against him For when they saw themselues so ill paid they fell to mutinie wherat Mesa taking occasion to lay hold of the opportunitie that was offered fell in hand with the men of war and by offering them to pay them of his owne treasures he made them so affectioned towards him that for his sake they set vp his little sonne Heliogabalus Iphicrates an Athenian captaine was content that his souldiers should be couetous amorous and voluptuous to the intent that they might hazard themselues the more boldly and aduenturously to all perils to haue wherewith to furnish their desires And Iulius Caesar would haue his souldiers faire and richly armed to the end they should fight valeantly for feare to loose them Finally to teach whatsoeuer belongs to a souldier to haue the epistle sufficeth which Dioclesian writeth thus to a certaine gouernour of a prouince If you will bee a Tribune saith he or rather if you intend to liue bring to passe that your souldiers meddle not with other mens goods that they take neither pullerie nor sheepe that they trample not downe other mens corne that they take not any mans oyle salt or wood vnpaid for that they find themselues of the booties of their enemies and not with the teares of your subiects that euery of them haue his armor neat and cleane that they be well shod and that they be well clad There is yet one rule more to be kept in the law of arms which is to keepe equalitie among men of war the which rule Adrian the emperor obserued very well and fitly For when he would haue any labour done in his campe all were put to the labour when any watching was al watched and he would not suffer any man to be exempted insomuch that he himselfe would be the formost among them Also there is consideration to be had in warfare how to make difference betweeen a camp and a garison For in a campe it is not amisse to take some respit that men may make merry so the time of feasting bee not ouer-long
them come neere The Suissers vsed the like policie against the Frenchmen when they had raised the siege of Pauâ—e taking them suddainlie vnprouided and not intrenched But as I haue said this maner of dealing is verie daungerous if a man be not sure that he shall find his enemies out of order It was one of the faults that the Frenchmen committed at the battell of Cressie in that they hauing trauelled six leagues did giue battell to the Englishmen that were fresh and lodged at aduauntage For the Frenchmen were tired and weary and had the sunne vpon their faces and had marched in great disorder In respect whereof they should haue intrenched themselues as Paulus Emilius did to the end they might haue had leisure to take breath and gather their strength againe and to vnderstand of their enemies behauior and to take aduauntage as well as they and to tary for the rest of their power that was comming after For the next day after the battell they also were discomfited and a seuen thousand of them were slaine which had the battell ben delaied till the next morrow would haue ben a maruellous succour to the rest of the armie and haue helped at need to re-unite the armie when they were broken as the souldiers of the earle of Mountfort did after that the Frenchmen had discomfited them before Roche Darien For by and by they gathered themselues togither againe to the lord of Cadudall who comming then newly with a hundred men of armes and certaine footmen went by the sunne rising to the campe of Charles du Bloys who doubting nothing because hee had gotten the victory slept tooke his rest and finding him in that disorder did put his men to the vtterance and caried him away prisoner to Hannibout Sometime in fighting a battell a man hath the sunne full in his eyes To auoid this danger Paulus Emylius was so long a raunging his men in battell that by the time that the battels should ioine he had the sun vpon his backe Marius vsed the like policie against the Cimbrians and Philip Augustus against the Flemmings At the battell of Cannas Hanniball helped himselfe both with the sunne and the wind and thereby chiefly wan he the battell There blew a mightie strong and boistrous wind like a tempest of thunder and lightning which raised the parched dust from the sandie plaine as hote as fire and driuing it through the battell of the Carthaginenses strake it ful into the faces and eyes of the Romans with such violence that they were enforced to cast their heads backe and to disorder their ranks Themistocles being determined to fight with Xerxes king of Persia vpon the sea chose a strait and narrow place that hee might the better reuenge himselfe agaynst the multitude of the kings shippes and moreouer waited the time most fit and fauourable for his purpose For hee raunged not his shippes in order of battell afore a certaine houre when a great wind was woont to rise vppon the sea-coast which raised great waâ—es in the channell Now this wind did no displeasure to the Greeke gallies because they were low but it did great annoyance to the Persian ships which had their hatches high and their foredecks raised high for it made their flankes to lie open continually to the Greekes who went and dashed lightly against them The Athenians did the like vnder the leading of Phormio against the Peloponnesians The Athenians â—ad but twentie shippes to keepe Naâ—â—â—ct and those were but ill furnished to fight vpon the sea and the Peloponnesians has seuen and fortie well furnished by reason whereof they sticked not to make their vagaries all alongst the coast of Epyrus to passe ouer into Acarnania Neuerthelesse they were pursued by the Athenians who compelled them to raunge themselues in battell and to fight in the middest of a strait where for the better fortifying of themselues and to stoppe the Athenians from issuing out they raunged their ships in a ring wiâ—h their noses outward and their sternes inward and in the middes of the ring they placed their small and light vessels to set them out vpon their enemies when time should require As for the Athenians they set their ships all in a row enuironing the ships of their enemies and pretending yet more But Phormio had charged them not to fight vntill he had giuen them a token assuring himselfe that when the land-wind arose which began to blow in the morning the ships of the Peloponnesians would dash one against another Now as soone as the wind began to blow the ships fell to iustling in deed and specially those that were in the middest being the light or sort did great anoyance to the rest insomuch that they were al occupied in setting planks before their ships for feare of dâ—shing And there was so great a crie and disorder among the Peloponnesians that they could not heare the commaundement of their captaines Which thing when Phormio saw he gaue a token of battell to the Athenians who charging lustily vpon them baâ—â—ered and sunke the first that they encountered and put the residue to flight Sometimes a companie of men are kept out of the battel and are commaunded to set vpon the enemies behind in the heat of the battell to put them in feare and to make them breake their array When Toâ—â—us was to giue battell to the Romans he drew aside three hundred men of his armie and gaue them commaundement that in the fiercest of the battell they should charge vpon the Romans behind Which thing they did so fitly that the Romans thinking them to be a faâ—re greater number than they were betooke themselues to flight Aignas a Roman captaine seeing Bellisarius readie to giue battell to the Persians bestowed himselfe with his men couertly in a valley and when they were well forward at the battell he mounted vp a little hill and taking the Persians vnawares behind did easily put them to flight When Marius was about to fight with the Dutchmen he sent Claudius Marcellus out of the way with three thousand footmen willing him to keepe himselfe close vntill he saw the Dutchmen tied to the fight with him and then in the chiefest of the battell to go charge vpon them behind The which he did so fitly that the Dutchmen feeling themselues assailed behind were forced to turne head and by that means falling in disorder were all vanquished Iohn duke of Burgoine in the battel of Tongres sent a thousand footmen and fiue hundred horsemen to assaile his enemies on their backes in the chiefe of the fight Which thing when Pieranes would haue prouided for aforehand by sending a companie of chosen men to encounter them the common people would not permit him and so they felt the smart of their wilfulnesse As touching the ordering of an armie it is done by the eie according to the aduertisments that are had of the enemie and aâ—ter as he is seene to be disposed Now
the sixt which is the greatest dignitie is that the wise commaund the ignorant and the seuenth is that which commeth by lot and by the grace of God so as he that is chosen by lot commandeth and raigneth and he that faileth of it is bound to obay Cicero speaking of Pompey saith that a good emperor that is to say a good Generall of a field must haue the skill of chiualrie and feats of arms vertue authoritie and felicitie He must be painfull in affaires hardy in daungers skilfull in deuising things quicke in performing and of good prouidence to foresee Titus Liuius saith that the great Captaine Hanniball was wonderful hardy in putting himselfe to the perils of warre and very resolute in the middest of danger that neither his body nor his minde were fore-wearied with trauel that he patiently abode both heat and cold alike that he measured his eating and drinking rather by naturall appetite than by pleasure that for sleeping or waking he made no difference betweene day and night but looke what time remained vnto him from doing of his businesse he bestowed it in taking his rest not vpon a soft featherbed in some place far from noise but ordinarily lying vpon the ground couered with a souldiers cassocke among the warders the whole troops of the men of armes When he went among the horsemen or the footemen he marched alwaies formost and was the first that gaue the onset and when the fight was ended he was the hindermost in the retreit Plutarch treating of Sertorius saith that in matters ciuile he was gentle and courteous and in matters of warre he was of great fiercenesse and forecast He was neuer seene surprised with feare or ioy but like as in most perill he was void of feare so in his prosperity he was very moderate He gaue not place in hardinesse to any of his time nor for valiantnesse in fighting nor for setled resolution in all suddaine aduentures When any enterprise was to be done that required good aduise or skill to choose the aduantage of some place of strong scituation to lodge in or to giue battell or to passe a riuer or to shift off some mishap that for the doing thereof there behoued great sleight or the working of some policie and the giuing of some gleeke to the enemie in due time place he was a most excellent crafts-maister Besides all this he was liberall magnificent in rewarding honorable deeds of arms and