where ordinarily Clocks do not strike nor Bells ring then the Caporals are to have allowance of Match which they call Passelunt whereby they regulate Passelunts themselves to relieve their Sentinels when six seven eight or nine Inches of it are burnt In Camps and Garrisons Drummers are to beat Taptoo at night and in the morning Revallie This word Zapzu or Taptoo is High and and Low Dutch and Taptoo signifies no more drink to be tapp'd or sold and is not as some fancy to advertize the Guards to place their Night Sentinels but to acquaint Sutlers to sell no more drink and Souldiers to go home to their Lodgings and who is found out of their quarters after it ought to be punish'd It should be â—eat constantly at one hour Summer and Winter and ten a clock at night is a proper time for it But By-Guards as they are call'd and Night Sentinels are to be put to their Night Sentinels and By-guards Posts when day-light is well near spent and this in Winter will be about four and in Summer about ten a Clock at night neither ought the last Night Sentinels to leave their Posts till the Dian or Revallie beat which cannot be done at one constant hour as the Taptoo for in Winter it may be eight and in Summer three or four in the morning and beat it should not till the Captain of the Watch gives order for it and he is not to take up his measures by day-light Dian Travaille or Revallie but by the clearness darkness or mistiness of the morning the Night Sentinels being to continue on their duty till they can discover all the Fields about them When by order of the Colonel or Captain of the Watch the Dian is beaten at the Head Watch all the Drummers of the rest of the Guards ought immediately to beat and then the Night Watches and Sentinels come to their several Guards It is then also that the Souldiers who have been in their quarters or huts all night and either Towns-men or Countrey people who are ordered to work at the Fortification either of Town or Camp are to go to their work and therefore this beating of the Drum in the morning I think is more properly called Travaille than Revallie CHAP. XXII Of things previous to a Battel of a Battel it self and of things after a Battel OF all Martial Acts to fight a Battel well and gain the Victory is of the highest importance and makes the Prince or his General most renown'd It is this and neither Retreats nor taking Towns though both these shew the qualifications of an excellent Captain that crowns them with Laurel By the winning of Battels sometimes one sometimes more Kingdoms are gain'd by one party and lost by another Let us then take a view of those things that should be adverted to before so great a hazard be made Most men are of opinion that he who hath the conduct of an Army should never Generals should not be forcâ—d to fight if they can chuse suffer himself to be forc'd to fight I say so too if he can help it and what is the meaning of this but that his Intelligence should be so good that if he intend not to fight he should either quickly get himself out of the way or strongly entrench his Army in a place where he cannot want provisions But when he hath done either of the two he may be forc'd to fight for who can save his Army without fighting if his Enemy storms his Retrenchment or in his Retreat pursues him fiercely and powerfully To force an Enemy to fight To force an Enemy to Battel succeeds sometimes well hath a doubtful event for many times it succeeds well as it did with Alexander at Arbela against Darius with Scipio against Hannibal at Zama with his Brother against Antiochus in Asia with Charles the Fifth against the King of France at Pavia and Gustavus his Army against Wallenstein at Lutsen Yet peruse History you will find that many more have lost than ever gain'd by it take a few instances Edward the Black Prince was forc'd to fight at Poiâ—tiers so was Henry the Fifth of England at Agencourt yet both gain'd glorious Victories Harold when he might have protracted the War being Master of all England forc'd William of Normandy to fight and thereby lost both his Crown and his life Edward the Second of England forc'd Robert Bruce Sometimes very ill King of Scotland to fight at Bannockburne but lost the honour of the day and most of his numerous Army Julius Caesar made himself constantly master of his own dyet either by Entrenching or Retiring so that he was never forc'd to fight but when he pleas'd But when he forc'd Pompey he try'd both Fortunes At Dirrhachium he was beaten off with loss and was glad to retire which indeed he did with admirable Prudence and Courage At Pharsalia he brav'd the same Pompey to Battel which so soon as he accepted Caesar got the Victory Yet it seems most agreeable to reason that men should fight well when they are forc'd to fight Despair whetting their Courage and for this reason many Captains take away all means of escape from their own Armies to make them sensible their safety is in their hands and not in their feet and withal they leave an open way for their Enemy to run away and hence is the common Maxime in War That a Bridge of Gold should be made for a Flying A Golden Bridge Enemy Before a Battel it is fit to view an Enemies countenance and try his Courage by frequent Skirmishes and these very oft each Army sending help to their own parties draw on a Battel insensibly Good Intelligence if possible Intelligence should be had of his numbers of Horse Foot and Artillery and in which of these his greatest strength lyes but I will repeat nothing in this place of what I have said