meeld and mercifull in punishing misdeeds He was not subiect to his bellie neither did he drinke out of measure no not euen when he had no businesse to do In time of most vacation he was wont from his very youth to put himselfe to great trauell to make long iourneis to passe many nights together without sleepe to eate little to be contented with such meats as came first to hand And whē he was at leisure he was alwaies either riding or hunting or running or walking abroad in the fields I haue inserted this the more at length to the intent it may serue for a patterne to Princes that intend to prosper and to performe their charge happily Now let vs come to a king The Latine word Rego whereof commeth Rex which betokeneth a king signifieth to rule or gouerne And so a king is nothing else but a ruler or gouerner of people Likewise Homer termeth him sometime the Garnisher and sometime the heardman or sheepheard of the people because he ought to be carefull for his people as the sheepheard is for his sheepe and to watch ouer them as the sheepheard doth ouer his flocke that no man doe them wrong And as Plutarch saith a good prince is like a sheepheards dogge which is alwaies in feare not for himselfe but least the wolfe should fall vpon the sheepe and so is a good Prince in feare not for himselfe but least any euill should befall his subiects Aristotle in his third booke of matters of State saith There are foure sorts of kingdomes the first is where the king hath no soueraigne authoritie further than in matters of warre and in sacrifising of which sort were the kings of Sparta or Lacedemon and this maner of kingdome is as a perpetuall captaineship matched with souereigne authoritie of life and death such as Agamemnon had who did put vp iniuries when he sate at counsell but had power to put whom he listed to death when he was in armes And of such kingdomes some goe by inheritance and other some by election The second sort of kingdomes are those that goe both by inheritance and election the which notwithstanding approcheth vnto tyrannie sauing that the keeping thereof is king-like that is to say the kinges are garded by their owne subiects whereas the tyrants are garded by strangers And the kings commaund by law and are obayed with good will wheras the tyrants raigne altogether by constraint Insomuch that the one sort are garded by their owne citizens or countrimen and the other by strangers against the countrimen The third is Barbarous not for that it is against law but for that it is not in custome of which sort was the gouernment of the Mitylenians which chose Pittacus against their banished persōs And the fourth sort is that which was vsed in the time of the noble princes whom the Greeks called Heroes who vsurped not dominion by force but had it bestowed vpon them by the people of good will deliuered ouer afterward lawfully to their successors They intended to the warres and to church-matters and therewithall iudged matters of controuersie Of these foure sorts of kingdomes he maketh a fift which is when one commaundeth absolutely This kind agreeth most to our time specially in this country where the king commaundeth absolutely howbeit without infringing the law for then were it not king-like but tyran-like And according to Aristotle when a Prince reigneth without law it is all one as if a wild beast reigned A King then is a soueraigne Prince that reigneth ouer a people not seeking his own peculiar profit but the profit of his subiects This maner of reigning is like to houshold gouernment for although the maister of the house do ouer-rule his traine and his seruaunts at his pleasure yet notwithstanding he regardeth aboue all things the welfare of his familie euen so a good king is to haue an eye most principally to the welfare and benefit of his houshold namely of his subiects For vpon them dependeth his owne welfare as the welfare of the maister of a household dependeth vpon his meiny and seruants One being asked vpon a time what a prince was to doe that he might raigne wel said He must commaund his subiects as a father commaundeth his children for the father commaundeth not his children any thing but that which is for their welfare In this respect Homer called Iupiter Father of Gods and men according to the saying of our Lord who hath taught vs to call the soueraigne
a far off whatsoeuer is done And therfore there is more profit and more honor also in being a king than in being a tyrant And as it is Gods commaundement and will that the prince should haue a singular care and regard of the welfare and benefite of his people because he is chosen to be vnto them a defender and protector so on the contrarie part he is forbidden by the mouth of Salomon to pill and oppresse the poore because they be succourlesse For the Lord saith he will take their cause in hand will deale roughly with such as haue dealt roughly with them CHAP. III. Of the three sorts of Gouernment and which of the three is the best FOrasmuch as we treat of the state of gouernment we must not suffer a very cōmon thing to passe in silence which yet to my seeming ought not to be omitted namely that there be three sorts of ciuill gouernments approued in the world whereof the one is called by the generall name of a Publike-weale wherin all men as wel poore as rich noble as vnnoble are admitted to gouerne by turne Another is called Aristocracie which is compacted of some smal number of noblemen and men of reputation who beare all the sway And the third is the Monarchie or Kingdome wherin al things are at the commandment of one alone These three sorts of gouernment because they tend all to the welfare of the whole state are all allowable and many like well to be vnder them some vnder one and some vnder another according as the humors of people be diuersly disposed As for example The Aegyptians could not abide to be without a king and the Athenians could not endure to haue a king The contraries to these three sorts of gouernment are faulty and reproued namely Democracie the contrarie to a Publike-weale wherin the people beare all the sway alone and carrie all the credite without calling the nobilitie and gentlemen to counsel Oligarkie the contrararie to Aristocracie which is the gouernment of some few men that conuert all things to their owne profit and tyranny the contrarie to a kingdome which is the gouernment of one alone that doth all things at his pleasure without refourming himselfe to law and reason To say which of the said three good states is the best it is a hard matter yet notwithstanding many men prefer Aristocracie before the Kingdome because it is not ruled by the discretion of any one transitorie man vpon the valour whereof the welfare of the whole state might depend but it is gouerned by the immortall counsell of an euerlasting senate For it is a rare matter to find any one man so fully perfect worthie to raign And as Nicholas Foscarin of Venice said Kings doe not easily resist their owne lusts as priuat persons do because that in asmuch as they be customably honoured in their kingdomes and are heard and obayed in the twinckling of an eie they be not only high-minded and insolent but also impatient if they obtaine not whatsoeuer seemeth iust vnto them and to their seeming all things is iust that they desire bearing themselues in hand that with one word they can put away all impediments and ouercome the nature of all things nay they thinke it a shame for them to shrinke from their inclinations for any difficulties taking counsell not of discretion reason but of their own will statelinesse And as Soderin Gonfalonier of Florence said when he moued the Florentines to take a parte and not to be newtors any more Princes thinke themselues wrōged when they be denied their requests flie vpon euery man that followeth not their will and hazardeth not his state together with theirs But if they be such as they ought to be vndoubtedly it is the greatest good turne that can befall to a realme and most resembling God who by his euerlasting prouidence raigneth alone ouer the whole world And it is also conformable and drawing neere to our nature wherin we see one that ouer-ruleth all the rest for if we consider our body we see it is ouer-ruled by a soule which giueth mouing to all the members without the which the body is but as a blocke Among our members we haue a heart which is as you would say the Prince and king of all the rest And in the mind reason beareth chiefe rule The Bees haue their king In an armie there is a generall that commaundeth and in a ship there is a Pilot that guideth it Rome could not abide two brothers raigning together Esau and Iacob stroue euen in their mothers wombe In the church-gouernment one only bishop or Metropolitane commaundeth In a house there is but one maister the residue are but seruants obaying the commaundements of the maister of the house And therefore he that would haue altered the kingdome of Sparta into a popular state came short insomuch that Agesilaus said vnto him It was meet that he should first stablish a popular state in his owne house doing vs to vnderstand that that forme of gouernment which a man would be loath to haue in his house is not meet to be in a citie or country For as saith Aristotle A citie is nothing else but a great houshold To the same purpose did Homer say That the gouernmēt of many was nothing woorth and that mo than one gouernor needed not After the death of Cambises when the Princes of Persia had expulsed the Magies who had inuaded the empire they assembled together to consult how they might thensforth gouerne the State In this meeting there were three sundry opinions One was of Othanes who said there needed no king to be chosen but that the affaires of the realme were to be managed by all men in common and euerie man ought to be left at his owne libertie without subiection to any one because it is ordinarily seene that a sole soueraign becommeth insolent and that if he be displeased he may satisfie his insolencie to the full Megabysus was of the contrarie opinion saying that such libertie is more dangerous than Tyranny because that if the noblemen and cities should be without a soueraigne lord they might abuse that libertie at their pleasure And therefore he thought it good that neither the cities themselues nor the whole multitude of the nobilitie should haue the managing of the publike affairs but that the doing therof should be committed to some certaine number of good and vertuous Princes which should haue the gouerning of the State and be obeyed as a king of all the rest But Darius liked none of both those aduises because that if all men should be at libertie without obedience to anie it could not continue long forsomuch as it was not possible that a multitude of free lords could any long time agree among themselues and to take any small number of them to rule the State it was also vnconuenient because there would rise innumerable matters wherein the princes would
and deintie meats and giuing them in charge that if the Vandales happened to vnhallow any church of the Christians that they should doe the contrarie and make them cleane againe For he told them that if Christ was the God of the Christians as he was reported to be he would punish those that did him wrong and helpe those that did him seruice Whervpon this Cabaon sent certaine of his men to follow the Vandales in post who whensoeuer they found any church where the Vandales had stabled their horses made it cleane againe as soone as they were gone out of it If any were poore or diseased they gaue them alms and as ye would say did worship the priests whom the Vandales had misused To be short all the men of old time haue so greatly honored priest-hood that it had chiefe preheminence next vnto kings and sometimes kings haue bin priests and priests haue bin kings and gouernors of people And at Rome the priests of Iupiter had a Mace-bearer and a chaire of estate as who would say they deemed the dignitie of priesthood to be equall with the authoritie of a king And they durst not demaund an oth of them when they were to beare witnesse as who would say it were no reason to discredit these in small things which had the ordering of the greatest things and the things that concerned God Which thing is obserued towards our kings of France when they be heard vpon an inquest for they depose without making any oth Numa king of Romanes would needs be of the colledge of Bishops which he had ordained for the ceremonies And the name of King abode with their high priest whom they called the sacrifising King or the king for the Sacrifices After which maner the Athenians also chose yearly one by the name of King who was created but onelie for sacrifising and to punish irreligious dealings Octauian the emperour had the priestly dignitie iointly togither with his empire and so had all they that were emperors after him For as soone as they were chosen there was giuen vnto them the priestly attire and they tooke vpon them the title of High priests Which custome was kept vnto the time of Gratian who refused the attire when the priests offered it vnto him because he thought it vnmeet for a Christian to take such an habit vpon him as Zosimus reporteth in the fourth booke of his historie Neuerthelesse we see by the letter which Varia Mesa wrat vnto the Senat vpon the election of Heliogabalus that the emperorship and priesthood were alwaies diuided asunder For thus saith he Now shall ye see that which your predecessors neuer saw namely that the emperor shall be the high priest and the high priest be emperor so as he shall by sacrifice reconcile vs to the gods and by force of arms defend vs from our enemies But this saying is not contrarie to that of Zosimus For there is great difference between being of the colledge of the priests and the taking of the dignitie or title of priesthood in way of honour and betweene dealing with the ceremonies themselues as the priests of Iupiter and Quirinus whome they called Flamines and the rest of the peculiar priests of the other gods did for these later sort could not beare any office or be magistrats Iulius Caesar had the high priesthood for honours sake and chiefly for profits sake but yet for all that he intended not to the administration of the ceremonies but contrariwise was continually occupied in the warres and absent from the citie Howbeit that Titus Vespasian would needs expresly haue it to the intent hee might not kill any man because it was not lawfull for their high priest to shead mans blood no more than our churchmen may now which point the rest of the emperours that came after him obserued not Therefore wheras the emperors tooke the priests stole vpon them it was in way of honour and not to doe the office in administring the ceremonies Among the Iewes Aaron the high priest was of equall authoritie with Moses and after the Iudges and Kings the greatest dignitie belonged to the high priest Among vs Christiās also the time hath bene that men haue yeelded souereigne authoritie to the Pope as to the Primat of the church princes haue submitted themselues to him and not only haue honoured him as the cheefe minister of our religion but also haue receiued seuere correction at his hand not refusing to do open pennance at the Bishops commaundement as did the emperors Philip and Theodosius vnder Fabian and Ambrose bishops the one of Millan the other of Rome and Frederik the emperour and king of Naples howbeit that the Pope proceeded not with like zeale as the other did but vsed more choller than religion in his doings as he shewed by his treading of the emperor vnder his feet coating his vncomely dealing with this verse of Dauid Vpon the Aspworm and the Cockatrice shalt thou goe and tread the Lion and Dragon vnder foot a thing so il-beseeming the place that he held that Frederik was to be commended for his patient suffering of that disgrace in the honor of God and S. Peter But such was the Religion of those daies that euerie man ran vpon him that was in the Popes disfauor When Clement the sixt had excommunicated the Flemings for taking part with England contrarie to their promise and oth there was not so much as one priest to be found in all the whole countrie that durst say masse or say seruice Iohn king of England seeing himselfe excommunicated for the tenths that he had taken into his hand and perceiuing that the world went worse and worse with him was faine to cast himselfe downe at the feet of the Popes legat at whose hand after much intreatance he receiued the crowne as a great benefit a six daies after with charge to restore the tenths which he withheld and the church-fruits Which charge he put in execution with perill of the losse of his kingdome For the poor commons which were compelled to beare that losse fel to rebelling against him The like submissions haue bin made not only among vs but also among the Infidels For it is reported that when Hercules had killed his own childrē his host he was purged assoiled therof by the priests mysteries of the goddesse Ceres And Adrastus who had killed his own brother vnawares was purged assoiled by Cresus king of Lydia who took vpon him to deale in such recōciliations because he was religious and addicted to the fond ceremonies of those times Also we read that a priest commaunded Lisander king of Lacedemon to tell and declare vnto him the greatest sin that euer he had committed But Lisander being more subtill than spice-conscienst desired the priest to tell him whether he required it of him by the commaundement of the gods or of his owne-authoritie When the priest had answered him that it was at the
ordained that the moneth of Iune should be called the second May. Likewise when a certaine Pope might not make his enterance into Paris vpon a Thursday because of the vnconueniencie of the next day following whereby the rost-meat of the Persians should haue bin spared he ordained that the next day being Friday should bee called Thursday to wherevpon it came to passe that that weeke hath euer since bene called the weeke with the two Thursdaies Dion forbare not for all the eclipse of the moone to weigh vp his Anchors presently and to depart forthwith from Zacinth to goe to make warre vpon Dennis the tyrant of Sicill whome he draue out of Syracuse immediatly vpon his arriuall there Nothwithstanding to put away the superstition of his souldiers he brought them a soothsaier who said vnto theÌ„ My fellowes be of good chere and assure your selues that all shall goe very well with vs. For the God head sheweth vs to our sight that some one of the things which are now most glorious cleare bright shal be eclipsed and darkened now there is not at this time any thing more resplendant than the tyrannie of Dennis and therefore ye may well thinke that as soone as you be arriued in Sicilie ye shall deface the brightnes thereof When Pericles was readie to saile with fiftie vessels it happened that the sonne was eclipsed the which thing did put all his coÌ„panie in feare yea the pilot himselfe to wherefore Pericles seeing the Pilot sore dismaid did spread out his cloke and couer his eies with it demaunding of him whether he thought it did him any harme or no. The Pilot answered him no. Then sayd Pericles there is no difference betweene this and yonder eclips sauing that the body or thing that darkeneth the sunne is greater than my cloke that couereth thine eies The Arabian guides that had beguiled Crassus by leading him into a place where he and the greater part of all his armie were slaine intending to haue done as much to Cassius who had gotten himselfe into the citie of Carras and was purposed to depart thence the next morrow did what they could to persuade him to tarrie vntil the moone were passed out of the signe of the Scorpion which they affirmed to bee an vnluckie signe hoping to stay him by that superstition But he answered them that he feared much rather the signe of Sagittarius that is to say of the Bow-man or Archer because the Romans had lately afore ben curstly galled by the archers of the king of Parthia When Timoleon was readie to giue battell to the Carthaginenses by chance there came into his host certaine mulets loden with smallage the which thing the souldiers tooke for a foretoken of ill luck because it was the custom of those daies to bestrow the graues of dead folks with that hearbe But Timoleon inteÌ„ding to draw them from that superstition made his armie to stand still hauing declared diuers things to them according to the time he told them that the garland of honor offered it selfe vnto them afore victorie For among the Corinthians qd he such as win the prise at the gaming 's of Ischmus that are kept in their countrie are crowned with garlands of smallage And therwithal himself tooke of it and made him a garland the which he did put vpon his head and after him all the rest of the captains yea and euen the priuat souldiers also As Marcellus was about to shock with the Gauls of Lumbardie that were on the coast of Genoa his horse turned back for feare carried him away whether he would or no which thing helfearing least the Romans should take for a signe of ill lucke â—emed his horse to the left hand suddenly made him to turne head towards the enemie and euen presently therewithall worshipped the sunne as who would say his turning backe had not bene by chaunce but purposely to that intent because the Romanes vvere vvoont too make such returns when they worshipped their gods When Iulius Caesar was arriued in Affrike as he went out of his boat he fel to the grouÌ„d which thing some that vvere about him tooke for an euill signe But to turne it to the cleane contrarie I hold thee O Affrike quoth he as if he had done it of set purpose Edward king of England being landed in Constantine at a place called the Hogue S. Wast did no sooner set foot on ground but he fell downe and that so forcibly that his nose gushed out a bleeding vvhereat his lords that vvere about him counselled him to retire againe into his ship because of the euill signe But king Edward very nobly and