in my Discourse of Intelligence In the next place our General should view if he have time and opportunity for it the situation of the Field Situation of the Field where both his own and his Enemies Army are to fight that accordingly he may either lay ambushes or shun them This was one of Hannibal's Master-pieces he should take notice how the Wind blows that accordingly by the The Wind. ordering his Batallions he may take the advantage of it He should cast up his account how the Sun will shine if it be a fair day at such hours when he The Sun conceives the fight will begin that thereby he may oâ—der his affairs If his Intelligence be good within his Enemies Army he should endeavour to stir up jealousies divisions and dissentions in it and in the time of these if his To make an Enemy jealous Friends give him the sign fall upon him After his Army is marshall'd if he have tiâ—e he should ride along the Front of all his Brigades and by short
our first Parents had not rebell'd against their Creator their posterity had enjoy'd an everlasting peace and so such a person as we now speak of had been very unnecessary But I assure my self never man except Adam when he was in the state of perfection was endued with these gifts wherewith some Notional Authors wil have a Captain General to be qualified He must say A Notional description of a Captain General they be pious towards God just towards man and loyal to his Master He must be very affable very wise of a sudden and quick apprehension of a solid judgment and happy memory He must be very severe in his command and yet very merciful He must be liberal and free from all manner of Avarice painful magnanimous and couragious and in one word endued with all the Moral Vertues He ought to be an old Practitioner in the Military Art and well experimented in all its parts and duties Perhaps you may think this enough but Polybius in his Ninth Book requires more for he will have his General to be both an Astrologer and a Geometer If you will tell me where or in what region of the habitable world all these qualifications shall be found in one person Eris mihi magnus Apollo That he who is intrusted with the supreme Command of Royal Armies one or more and with the whole Militia of a State should be an accomplisht person The charge of a Generalissimo is of the highest nature and if it be possible such a one as we have describ'd will not be readily denied since it is a Command of the highest nature the greatest honour and deepest consequence that can be confer'd on any single person of what quality â—r degree soever for he is intrusted not only with the lives of those that are in Arms under his Command but with the defence of the whole Country Towns Forts and Castles with the honour welfare and standing of the Prince and State and with the lives and properties of all their Subjects The loss of his Army or Armies by his negligence inadvertency rashness or cowardice may occasion the loss of all these or make them run a very great hazard by his indiscretion much more by his treachery he may in one moment of time lose the lives and liberties of many thousands make numbers of women widows children fatherless and fathers childless he may lose the honour and beauty of a whole Province yea of a whole Kingdom all which he was bound by his office and charge to preserve The consideration of these things mov'd most of the ancient Kings and Emperours A Prince to manage his Wars in person and those of latter times likewise to manage their Wars and lead their Armies in person Those who laid the foundation of the first four Monarchies did so as in the Assâ—rian Nimrod Belus Ninus and Semiramis and when their posterity did it not their Empire was in the wain and ended with Sardanapalus who hid himself from the sight of men among his women Cyrus led his Armies himself so did some of his Successors but when others of them staid at home and sent their Lieutenants abroad the Persian Monarchy decay'd and became a prey to the Great Alexander who manag'd his Wars in person and so did those great Captains of his who cut out Kingdoms to themselves out of their Masters Conquests but their Successors lost them by sitting idle at home and employing their Generals abroad Many Roman Emperours after Augustus went to their Wars in person whereby they preserv'd their Imperial Dignity but when others imployed their Lieutenants though many of these were excellent men and often victorious the Empire was torn in pieces The Kings of Leon Navarr Castile Portugal and Arragon after the destruction of the Gothish Monarchy in Spain went to the field in person and recover'd Many Instances to prove it those Kingdoms out of the hands of the Saracens When the Kings of France of the Merovingian and Carolomannian race kept within their Palaces and suffer'd the Majors thereof to govern their Armies they lost their Kingdoms and Crowns Our Kings of Scotland and England used mostly to manage their Wars themselves the Emperour Charles the Fifth led his greatest Armies himself and for most part was always victorious for his loss at Algiers occasion'd by the visible hand of Heaven and his forced Retreats from Inspruck and the Siege of Metz were but small blemishes in the beautiful and fair Map of his victorious raign But since his time his Successors the Kings of Spain have sate at home and entrusted their Armies to their Generals and we see that their wide and far stretcht Monarchy has been since that Emperours time in a constant decadency All the Kings and Emperours of the Ottoman