readily answered It is a very good signe for mee for the land is desirous of me The soothsaiers counselled Iulius Caesar not to passe into Affrike afore vvinter yet letted he not to do it yea and vvith very happie successe When he pursued Scipio in Affrike because there vvas a brute in his camp that the Scipios could not be vanquished in that countrie he in derision of that superstitious opinion had in his armie a Scipio neither of vvealth not offâ—me nor of experience in fears of vvar to the end that his souldiers should be of the better courage knowing that Caesar had a Scipio as vvell as his enemies When Paulus Aemilius vvas readie to giue battell to Perses king of Macedonie the soothsaiers told him thâ—t by defending he should get the victorie and not otherwise To rid his armie of this feare he made an vnbrideled horse to be driuen towards the enemies sent certain Romans after him to catch him againe Anon the enemies ran out vpon the Romans and so began a fray Paulus Aemilius sent forth his men to defend them and thereupon began a skirmish whereupon ensued a battell wherein he wan the victorie according to the foresaieng of the soothsaiers The Romans kept a huge masse of gold and siluer in their treasurie and whensoeuer any was put in they cursed the man with very great ceremonies that should touch it saue only for maintainance of wars against the Gauls But yet for all that Iulius Caesar wanting monie to pay his men of war made no conscience to lay hand on it And to take away the superstition of the people and the feare of any curse that should come vpon the citie he told them he might iustly take it seeing he came from conquering the Gauls Sylla in a like case shewed himselfe to be neither superstitious nor yet religious For vpon a time when he wanted monie he tooke all that was in the temple of Apollo at Delphos and for the doing thereof hee sent a friend of his name Caphis but he was afraid to enter vpon the consecrated things and protested with salt tears that he did it against his will And when some of the standers by told him that they heard the sound of Apollos viall within the temple whether it were that he beleeued it to be
win the fauor of the people who had such men in estimation he had of them ordinarily with him For it is better that a prince should be an hipocrit than a despiser of good and vertuous things because such maner of counterfaiting and countenancing of good things doth secretly bring with it in time an affection of louing them and a willingnesse to accustome himselfe to them in earnest The emperor Adrian had vertuous and wise men and learned Philosophers alwaies about his person as well in time of peace as of warre because the wise men taught to liue well and the Philosophers to gouerne well For as Alexander Seuerus said of trusting too much to a mans owne wit commeth commonly labour and losse but of taking other mens aduise followeth ordinarilie verie great fruit Insomuch that whensoeuer hee had any matter to set in order concerning the common-weale hee consulted of it aforehand with men of skill and experience afore he did put it in execution and such maner of men did alwaies follow him among whom was one Vlpian a Lawier Yea and when he went a walking or a hunting he would neuer bee without three or foure of the greatest personages and best experienced of his house to the intent he would not be without counsell if any matter of importance should come suddenly vpon him and that the sight of such men neere about him might keepe him from presuming to doe any vnhonourable fact Antigonus the second was woont to say when Zeno the Philosopher was dead That he was bereft of the Theatre and stage of his honourable deeds because hee was woont to referre all his actions to the iudgement of that good man And if wee will descend into our owne histories we shall see what profit redounded to S. Lois by being conuersant with men of Religion For in so much as his mother had accompanied him with such folke from his infancie he ceassed not to hold on afterward in the same trade and maner of life wherein he had bin trained vp insomuch that all his whole life was nothing else but a mirrour of holinesse CHAP. XV. That the Prince which will be well obayed must shew good example in him selfe to his subiects THat which I haue spoken of Religion and Superstition is inough notwithstanding that it be too little as in respect of the things themselues Now remaineth the winding vp of the matter and to end this booke withall I am to shew in few words what it is that vpholdeth both the prince and his subiects in all honour and honestie especially in the case of Religion namely the good Example which the prince giueth vnto his subiects For it serueth him aboue all things in the world to make him to be obayed and therewithal accustometh him to the loue of all honest things though at the beginning he had no such will as I haue said afore And it prouoketh the subiects to follow their princes example whom they see to be giuen to all vertuous things and chiefly when he is giuen to religion For a prince cannot raigne if his subiects be without religion considering that in taking away religion ye take away obedience to the prince Therefore to hold the people in religion there is nothing like vnto Example And as a certaine Poet saith Lawes and proclamations haue not so great force to procure obedience as hath the life of the gouernour because the people being subiect to alteration doe chaunge with the prince If the prince be deuout and religious the people will be deuout also if he be superstitious they become superstitious too if he be giuen to vice so will they be also if he be good they abide good likewise because there is not any thing that doth so much induce vs to doe well as the innocencie and goodnesse of the prince or iudge as saith Cassiodorus For who will be afraid to doe wickedlie when he seeth his lord doe as himselfe dooth In vaine doth that prince foad himselfe with suretie of state who is couetous ambitious and vniust For men are then afraid to doe amisse when they thinke that it displeaseth their iudge And as Cicero saith in his third booke of Lawes A prince doth not so much harme in the very sinning although it be a great harme in deed as he doth in making others to follow the example of his vices And we see commonly that looke what alteration soeuer happens in the prince the same ensueth also in his people For the change of conuersation of life in great personages is wont to worke a change in the maners of the people for that they keepe not their vices alonly to themselues but doe shead them out vpon their subiects so as the hurt which they doe is not only in that they corrupt themselues but also in that they corrupt others doing more euill by their example than by their bare sinne For as much therefore as the well-aduised prince is as a cresset vpon a bushell or rather vpon a high towre to giue light to all parts hee ought to shine among his subiects and to excell them in all deeds of vertue and godlinesse For as saith Cicero in his Inuectiues he is to applie himselfe not only to their minds but also to their eies And like as a small blemish in a mans face disgraceth him more than a great scarre in all the rest of his body euen so a small fault sheweth it selfe great in a prince whose life men behold in the open light And as Saluian Bishop of Marsels saith The offence is the greater where there is the greater prerogatiue That is the cause why Dauid was punished by the death of his sonne after that God had taken away his sinne namely as the text saith For that he caused the enemies to blaspheme the name of the Lord. So great is an offence in a publike person For he that doth euill without giuing cause of offence vnto others damneth but himselfe but he that giueth euill example vnto others and causeth mo for to sinne must beare their penaltie because he is the cause of their euill Plato in his Lawes saith That nothing doth more easily change laws than the example of princes so that a tyrant may in short time alter the lawes For whether he intend to lead to vertue or to vice he himselfe must first trace the way vnto others by allowing the one and disallowing the other and by dispising such as obay him not And therefore he said in another place That such as kings and gouernors are such are their people Wherein he agreeth with Ecclesiasticus who saith That such as the iudge of a people is such are his ministers and such as the ruler of a citie is such are his citizens Varia Mesa writing to Heliogabalus admonished him after this maner To reforme others it behooueth you first to reforme your selfe and to chastise others you must first chastise your selfe For euerie person be he
sauce than appetit And to haue grear pleasure of any thing whatsoeuer it be a man must taste of his contraie as of hunger to find meat sweet and of thirst to feele drinke pleasant after the example of Darius who drinking vp a glasse of water good God quoth he from how great a pleasure haue I bin barred heretofore Ptolomy in making a rode through the countrie of Aegypt happened to want wherewith to dine because his vittels followed him not insomuch that for the hunger that pinched him he was faine to eat a morsel of bread in a poor mans cottage saying he neuer ate better bread nor with better appetite Diogenes said It was a strange thing that wrestlers and singing-men despised their bellie and their pleasures the one to haue a good voice and the other to haue the stronger bodie and that for temperance sake no man regarded so to doe Isocrates in the exhortation which he giueth to Demonicus giueth this precept for temperance worthy to be noted Bethinke your selfe saith he to become temperat and staied in the things which you would esteeme vile and shameful if your mind were hild down in them as lucre wrath sensuality sorrow Now it wil be easie for you to haue stay of your selfe if you set your mind to the obtainment of the things that may increase your renowne and not your reuenues As touching anger you must vse no greater towards others than you would that others should vse towards you In the things that bring pleasure you shall easily temper your selfe if you consider what a shame it is for you to command your slaues and in the meane while your selfe to be a slaue vnto voluptuousnes Your sorrowes you shall be able to moderat by beholding the miseries of other men and by considering that you be a mortal man And aboue all you shall be stirred vp to do good if you consider that vpon that point dependeth pleasure For in the idle life which seeketh nothing but feasting and cheering the pleasantnes endeth forthwith togither with the pleasure but when a man intendeth to vertue and purposeth vpon a sobriety in al his life it giueth him a true ioy and a longlasting Therefore none other pleasure is to be fought than such as bringeth honor for the pleasure is noughtworth that is not matched with honor Alexander Seuerus said T hat an ill conditioned prince doth often spend his treasures in superfluity of apparrell curiosity of feasts which he needs for the maintenance of wars Againe he ware no gold nor precious stones saying that a prince ought not to measure himselfe by the things which couer the bodie but by the goodnesse and vertue of his mind Plutarch in the life of Philopemen saith that by superfluitie and sumptuousnesse in houshold-stuffe apparell and fare manie haue beene brought to seeke the delights that make nice and effeminate the courages of such as vse them because the tickling of the outward sense that is delighted with them doth by and by soften and loosen the stoutnes strength of the mind I say quoth Agapete to Iustinian that you are now rightly a king seeing that you can rule and gouerne your delights by wearing on your head the diadem of Temperance A king is lord of al but then specially when he ouerruleth himselfe and is not subiect to euil lusts but by help of reason wherthrough he ouerruleth the vnreasonable affections maketh himselfe lord and master by meanes of Temperance ouer the lusts that bring all the world in subiection which thing those could well skill to do which haue had most estimation in the world Scipio was so temperat that in foure and fiftie yeeres which he liued he neither sold nor purchased nor builded and hauing rased two great cities namely Numance and Carthage yet he enriched not himselfe with the spoils of them insomuch that at his death he left behind him no more but three and thirtie pound of siluer and two pound of gold Paulus Aemilius had such stay of himself that he neuer tooke one penie of the treasure of Perseuâ— ne died richer than did Aristides Lysander and infinit other Greeks and Romans famous in histories and specially the Lacedemonians were trained vp in Temperance from their youth and taught to keepe themselues from being corrupted with monie as Herodotus reporteth of one Gorgo a little daughter of Cleomenes of the age of eight or nine yeeres In the presence of this little wench one Aristagoras intreated Cleomenes to do so much with the Lacedemonians as to cause them to send an armie into Asia promising to giue him ten talents for his labour when Cleomenes refused he offered him fiftie The pretie wench hearing that tooke her father aside and said vnto him My father if you get you not hence this guest will corrupt you Whereat Cleomenes departed presently without hearkning to Aristagoras any more The Temperance and staidnesse of Titus Quintius gate mo countries to the Romans than all their forces had done First of all after that he had woon the battell although his vittels followed him not yet made he his men of warre to march on still in such sort as they tooke not any thing in the countrie where they went notwithstanding that they found great abundance of goods the which his forbearing he found anon after how greatly it auailed him for as soon as he was come into Thessalie the cities yeelded themselues willingly vnto him and all the rest of the Greeks required nothing but to giue theÌ„selues vnto him Demetrius was subiect to his belly to women and yet in the time of warre he was as sober and chast as they that be naturally giuen thereunto rightly deeming that he could not ouercome his enemies vnlesse he were temperate But yet at length when he let himselfe loose to his pleasures the Macâ—doâ—â—â—ns draue him out saying that they were wearie of bearing armes and of fighting for his pleasures CHAP. XI That he that will dispatch his affaires well must be Sober I Said afore that Temperance is chiefly ouer the bellie and the priuie parts the tongue and choler Now must I speake in order of these foure sorts of Temperance and first of all I will speake of that which concerneth the bellie that is to say which concerneth eating and drinking the which we call Abstinence or Sobrietie the contrarie wherâ—of we call Gluttonie a foule and filthie vice specially in a Prince For as saith Mercurie Trismegistus It bereaâ—eth a man of all goodnesse whereas Sobrietie doth maruellouslie become him For Sobrietie withdraweth him not from his affaires for chearing and therewith it exempteth him from al diseases that often come of fulnesse through too much eating and drinking It preserueth a mans wit the clearer to iudge soundly of the matters that come afore him whereas he that hath vapours in his braine through too much meat that is cast into the stomacke cannot be so fit for the
that Popilia made when one asked her why beasts endure not the male after they haue once conceiued seeing that women endure them at all times Because quoth she they be but beasts The emperour Sigismundus widow intending to marrie againe albeit that in so doing she did no vnlawfull thing yet made she a meetly pretie answer to him that would haue persuaded her to lead the rest of her life vnmaried after the maner of the Turtle-doue who neuer seeketh anie make againe after she hath once forgone her owne If you counsell me quoth she to follow the example of birds why speake you not to me as well of pigeons and sparrowes which after the death of their makes do ordinarily couple themselues with the next that they meet A Vestall virgin named Spuria because she was foule-mouthed was accused of incest and discharged by the censor vpon condition that she should no more speake filthily as long as she liued For it behooueth to be chast in words as well as in bodie For by mens speech is it knowne how they be minded as Bacchus saith in Terence And Iesus the sonne of Sirach in his seuen and twentith chapter saith That like as a mans labour maketh a tree to shew foorth his fruit so doth a mans speech bewray the thoughts of his heart Socrates said That such as a man is such are his affections such as his affection is such are his words such as his words are such are his deeds and such as his deeds are such is his life Hiero king of Syracuse punished the poet Epicharmus because he had spoken wantonly before his wife and verie iustly for his wife was a true mirrour of chastitie And vpon a time Hiero perceiuing himselfe to haue a strong breath found fault with her that she had not told him of it To whom she answered plainlie That she had thought that all other mens breaths had had the like sent Aristotle in his seuenth booke of matters of State saith That lawmakers ought aboue all things to banish all filthie and ribaudrie talke out of their common-weals because the libertie of filthie communication draweth vile and vnhonest deeds after it And therfore Epictetus said That amorous talke was an allurement vnto whordome And for that cause Saint Paule to the Ephesians would not haue anie corrupt word to passe out of our mouthes By the lawes of Romulus He that spake any filthie words before women was punished as a manslear In the Digests vnder the title of Iniuries we haue a notable book-case of Vlpian who saith That he which vttereth any filthie speech before women although he staine not their chastitie shall neuerthelesse be sued vpon an action of trespasse And as men ought not to attempt the chastitie of women by lewd speeches so likewise women must not prouoke men thereto by too much decking and painting themselues For that is no better than an enticing of men vnto whordome And like as hunters lay baits vpon their snares to allure wild beasts vnto them and to draw them in so do adulterers saith Saint Chrysostome lay baits for the amorous by their eies by their speeches and by their attires And afterward they intangle them and maske them in their nets out of the which they suffer them not to scape vntill they haue sucked out all their blood and then they giue them a mocke for their labour The ornaments of a good woman are meeldnesse shamefastnesse and chastitie Poppea the wife of Nero was misliked of for her ordinarie vsing of asses milke to make her colour the fresher What would they haue said if she had euerie day vsed the Spanish white and vermilion A wife ought to go cleanly and comely apparelled but neither ought she to be painted nor to be curiously attired which thing Homer sheweth vnto vs when he saith in his Iliades That Iuno washed herselfe to do away the spots of her bodie and then annointed her with oile after the maner of old time But of the curiosities and fond tricks that are vsed now adayes I will not speake at all Secondly a woman must beware that she shew not herselfe naked for that prouoketh men to do euill and maketh women shamelesse As touching the first the example of Caracalla and others are a sufficient testimonie vnto vs. And as touching the other Herodotus assureth vs in his first booke That a woman in stripping her selfe out of her clothes bereaueth herselfe of all shamefastnesse And Saint Cyprian in his first booke of the apparelling of maidens will not haue them to be naked or to be bathed saying that in putting off their clothes they put off also all shamefastnesse And for that cause Saint Ambrose rebuketh sharply one Siagrius bishop of Veron for ordaining that a certaine maiden should be searched vpon a pretended deflourment As for the Lacedemonians their short apparel beneath the which a man might see their knees and some part of their thighs was ordained to make them the stronger and the more warlike But in verie deed that kind of apparell was light We haue yet one other great remedie of loue which is to eschue idlenesse for idlenesse nourisheth loue the taking away whereof breaketh Cupids bow Therefore hunting and all exercises of trauell serue well to that purpose And for that cause Phedria in Terence promiseth that he will toile himselfe as much as he can during the absence of his louer that his trauell may make him to rest without thinking vpon her Likewise he that taketh paines and is altogither giuen to studie is not subiect to Venerie And in verie deed the Poets feigne that Diana and the Muses are enemies to Venus and care not for Cupid For it is hard that the man which hath any great conceit in his mind should haue leysure to thinke vpon the pleasures of Venus or that he which hath his limbs tired with trauell should desire any thing else than rest howbeit that Caelius Rhodiginus in his eleuenth book of ancient Readings maketh mention of a man that the more he was beaten the more feruently did he desire womeÌ„ CHAP. XIII Of refraining a mans tongue of such as be too talkatiue of liars of curious persons of flatterers of mockers of railers and slaunderers and of tale-bearers THe third kind of Temperance consisteth in ruling the tongue when a man keepeth himself from speaking too much Socrates enioined his disciples to haue silence in tongue demurenes in countenance and discreetnes in heart Cato in his paired verses setteth down the brideling of the tongue among the chiefest vertues saying That neuer man repented him of holding his peace but many haue taken great harme of speaking It is commoÌ„ly said That he which is lauish of his words is a niggard of his deeds Numa taught the Romans to reuerence one of the Mâ—ses more than all the residue her he named Tacita as ye would say Silent and speechlesse to the intent they should highlie esteeme of silence