race went in person to the Wars till Selimus the second changed that custom and since that time none of them have done actions by their Bashas comparable to those of their Ancestors In our own days the Emperour Ferdinand the Second intrusted the managing his War against Gustavus Adolphus to his Generals Wallenstein Tily and Pappenheim all brave and great Captains yet that Martial King being in person on the head of his Armies prevailed over them all We may perceive the great odds of managing a War by a Prince in his own person and by his Captain General by taking a view of the actions of two Brothers both of them excellent Princes these were the Emperour Charles the Actions of two Brothers compar'd Fifth of whom I but just now spoke and Ferdinand the First King of the Romans Hungaria and Bohemia The first as I have already said led his most considerable Armies himself the second staid constantly at home and sent his Captain Generals to manage his Wars of greatest importance mark the issue Ferdinand lost three Royal Armies each of them composed of a well appointed Cavalry Infantry and Train of Artillery one of them at Esâ—câ—hiâ— under Cazzianer another at Buda under Rocandolf and the third at Pesth under Joachiâ—â— Marquess of Brandenburg all three were wofully and shamefully lost without fighting And if any think that the misfortune of all the three or any one of them could not have been prevented by the Princes own presence I shall answer that undoubtedly it had and my reason is this because that which lost them all was the irresolution of the Generals who durst neither fight nor retire in time as being shie and wary to hazard that which was not their owâ—â— whereas Ferdinand if he had been present would quickly have resolv'd either on the one or the other and consequently would have either retir'd in time and sav'd all his three Armies or have fought and by that means been victorious or would have been beaten with more glory to himself and mischief to his insolent enemy And this is more particularly clear in that Army commanded by Rocandolf who after multitudes of Infidels were already arrived
all that attended the Baggage of his Army to mount upon Mules and Sumpter-Horses and hide themselves in some near Hills and Woods and in the time of fight to make a show as if they would cut off the Gauls pass to their Camp which the Muleteers doing upon a sign from the Dictator the Gauls immediately fled Such a Stratagein did King Robert Bruce happily use against Edward the Second of England in the Battel nâ—ar Sterling But Not always the like being practis'd by the French at Agencourt against Henry the Fifth King of England had an issue contrary to the thing intended It hath been always and ever will be a rule of War Thaâ— no man offer to plunder or look for booty till the Enemy be totally routed and chac'd No plunder till an Enemy be totally routed out of the Field but for most part it is ill observed When Parmenio at Arbela sent word to his Master Alexander that the Perstans were fallen on the Baggage which was but slenderly guarded it was well answer'd of that great Prince Let saith he the Enemy be master of all the goods that belong to my Army so I over master him for then I shall recover my own and get his to boot The not observing this rule lost the Christians the Victory against the Turk at Agria At the Battel of Janquo in Bohemia in the year 1644. if I mistake Instanceâ— not the Imperialists were well near masters of the Field in so far that several Brigades of the Swedes had run away and very many of their Officers were taken Prisoners but they fell too soon to the plunder of the Swedish Waggons which Torstensone Christina's Felt-Marshal did not offer to rescue though his own Lady was taken with them but took the advantage of the Enemies disorder and with fresh and couragious Troops pluck'd the Victory out of his hand beat them out of the Field recover'd his Lady all his Prisoners and Baggage and made himself master of all the Imperial Coaches and Waggons took numbers of Prisoners and among them him who commanded in chief the Count of Hatsfeld I know not how the proposition of some will relish with our great Captains that some lusty strong men should be arm'd with Head-pieces and Corslet and long and large Targets all Musket-proof and a Rank of these serr'd together order'd to march before every Batallion of Pikes and so protect them from shot till they be within two Pikes length of the Enemy that they can make use of their own Weapons But whether this be approv'd or not I think it would be of no great charge to the Prince or State who manageth the War to order every Pike man to have at his girdle a Pistol with a Barrel two foot long whereof the three first Ranks may make use before they present their Pikes and the other three fire over the heads of those who are before them in the time they are charging Now the Battel is done and if it fall out that it hath been so well fought Things to be done after the Battel that none of the Armies can boast of Victory but that both have left the place of Combate as it were by mutual consent or that they are parted by night then either both prepare to fight next day or the one finding those wants of which the other hath no knowledge takes the advantage of darkness and retires to some place of security where he may provide for his hurt men be furnish'd with what he wants recruit his Forces and so give a stop to his Enemies further progress and this no doubt is a tacite acknowledgement that he yields the