the assailant For when the assailant departeth out of his countrie he leaueth garrisons and men of warre behind him to defend it against sudden troubles that might ensue of insurrections by absence of the prince or by some sodaine inuasion of some neighbor that would take him vnprouided as Iames king of Scots did to his owne vndoing against the king of England at such time as he was passed to Calice with a great force and was occupied about the siege of Tirwin and Turney So that no well aduised prince setteth vp all his rest vpon the hazard of one battell but doth euer reserue a store for after-claps And if a prince chance to be taken prisoner in a forraine countrie he shall be discharged vpon his raunsome and vpon such conditions as the conquerour listeth to giue him but if he be taken in his owne countrie it is hard but that diuerse weake and il-furnished rownes wil yeeld themselues to the conqueror vpon report of his victorie which townes shall not be admitted in account when they come to treat of peace And oftentimes fortune is so fauourable to the vanquisher that after a victorie he maketh himselfe lord of the whole realme and needeth not to make any other agreement with his prisoner than to grant or take away his life at his own pleasure It is commonly said that fortune furthereth the aduenterous and we see it so by experience Ninâ—â— Semyramis and Alexander were fortunate in their conquests Pyrrhus was fortunate in getting but vnfortunate in keeping And they that go forth with that intent do seldome faile of their purpose Charles the eight conquered Naples in short time and brought backe his armie through the midst of Italie passing vpon the bellies of his enemies Edward king of England comming into France with resolute purpose to conquer the realme gaue battell to Philip of Valois and ouercame him both by sea and by land notwithstanding that Philip of Valois did what could be done by a well-aduised prince For he encountered him vpon the sea afore he tooke land but it booted him not For God made fortune to turne against him in which case it is better to strike saile than to hazard a battell as Charles the fifth could well skill to do being taught by the aduersities of his grandfather and father William duke of Normandie after one battell made himselfe souereigne lord of the realme of England being fully resolued either to conquer or else to die I will not say therefore that an inuader shall alwayes be sure of victory for sometimes it falleth out cleane contrarie as it did with Cyrus who was defeated by the Massagets in their own countrie with the Swissers who were discomfited in Prouince by Iulius Caesar with the Sarzins which were discomfited by Charles Martell who caused Euâ—o duke of Gascoyne to turne against them To be short He that looseth a field in a strange countrie loseth but his men but he that loseth it in his owne countrie loseth both men and goods and sees his land dayly wasted and his subiects pilled CHAP. XI Of the pitching of a Campe. NOw seeing it is so that in both sorts of warre aswell of assailing as of defending men must be brought to march togither either to receiue or to follow the enemie we must needs speake of the seating of a campe as vpon the which alone dependeth the winning of the battell as Pyrrâ—us shewed full well who in that point was esteemed the excellentest of all captains The campe that is well planted ought to be nere a riuer that they may haue the commoditie of water which cannot be forborne and also for the fortifying of themselues and for the doing of their enterprises For a riuer doth wonderfully strengthen a camp because the enemy cannot passe it without danger But a captaine must also be maister of the riuer and not coope vp himselfe betweene two riuers except he haue means to get out againe at his pleasure least it disappoint him of the commoditie of vittels and of succours as it befell to Iulius Caesar in Spaine against Affraenius and Petreius But that happeneth commonly by some extraordinarie ouerflowing wherof notwithstanding a man shal discharge himselfe so well that he shall ouercome them afterward Secondly woods serue for another fortification and yeeld means of goodly enterprises Thirdly mountains giue great aduantage to them that are incamped in them For they that are faine to mount vp to their assault are wearied afore they come to handstroks Contrariwise they that come downward go with the greater force vpon their enemies Hanniball vanquished the Romans at Trebia by hauing his campe planted neere to a wood He had lodged himselfe neere a riuer and neere thicke copses full of brush wood and thornes taking occasion to beguile the Romans by that seating of his camp for when they should com to encouÌ„ter him he sent his brother Mago into that place ouernight accompanied with a thousand horsmen and a thousand footmen to lie in ambush there And the next morning he caused his light horsmen of Numidie to passe the riuer and to skirmish with the Romans and to draw them into the stale The which thing was done so cunningly that when the Romans were in the heat of the fight they were assailed behind by Mago who lay in ambush there so as they could notwithstand the Carthaginenses but were constrained to giue back with great losse of their men As for to passe a riuer to assaile the enemy the danger therof is very great as appeareth in Manlius who would needs passe a riuer that had but only one foord to passe at to encounter with Asdruball contrary to the aduice of Scipio who warned him of the perill wherinto he did put himselfe Neuertheles he passed the riuer and assailed Asdruball who suffered the Romans to do as they listed without offering them battell vntill he saw them incumbred in passing the foord And then with all his force he set vpon the taile of them and made so great a slaughter that all their army was at the point to haue ben discomfited had not Scipios forecast bin who made the enemies to recoile by the helpe of his men of arms Timoleon seeing the army of the Carthaginenses sore troubled and put out of order in passing a riuer with great peril and therby deeming that he might take them at aduantage ere they were halfe passed shewed his men of war with his finger how the battel of his enemies was parted in two halues by the riuer the one halfe of them being on the one side and the other half on the other and commanded Demaratus to take his horsmen and to goe and charge vpon the formost of them to keep them from ranging themselues in battelray And therewithall he caused his footmen to go downe into the plaine by means wherof togither with a storm that fel suddainly against the Carthaginenses he gat the battel As
it be easie to passe the residue of the host in despite of the enemies But the best and surest way is not to vse open force but to make passage by some policy When the emperor IuliaÌ„ warred against the Persians afore he passed a certain riuer he sent Lucilius with fifteen hundred men to the further side of the water and yet for the passing of the water he vsed no open force but caused captaine Victor with a good number of men of war to passe ouer secretly in the night season and a good way off from the camp for feare least he should be perceiued and to ioin himself with Lucilius This had so good succes that being ioined togither vnperceiued of the enemy they charged vpon him behind vnlooked for wherwith he being afraid betook him to flight This bickering gaue the emperour leisure to passe his army in boats and to obtain the further bank Sometimes hast is made to take the enemy vnprouided and out of aray to astonish him and to break the order of his battel as Henrie the bastard of Castile did against his lawfull brother don Peter by the aduice of Bertrand of Guesclin For he saw he had but few men and considered that if don Peter should haue come against him in battell raunged in good order he had not beene able to stand against him by reason of the small number of men that he had to encounter so great a number of well trained souldiers as don Peter brought with him Therefore he set forward and led his men of war thick set and in good order before him without any incling of his comming knowne to don Peter And finding him out of aray with his bands scattered here and there far from him he discomfited him and put him to the woorst Marius was like to haue ben discomfited by being taken after that sort vnprouided and yet by another policy he tooke his enemies in a trip in such sort as I will tell you Boâ—chus and Iugurtha came to assaile Marius vpon the suddaine ouer night as he was retiring his armie into garrison All that Marius could then doe was but to get two little hils for his defence very fit for the seating of a campe And when he had retired himselfe thether to his aduantage he let his enemies alone who enuironed the two hils with great noise and so passed forth the most part of that night On the contrary part the Romans made not any noise but held themselues quiet But when they perceiued that their enemies beg into fall asleepe and to take their rest then Marius caused his men to issue out with great noise vpon the Moores and Getulians of whom he slue a great number as they lay asleepe and compelled the rest to forsake the place and to go seeke another more sure at the fauour of the night by means whereof he scaped that daunger Sometimes men are afraid to giue battell by reason of the aduauntage of the place In that case policie is to be vsed as to take a higher ground than where the enemy lieth as Paulus Emilius did against Perseus in Macedonie and Sylla against Tigranes and diuerse others of whom I haue spoken heretofore For then must they either dislodge or fight to their apparant losse Or else he must draw them by some traine as Bertram of Guesclin did the men of Nauarre who seeing their armie in a high place of aduantage and on the other side being aduertised that succour was comming to them the next day when he and all the army of France ranged in battell had spent a great part of the day in the plaine sore vexed with heate and trauel he thought therfore that it was not for him to fight with them in a place of so great disaduantage But forasmuch as he was sure that the Nauarrians desired greatlie to come to encounter them and yet that they would not leaue their strength to draw them to battell he made countenance to retire so long vntill the day began to decline causing his armor bagage and pages to passe ouer a bridge holding himselfe alwaies still in one quarter to see what countenance the Naâ—arrians would make And the better to conceale his pretence he caused many of his men of armes to passe also Anon one Iohn Iouell a captaine of the Nauarrians contrarie to the aduice of the captall of Buze went downe the hill and led his men to the encounter whom the captall of Buze followed and all the army after him When the Frenchmen saw him in the plaine they turned againe vpon the Nauarrians amaine of whome in the end few or none escaped which were not either slaine or taken ptisoners Sometimes when a captaine commeth neere his enemies he will not by and by giue battell because his men are wearie of their way But yet to hold his enemie in expectation he keepeth his men a long while in battelray as if he ment to come to handstrokes and in the meane while maketh trenches the which being done he retireth his men faire and softly into them lodging the hindermost first and so successiuelie those that are next them one after another whereat the enemie is astonished to see the army of his aduersaries lodged safe within their trenches as Paulus Emilius did against Perseus For he made so faire a shew of encountering and lodged his men so cuÌ„ningly that he had by little and little vndone his battell and lodged his people in their campe well fortified without any noise or hurly burlie ere his enemies had perceiued it Yet doth it not follow but that it may at some times be for a mans aduauntage though he be wearie and haue trauelled a long iourney to set vpon his enemies out of hand But that must be when he is sure to find them out of order as the countie of Egmount did to the Frenchmen neere vnto Graueling and Bertram of Guesclin did to don Peter of Castile Timoleon intending to fight with Icetes who kept the way to Adrane twentie leagues distant from Tauremenion departed thence with all his armie of purpose to bid him battell The first day he made no great iourney but the next day he marched more speedilie And when it drue towards euentide tidings was brought him that Icetes was but then newlie arriued afore Adrane and was there incamped Whereof the captains hearing caused the foremost to stay to take their repast that they might be the better disposed to fight But Timoleon aduaunced himselfe forward vnto them and praied them not to do so but to march on still as speedilie as they could that they might take their enemies out of order And he himselfe marched foremost as if he had held the victorie in his hand and so the residue followed him with like confidence As soone as they came there they charged vpon their enemies whom they found all disarmed and therfore they tooke them to their heeles as soone as they saw
went thither with the rest of his armie and gaue a great assault to haue driuen away those that defended the hill Then Hanniball perceiuing that his enemie had cast himselfe into his nets gaue the watchword to his men that were in ambush who brake out with a great noyse vpon the taile of the Romans of whom they slue a great number at the first dash and had put the rest out of aray but for the readie succour of Fabius who aided him at need and wrested the victorie out of Hannibals hand Insomuch that Hanniball sounding the retreit said smiling to his friends concerning Fabius Did not I tell you that yonder cloud which we see houering vpon the top of the hils would one day breake out into a stormie tempest that should light vpon vs Also Flaminius the Roman consul was discomfited by a like policie For Hanniball suffered him to win the passage that was in the hils aboue the lake of Trasimenus but yet higher aboue theÌ„ he had laid his men in ambush Now beyond the passage that was kept by the Romans there was a faire plain where Hannibals armie was so as the Romans being cooped vp in a place where they had their enemies both before and behind lost the battell The same Hanniball perceiuing that Marcellus neither by vanquishing nor by being vanquished could hold himselfe from troubling him vsed this policie when he saw him nie him Betweene the two camps was a certain peece of ground of strong situation couered round about with bushes therin were high places where a man might discouer them far of towards both the camps and at the foot of it ran mâ—ny springs and brookes insomuch that the Romans marueled that Hanniball who was come first had not seazed it But his so doing was for that it seemed to him a very fit place to lay â—tâ—les in to which purpose he chose rather to reserue it Therefore he 〈◊〉 the woods the watersprings and the valley throughout with a good number of men of armes of all sorts assuring himselfe that the place it selfe would draw the Romans thither wh◠〈◊〉 was not deceiued For the two consuls Marcellus and Criâ—pâ—â—â— went both thether with two hundred and twentie horses to view the place Which thing when the Carthaginenses perceiued they suffered them to come on vntil they were ful against them and then suddainly stepping vp and winding Marcellus in began to draw to him both with shot and with handblowes so long til he lay dead vpon the ground and his fellow being wounded to death recouered to his campe by the swiftnesse of his horse where he died by and by after The countie of Anguien was discomfited almost after the same manner as he would needs giue battell almost hard at the bars of Gaunt For the men of Gaunt being desirous to intrap him because he was valeant in battell laid a hundred men in ambush for him without the towne who hemmed him in so close when he was come a litle too forward that there was no meane to saue him and so fighting valeantly he died vpon the field and all his men with him Sometime a stale is made by occasion of a preteÌ„ded feare As for examâ—â—e Hanniball taking occasion to flee vpon the discomfiâ—â—◠〈◊〉 ten or twelue hundred of his men withdrew himselfe be 〈◊〉 the hils as a man dismaid leauing in his campâ— from whence he was dâ—lodged great abundance of riches and vitteâ—â— and dâ—pâ—rting in the night left the burning fires in his campe as 〈◊〉 his meaning had ben to conceale his departure fâ—om the Romans But this trick was discouered by 〈…〉 it stood him in no stead Thomyri queene of the Mâ—ssagets aâ—ter the destruction of hir army wherwith she lost hir sonne had great reason to flee and to 〈…〉 the 〈…〉 that flight she made a bait to draw Cyrus forth into the mountains from whence it was not easie for him to get back againe and so it came to passe For Cyrus courageously pursuing the Queene found himselfe hemmed in on all sides in the mountains where he lost an armie of two hundred thousand men and his owne life with them The emperour Aurelian seeing his enemies too strong for him in horsemen and better weaponed and armed than his prohibited the Romane knights to abide the battell and willed them to flee as soone as they were charged vpon vntill they saw their enemies horses wearie and tired with the pursute and then to turne head The which thing they did so handsomely that the emperour wan the victorie Paulus Vitellius hauing beene troubled two whole daies together by the pesants on the coast of Genes who flang stones and darts and shot arrowes at him from the hils yea and some of them were so bold as to come downe into the plaine and to fight with him bethought himselfe to pretend as though he would saue himselfe by flight and retired so farre that he was chased in full race by infinit pezants But when he saw his game at the best he made all his troopes to mount on horsebacke and to turne their faces insomuch that all at once they charged vpon the pezants of the mountaines and discomfited them Secco a Florentine beeing desirous to draw Monfronk captaine of the Pisanes to battell who of his owne nature was forward enough to it laid an ambush betweene Bientina and Pisa commanding them not to stir vntill he gaue them their watchword Then sent he foorth certaine light horsemen into the fields euen into the view of the citie Pisa who a long while pursued the forragers of Pisa. When Monfronk out of the higher part of the towne saw these forragers and theÌ„ that did coÌ„uoy them to be pressed by the ouergreat number of them he also made certaine of his light horsemen to go foorth and anon he himselfe followed them with his men of armes and footmen Secco did the like on his part so as the fight was full and well foughten At length Secco of set pupose began to recoile and turne his backe as it had ben for feare Monfronk folowed after him liuely not giuing him any respit to assemble his men together againe vntill he came to the stale where issued out men both on horsebacke and on foot which so inclosed the Venetians and Pisanes on al sides that hauing hemmed them in euery way in the end they ouerthrew a great number of them Malâ—testa Balion to make his enemies that were in garrison at Veron to fal into his snare commanded his Albans to go into the marches of Veron and to gather all the cattell that they found and to driue them towards the stale which he had laid a good way off from thence The which the Albans did with such noise that the garrison of Veron vnderstood it out of hand Wherupon some of them mounted vpon their horses to pursue those robbers The Albans to conceale their craft the better did fiâ—st shock themselues on a heape
and begin to turn their backs and to driue the cattel afore them a full trot Which thing when Succar who made the salie out perceiued he made no nicenes to pursue with al the hast he could Then Malatesta who waited for them vnder the couert of certain trees did suddainly giue a watchword to assaile them and therwith all running ouerthwart in an open path assailed his enemies behind as they pursued his men exceeding whotly and enuironing them on all sides did put them to the foile Bertram of Guesclin perceiuing the Englishmen were come to succor the men of Sireth and doubting least the townsmen would make some salie out by reason of their comming held himselfe still in his camp forbidding any man to stir without his commandement In the mean while he laid an ambush of two hundred men and then went to pull down the pales that were about the towne that the townesmen might the easlier issue out which disappointed not his hope at all For there issued out about a threescore of them hoping that they which were without would haue set vpon the Frenchmen behind as soone as they heard the bickering but it was quite otherwise For being enuironed by them that lay in the ambush they were all either slaine or taken asore the Englishmen wist it The maior of Rochell intending to put the citie into the kings hand bethought him of this policie He told the captaine of the campe that he had receiued letters from the king of England wherby he was commanded to take musters both of the townesmen and of the garrison This letter well sealed was shewed to the captain of the castle who knew the kings seale but could not read The maior made semblance to read the letter which contained no such thing as he spake and yet neuertheles he red it as boldly as if it had ben written clean contrary to the tenor of the writing According to this commandement the next morrow euery man was readie with his armor and weapon in the place appointed and the captain of the castle sent thither threescore men well furnished reseruing not past a dosen or fifteene men to keepe the castle Now the maire had aforehand laid two hundred men in ambush behind the old wals houses of the town which were not far from the castle When they of the garrison were a