honour of the day to him who keeps the Field But this was never laid in ballance by any prudent Captain with the preservation of his Army the loss whereof may lose the Prince his Master more than such a Punctilio of Honour which at a more fortunate Rencounter may quickly be recover'd But if both resolve to try their fortunes next day then both prepare for it the wounded are sent away Ammunition is given out and those who are sound are refresh'd and encourag'd This falls out but seldome though sometimes it hath happen'd The Victory is pronounc'd to be his Badge of Victory who remains master of the ground where both fought and in ancient times he acknowledg'd himself to be vanquish'd who desired liberty to bury his dead Bernard Duke of Saxon Weymar having besieged Reinfeld and two Imperial Armies coming to raise the Siege he fought both till night parted the fray but with this difference that the Imperialists got between him and the besieged Town and so succour'd it upon which the Duke retired and left his Enemy the badges of Victory but with a resolution to return and throw the Dye of War once more as he did as you shall hear anon When an entire Victory is obtain'd he who hath lost the day should not lose What a Vanquish'd General should do his Courage too but ought to gather up his Shipwrack rally his dispers'd and broken Troops get new recruits dissemble his losses encourage his party and draw to a head again these are things practis'd by all intelligent Generals withal he should with all convenient diligence send a Trumpeter to the Victorious General to demand a list of his Prisoners which when he hath got he should make all the haste he can to get them ransom'd or exchang'd and this is a duty he owes to Prudence Honour and Conscience On the other hand he who hath gain'd the Victory may lose himself if he be What a Victorious General should do secure for a resolute enemy may soon take him napping As that same Duke of Weymar did the Imperial Army that had beaten him for having got together the rest of his Forces that were not with him at his late overthrow he return'd and gave Battel to the Imperialists who dream'd of no such thing and obtain'd so compleat a Victory over them that he made all the general persons his Prisoners who were led into Paris in triumph Duc de Savelli an Italian was one of them who escap'd afterward out of Prison but the deep contemplation of the sudden change of fortune in his Military imployments mov'd him to make an exchange of his Helmet with a Cardinals Cap. It is for that that he who commands a Victorious Army should not in sloth pass away his time but improve his Victory to the greatest advantage of his Master and not be guilty of that whereof one of the greatest Captains among the Ancients Hannibal was taxed that he knew not how to use Victory whereof two others one before him and another after him could never be accused and those were the Great Alexander and the Great Julius Caesar CHAP. XXIII Of Retreats TO Retire after a Battel or a brisk Rencounter leads me to speak of Retreats Next the sighting well and winning of a Battel the three great
is that of the Garter instituted by Edward the Third of England under the Patrociny of Saint George as that of the Thistle of Scotland was under Saint Andrew John of Valois King of France instituted the order of the Star under the protection of Saint Owen say the French as one of his Successors Louis the Eleventh instituted that of Saint Michael In the minority of Henry the Sixth of England when the War was hot between that Kingdom and France Philip le Bou Duke of Burgundy instituted the Noble Order of the Golden Fleece under the protection of Saint Andrew The King of Denmark makes Knights of the Elephant and the Duke of Savoy those of the Annunciation Christina Queen of Sueden instituted a new Order of Knighthood which she would have called the Order of the Amaranth which they say never withers and accordingly she appointed the Device to be semper idem The Knights of the Teutonick or Dutch Order those of St. John of Jerusalem called afterwards Hospitallers Knights of the Rhodes and now of Malta as also those of the Sepulchre or Knights Templars were and some yet are very Martial Knights whose renowned Actions are and ever Religious Orders of Knighthood will be on the Records of Fame But there were likewise Religious Orders for they vowed Chastity Poverty and Obedience And from Religion have come most of the Spanish Orders of Knighthood Sanctius the third of that name King of Castile for the more vigorous prosecution of the War against the Infidels instituted the Order of Calatrava in the Kingdom of Toledo The Master of which Order is a person of great Riches and Power His Son Alphonse the Ninth in the time of his dangerons War with the Moors instituted the Order of Saint James which hath since come to that heighth of power that the Master of it is one of the greatest Subjects of Spain But Ferdinand the first Catholick King made himself and his Successors with the help of the Pope Masters of these Orders One of the Kings of Portugal when he had Wars with both the Saracens of Africk and Spain instituted the Order of the Knights of Jesus Christ About the year 1570. the Queen of Navarre caused 12 Jane d'Albret great Medals of Gold to be coined which she distributed among 12 of the most eminent Chieftains of the Reformed Religion as tokens of their fraternity to incite them to Constancy Valour and Perseverance in the Cause against the Roman Catholicks Upon one side of the Medal were these words Assured Peace Entire Victory or Honest Death On the Reverse was the Queens own name with that of her Son the Prince of Bearne who was afterwards Henry the Fourth the Great King of France and Navarre War drains the Treasures of Princes and States so dry that for most part they are not able to pay the Wages and Arrears of those who serve them much less reward them The Roman Oak Olive and Laurel Crowns are out of fashion long ago nor would they signifie any thing but rather be ridiculous unless they were given with all the Wages due to the party who is to be honour'd with one of those Crowns as the Romans were accustomed to do I have observ'd in another place how in many parts of Christendome Officers above the quality of private Captains many times are reduced to beggary to obviate which since Princes and States cannot forbear War or will not live in Peace it would be a great work of Charity in them and would much redound to their Honour Works of Charity and Fame to build some Hospitals and endue them with some small Revenue in which those Commanders who are lame old and poor might get a morsel of Bread which would be an exceeding great relief to those distressed Gentlemen and much encourage younger people to engage in a fresh War for alass though written Testimonies sign'd and seal'd by the Prince or his General may be of good use to young and lusty Gallants who have their Health and some Money in their Purses to look for new Fortunes yet Passes though never so favourable to poor old men are upon the matter nothing else Passes but fair Commissions to beg CHAP. XXVIII The Comparison made by Justus Lipsius of the Ancient and Modern Militia examined IT is one of the Curses that follow'd Adam's fall and I think was inherent in Discontent follows humane nature him before his fall that as he was not so none of his Posterity can be content with his present condition The longing desire we have to enjoy that we want robs us of the content we may have of what we possess Hence it is that old men cry up those customes that were used when they were Boys vilifying the present and magnifying the by-past times Neither is this fastidium or loathing of present things the concomitant of age only for young men who are in their strength are tainted with it Some are displeased with the Government of the State others hugely dissatisfied with that of the Church because none of them are cast in those moulds which they fancy to be better than the present ones and though perhaps they cannot pretend to have seen better in their own times yet they have heard or read of those which they conceive were so absolutely good that nothing can be added to their perfection Others like only of those Governments which have their birth rise growth and perfection in their own giddy brains But to come nearer our purpose few Souldiers are satisfied with their own Countrey Militia for if they have been abroad in the World at their return home they cry up the Arms the Art and the Discipline of Foreigners nor can they find any thing at home can please them And though their occasions have never invited them to take a view of strange places yet their Books afford them matter enough to prefer those Arms those Exercises those Guards those Figures of Battels that Discipline of War they never saw to all those they may daily see Of this disease of Discontent I think Justus Lipsius hath been Justus Lipsius an admirer of the Roman Militia irrecoverably sick and though he did not compile a Military Systeme of his own as Machiavelli did yet I may compare these two in this that both of them were Speculative Souldiers Lipsius is so far disgusted with the Milice of his own time which truly being about eighty or ninety years ago was an excellent one which he might have seen and observ'd better than his Writings shows he did and is so much in love with the old Roman Militia which he never saw but by contemplation that in the comparison he makes of the two in the last Chapter of his Commentary on Polybius he is not asham'd to prefer the Ancient Art of War to the Modern one in all its dimensions As I conceive he was so Rational as to think no man would deny the Modern He compares
were of necessity to be all Gentlemen a custom worn clear out most of German Troops being now composed of Einspanneers without Gentlemen unless it be the Officers and not all of them neither The Commission of array in England is an excellent order by which an Army In England Royal may be brought together either for defence or invasion in a very short time The ancient custom of Levy in Scotland as we are told was to command all between sixteen and sixty years of age to appear in every Shire and you need In Scotland not doubt but out of these an Election was made of such a number as the Kings Lieutenants thought â—it But in latter times a far better and more expedient way was found out and that was to impose the raising such a number of Horse and Foot on every Shire proportionably according to the true valuation of the Estates of the Heritors and Proprietaries Assuredly a way very orderly methodical and just provided it never be made use of in an unjust cause The Kings of Sweden have constantly standing forces within the Kingdom to In Sweden prevent both Invasions and Insurrections they consist of Regiments and Troops which have their denominations from the Provinces where they are raised and where they reside they have their Officers and Colours and are appointed at several times to meet muster and exercise but are not