little gone forth they found themselues inclosed by the townsmen wel armed and in great number before and by them that lay in the ambush behind so as they could not return into the castle and the captain who with so few men was not able to resist them was faine to yeeld himselfe Constantine being imbarked at Pirey to giue battel to Licinius that was at Adrianople pretended to make a bridg ouer the riuer Ebron and to that end prepared a great quantitie of timber to busie his enemies about the keeping of that passage while he bestowed fiue thousand men secretly in ambush in a wood As soone as they were passed he himselfe also passed the riuer with a few men at a shallow foord causing al the rest of his army to march leisurely after him and he with those few men that he had assailed his enemies vpon the suddain vnprouided by which taking of them vnawares he did maruelously astonish them But when they that lay in ambush shewed themâ—elues then was there nothing but running away insomuch that all the host of Licinius was ouerthrowne and foure and thirtie thousand of his men were slain in the field The Enthalits seeing themselues ouerlaid by the Persians made countenance to flee to the mountains among the which there was a faire large way that had no way out but was enuironed with hils Now the Enthalites in small number fled continually before the Persians towards the greater part of their armie the which they had laid in ambush in those hils where shewing themselues suddainly on all sides they made the Persians to agree to what conditions they listed Charles of Aniou being greatly incumbered in resisting Conradine who was entred with great power into the realme of Naples found in very good season an old French knight named Alard that came froÌ„ Hierusalem By whose counsel Charles ordered his army in such sort that he made three squadrons wherof the first two were led in the plaine by the Palentine the one marching a mile before the other and therof was chieftaine Philip of Mountfort marshall to Charles of Aniou apparelled and attired like a king with the standards of Charles And in the second squadron was the said Philip of Mounfort In the third squadron which was of the men of most valor marched Charles himselfe and this squadron lodged in a little valley vnderneath the enemies Alard did set himselfe vpon the hill of Alba betweene the valley and the plaine to giue order to all euents as need should require Conradine on his side had two squadrons much stronger than the squadrons of Charles wherby the formost squadron of Charles was so well handled that Philip of Mountfort was fain to aduance his squadron forward to the rescue therof and by that means was driuen to sustain the battell three houres without stirring out of that place and yet in the end was discomfited and slaine Vpon the brute of whose death it was beleeued that king Charles himself had ben dead insomuch that his men taking it to haue bin so betook themselues to flight By reason wherof Conradines souldiers fell to rifling out of order insomuch that euen his guard ran to the spoile and left him all alone accompanied with a few pages and other people vnfit for war Alard seeing from the hill this fit occasion to do some good exploit caused Charles to go out of his little valley well and close set in battelray and with great violence to charge vpon his enemies loden with preies and in great disorder whom he had no great ado to break asunder insomuch that they were all slain taken or wounded and by that good counsell Charles abode maister of the field The duke of Guise did the like at the battell of Dreux as I haue said afore For when he saw that the prince of Condie was rushed into the battell where the constable was who was taken he stood still and would neuer stir to rescue the others but waited still to see them in some greater disorder vntill they fell to the spoile as if they had won all And then he rushed vpon them so boistously that within a while he was maister of the field Metellus finding himselfe short of vittels at the siege of the Lagobrits sent Aquiniâ—â— with six thousand men to recouer some vittels Sertorius being aduertised therof laid an ambush for his returne in a valley couered with wood where he bestowed three thousand men in wait to set vpon him on the back while he himselfe assailed him on the face By this means he put him to flight and tooke the most
spoile him and mocke him without feare because they retired themselues into rocks and caues that could not be come vnto He considered that right against their caues there was a light clay that fell to dust like sand the which the northwind blowing full into their caues did ordinarily carie vp that in dust and driue it into their dens When Sertorius had detected this in himselfe and vnderstood by the inhabitants of the countrie therabouts that the like was don customably he commaunded his men to gather togither a great quantitie of that light earth and thereof to make a huge mount right against their caues When this great mount was finished he made his horsmen trot vp and down on it and anon the wind taking the dust as soone as it was raised from the ground caried it full into their caues striking it right into the eies and eielids of them Wherby their eies were stopped and their caue was filled with a hote and sultrie aire Insomuch that being not able to take breath but with great paine they submitted themselues the third day after to his discretion When a man hath taken a citie it is not enough to enter into it and to sacke it except he set a good guard at the gates for feare of afterclaps as befell to the Castilians in Spaine who with the helpe of the Grisenians rebelled against the Romans for their ill vsing of them and slue a good sort of them As soone as Sertorius heard the vprore by and by he gat him out of the towne with a few of his men and assembling togither such as were escaped returned againe to the towne and finding the gate still open whereat the Grisenians were entered in he slipped in also and setting a good gard at the gates in which point the Grisenians had ouershot themselues and in other parts of the towne did put all to the sword that were of yeares to weare armour Then apparelled he his soldiers in the apparell and armour of those whom he had slain and went in that maner to the citie of the Grisenians from whence those came by whom they were surprised by night The Grisenians thinking at the sight of their owne furniture that they had beene their owne men opened them their gates and went out to meet them as their friends whom they thought to haue dispatched their matters verie well So the Romans slue a great number hard at the gates of their citie and the rest yeelding themselues to the mercie of Sertorius were by him sold. At such time as the prince of Orenge sacked the citie of Rome Guy Ranâ—on came to the gates with his light horses and eight hundred harquâ—buzers thinking to haue gone in to defend it but when he vnderstood those newes he retired backe Many were of opinion that considering the disorder of the Imperials if he had entered in by the castell which was vngarded he might haue done some notable feat or at leastwise he had deliuered the Pope But as it is commonly said little woteth a man what is done in his enemies host and it had bin a great hazard to haue put himself in daunger with so few men against so great a number of enemies Bellisarius perceiuing that he could not win Panormus by land made his ships to come into the hauen Then hauing manned certaine small vessels with crossebowes he made them to mount vp into the tpps the which were highâ—r than the wall and from those small ships to shoot incessantly at the townsmen whom they saw lie open insomuch that the townesmen seeing themselues so greatly annoyed by them were faine to yeeld the towne to Bellisarius The Lord of Estourney surprised the towne of Audenard in this maner He laid foure hundred chosen men in ambush neere the gate of Graundmount Then sent he two chariots laden with prouision and foure souldiers apparelled like carters to driue the chariots wel armed vnder their apparell who feigning them selues to come out of Henault caused the great gate to be opened vnto them Now when they came vpon the bridge they staied and plucked out the taypinnes that held the traces The warders being offended at their long tarying tooke the horses by the heads to make them go but the chariots abode behind because the horses were loosned Then the warders perceiuing themselues to be deceiued began to strike the carters who defended themselues so well that they slue two of the warders In the meane while the lord of Estourney hauing good leysure to approch came at the instant and tooke the gate whereby he became master of the town If they that enterprised to take the citie of Turin in the yeare 1542 had so vnyoked their oxen or turned a chariot within the gate the towne had bin lost For it was saued alonely by the letting downe of the portcullis which stopped a ten or twelue hundred men that came in good array while those that were entred into the town in chariots couered with hay were fighting at the gate and at the place The citie of Ortingas was taken after that maner Peter of Auchun who lay in garrison at Lourd sent in the moneth of May two good souldiers apparelled like seruingmen to seeke masters in the towne They had not beene long there but they were prouided of marchantmen whom they serued so well that their seruice was verie well liked About the middest of August a faire was kept in that towne wherevnto many marchant strangers resorted Now while the townesmen bought and sould and made good cheere Peter of Auchun went out about midnight and laid himself in ambush vvithin a vvood neere the towne hauing sent six men afore vvith two scaling ladders vvhereby they entred secretly into the towne by the helpe of the two souldiers while their masters was drinking As soone as they were entred the two soldiers brought theÌ„ to the gate where was the bodie of the gard ready to set forward assoon as they should whistle theÌ„ Herewithal the two seruing meÌ„ knocked at the gate telling the warders that their master had sent them for good wine The warders knowing them opened the gate and suddenly at a vvatchword the other six souldiers came running thither and slue the warders This being done they tooke the keyes of the gate and did let downe the bridge so softly that no man perceiued it As soone as the bridge was downe they began to sound a blast of deceit whereat Peter of Auchun and his companie set forward tooke the bridge and made himselfe master of the towne To famish the citie of Athens Lisander vsed this deuise After he had ouercome the Athenians by sea he determined to lay siege to Athens But afore the doing thereof he went with his fleet to all the sea-townes where he commaunded vpon paine of death that as many Athenians as were there should get them home to Athens which thing he did vpoÌ„ a policy to pester them vp close togither within the wals