in pay only some small thing is given to the Captain and the Ensign who ordinarily are their Drill-masters and upon that account get wages But these Troops and Regiments are sometimes carried out of Sweden to foreign Wars and that in great numbers and others appointed to be raised in their rooms As in the time of Charles the Ninth they were carried to Liefland against both Pole and Muscovy in the time of Gustavus Adolphus and his Daughter Queen Christina to Livonia Prussia and Germany and more lately by Charles Gustavus to Prussia Livonia Pole Germany and Denmark The Kings of Denmark have their Countrey Militia for defence of the Kingdome In Denmark but are neither so orderly nor so numerous as those of Sweden neither do they take them so frequently to foreign expeditions as of old they did when by their mighty Armies they invaded many places of Germany Scotland and England and made an entire conquest of Normandy But these were like the inundations of the Huns Lombards Goths and Vandals which two last both the Sweedes and Danes pretend to be their Ancestors on the Roman Empire The like of such an Election or Levy hath been in former times used in In Spain Spain and may be yet But when we consider that it hath been often drain'd of men in the days of Philip the Second for the maintenance of his Wars in Italy and the Low Countreys but more especially for his Plantations in America which began in his Father Charles the Fifth's time and continued during the Reigns of Philip the Third and the Fourth we must conclude that all the Spanish Levies made within that Kingdome neither were nor could be voluntary The French Levies of old were all made of the Natives the Cavalry consisting of the Nobility and in the number and strength of a Cavalry France surpassed any other European Nation Charles the Seventh took the assistance of Scottish Foot who joyn'd with his own in his long Wars with England In France But his Son Lewis the Eleventh beside the Scots made use of the Switzers who had at that time acquir'd the reputation of a stout and warlike people not only in maintaining their liberties against the house of Austria but in a bloody War against Charles the Warlike Duke of Burgundy whom they defeated in three great Battels in the last whereof they kill'd himself if he be not yet on his Pilgrimage to Jerusalem These Switzers were so much the more highly esteem'd of by Lewis because they had routed and undone his capital Enemy of them his Infantry was mostly compos'd and he appointed some thousands of them to guard his person as his Father had appointed the Scots to guard his but Lewis kept the Scots likewise and it was well for him that he did so for they defended his life valiantly at the Siege of Liege when the Inhabitants by a desperate Sally had pierced through the Burgundian Army even to his lodging as Philip of Comines relates the story Not only while he liv'd but in the reigns of his Son Charles the Eight and of his successor Lewis the Twelfth did the French Infantry consist of Switzers but Francis the first having had some bloody-trials of the Infidelity of these Mercenary Soldiers put on a resolution to stand thereafter on his own legs and not on those of strangers In order to which in the year 1534 in imitation of the Romans he appointed to be levied and enrolled seven Legions of French Foot French Legions six thousand each which made up a gallant Infantry of two and forty thousand men how these were arm'd shall be told you in its own place This Ordinance fell out to be made in the days of Marshal Monluc who seems in his Commentaries rather to disapprove than approve of it but gives not his reasons I suppose these Legions were kept up in the reigns of this Francis who was the instituter of them and of his Son Henry the Second But if I have observed right they began to wear out in the reigns of his Grand-children Charles the Ninth and Henry the Third who in the time of their Civil Wars made use again of the Switzers as also of Germans and so did likewise the Protestants take the assistance of both Horse and Foot of the German Nation as you may find them ordinarily design'd in the French Histories under the name of Reuters and Landâ—sknechts the first in the German Language signifying Riders or Horsemen the second Country fellows For as I told you the Germans composed their Cavalry of Gentlemen and their Infantry except the Officers of Peasants In the Seventeen Provinces both before they became all subject to the Dukes of Burgundy when they were under several Dukes and Earls and after the Levy In the Low-Countries of their Foot was imposed on the Commons to be made of the sixth fourth or tenth man according to the danger of the Country or for most part the pleasure of the Prince The Cavalry was made up of the Nobility according to their several qualities and abilities and they were obliged to keep such a number of serviceable Horses and Arms in the time of peace on their own charges having for that some exemptions and priviledges of no great consideration and in time of War they were paid with some small wages appointed at the first forming their Militia Which Cavalry saith Bentivoglio used to be of a high repute and estimation but now saith he not being composed of the Noblest as formerly it was but of common and ignoble persons it
fitter Captain General than him who is nearest in blood to her self for he is most proper to represent the Soveraign power who is next to it I confess Queen Elizabeth of England did not so and yet was fortunate in all her Wars Answered she had very gallant and loyal Subjects neither was it in her power to make that choice I spoke of because he who was next to her in blood was a Soveraign Prince of another Kingdom And if it be objected that Christina Queen of Sweden manag'd her German War fortunately under the Conduct of several brave Captains who were not of the blood I shall answer it is true yet for all that I aver that all of them did not so much in sixteen years time after the death of Gustavus as he did alone in the space of two years And Christina at length found it necessary to give the great trust of all her armies in Germany to her nearest Cousin the Count Palatine and send him over with the Title of Generalissimo which she never bestowed on any of her Subjects Fourthly it will be said that a free State must chuse and trust a Captain The Fourth General with their forces for a State cannot go to the Field in person as little can it send one of their blood for he may be a near kinsman to two or three of the State and have no relation to the rest To which I answer that I look upon it as an intrinsecal defect in all free States whether Aristocratical or Popular Answered that a pure necessity is put upon them to intrust their armies to such a General as they in their prudence make choice of and of whom frequently All Free States jealous of their Generals they live in a perpetual jealousie fearing his usurpation almost as much as a profest enemies invasion and for that reason they do often limit his Commission with so many restrictions and give him such Committees and Councellors about him that he is forc'd many times to let slip fair occasions wherein he might have done the enemy great mischief and his Masters eminent service And in the election of their General it is no small question in a State Whether it be best to chuse a native or a stranger The Athenians imploy'd their own Athenians Citizens the Spartans their Kings who were created for no other purpose but Spartans to lead their armies for in time of peace they had no more authority than any of the other thirty Senators The Romans made use of their yearly Consuls Romans The Venetians mostly make choice of strangers and have for most part â—een happy in falling upon prudent and faithful Captains The Commonwealth of Venetians the Switzers consists in their Union among themselves against all enemies especially Switzers the House of Austria from whose subjection they emancipated themselves All the thirteen particular or Provincial Estates being independent one of another and being without a Head they are subject to Ruptures and Civil Wars as they were more especially in the time of Zuinglius for matters of Religion But their jars last not long fear of a common enemy teaching them to compose their animosities for nothing makes a Society more faithful than fear of one who hates all of them When they join unanimously at their general meetings and prosecute the results of their Counsels they are formidable and when they make a General of their forces whether it be for their own service or that of foreign Princes for very mercenary they are it is but for one expedition or for one piece of service which being ended his Command is at an end likewise and so they need not be jealous of him or of any that succeeds him The Estates of the Vnited Provinces of the Netherlands manag'd the long â—â—ited Provinces War they had with the King of Spain under the Conduct of four Princes of Orange successively one after another neither needed they ever fear the Usurpation of any of them for though their power was almost unlimited yet it could not tempt those Princes who were so eminent for vertue to whose goodness magnanimity justice and fortunate conduct these Estates under God owe their freedom yet were they jealous of the late Prince but it seems they are now desirous to witness their gratitude to that Illustrious family by making this present Prince their Captain General How remediless this inward disease is in all free States that they must intrust Free States usurp'd by their Captain Generals Lacedemon their Militia to one or two persons the ruin of some Commonwealths makes it manifest Lacedemon several times was like to lose her liberty by some of her Kings who were nothing but her Captain Generals and at last they lost it under the Tyrant Nabis The fear of Usurpation made Athens commit an inexcusable folly or rather a madness in their Ostracism whereby the people banisht the best qualified of their Citizens Rome for all her wariness in intrusting her Rome armies to Annual Consuls miss'd but little to lose her freedom in the Dictatorship of Bloody Sylla and scarce had she recover'd it after his death when she was rob'd of it for ever by Julius Caesar Castruccio Castraâ—ani usurped the Republick of Luca and so have some other petty free States of Italy been used Luca. How that Hodg podg of Oligarchie Tyranny and Anarchy the long black Oligarchie of England Parliament of England which pretended it self to be a free State was used by their Captain General Cromwell is a story well enough known and he knowing that he might be used in that same fashion would never part with the Command of the army no not after he had usurped the Soveraignty And indeed if Soveraign Princes will look back to by past ages they will find And Monarchies also it dangerous to intrust their whole Militia to one Subject unless he be a Prince of the Blood You may find in Holy Writ Abner Captain of the Host of Israel Kingdom of Israel bring the Kingdom over to David and though the same David seems to attest that Abner died not like a fool yet I believe he died like a Traytor and that was as bad and an insolent Traytor too for he told his Master to his face he would betray him And truly if Davids Political ends had not hinder'd him I think he had done as just and as generous an act to have put Abner to death as he did when he caused Baanah and Rechab to be slain for bringing him the head of their Master Ishbosheth Nor was Ishbosheth the last King of Israel who was so serv'd by his Captain General Zimri conspir'd against Elah and kill'd him with his whole family Omri Captain of the Host bandies against Zimri and forc'd him to burn himself in the Kings Palace And Tibni went fair to have done as much to Omri Jâ—hu Captain of the Host marcheth against
when he came to have a petty army under his own peculiar Command all went well with him and as he was advanced to higher imployments fortune attended him more and more so that he was esteemed to be one of the most successful Generals Queen Christina of Sweden had but observe the change when he came to serve the late King of Sweden in his War against Pole this Koningsmark is pitifully taken at Sea by the Dantzickers and kept Prisoner till the Peace was made It hath indeed been observed of some that they have lost all the Battels that ever they fought as if some inexorable destiny had constantly Some never fortunate attended their persons how brave and accomplisht soever they were They say never Battel was won for Henry the Sixth of England when he was Henry the sixth of England personally present but several were when he was absent There was one of our Earls of Douglas who had the nick-name of Tinefield or Loose-battel a couragious person and well experienced in the managing of the Wars of those One of the Earls of Douglas times and though he wanted no qualification of a good Captain yet lost he all the Battels that ever he fought and this ill fortune attended him when he join'd with Piercy in his Rebellion against Henry the Fourth King of England for that Battel was lost wherein he thought he had kill'd three or four Kings and he himself was taken Prisoner The same rigid fate attended him over to France where fighting at Vernouville against the Duke of Bedford he lost both the Battel and his Life There is another extravagant opinion that it is good for a General to be once beaten that he may thereafter shun those errors which occasion'd his overthrow An odd opinion but the Escapes neglects and Mistakes in the time of Action are so many that if a General did not endeavour to prevent them till by every one of them he lost a Battel Conflict or Rencounter he should never win a Field in his life A great deal better it is saith Monluc for a Captain to be wise by the loss of other men than by his own and by the neglect of others who thereby have shipwrackt themselves to steer his course so that he split not upon that same rock Many there be who fancy the safety of an army to be wrapt up in the safety of him who commands it and therefore will not have him to hazard his perâ—on but a distinction must be allowed here for if the Prince or Monarch be in person at the Medley when he exposeth himself to danger he hazardeth more than his army for he hazards the State and Commonwealth yet many Princes have done it Cyrus the Great Alexander Caesar Henry the Fifth of England and Henry the Fourth of France Charles Gustavus the late King of Sweden all of them successfully and his Majesty now raigning magnanimously aâ— Worcâ—ster But indeed it should not be done by them but in extream necessity But when we speak of any other Generals except Soveraign Princes whatever â—ame they bear I say he who will not have them to hazard their persons robs theâ— Generals should hazard their persons of one of the most essential qualities of their Office and that is Courage If a great Captain be never so prudent never so knowing in the Military Art nâ—ver so vigilant never so industrious if he be not stout all the rest is worth nothing Nor do I mean for all that that he should he rash there is a difference between staring and stark mad He should not hazard his person but where his presence is necessary as when he sees or understands that in time of Battel the enemy is prevailing against such a part of his army thither he should run for his presence may restore the fight as hath been seen a thousand times and it is In several occasions certain that in time of action hardiness is more necessary than prudence Neither is it enough for him in time of Battel to hazard himself but he must do it also in viewing those Forts and Towns which he is to besiege or the ground where he is either to fight or encamp yet he ought to be so well guarded that he may not be surpriz'd by any sudden eruption or the ambush of an enemy as the Roman Consuls Marcellus and Claudius were by one of Hannibals Nor must a Generals courage stop here for where he finds his advantages fears the weakening of his own or the strengthening of his enemies forces he should not only hazard but should dare the enemy to Battel and fight it boldly for occasion is so disdainful and nice that if you do not court her when she offers Fronte capillata est posâ—haâ— occasiâ— calva her self you will hardly ever find her in so good an humour again Let it not be said that a General may be couragious and yet not hazard himself He must shew his courage sometimes yea many times It is good for him to be cautious but he must be adventurous too and if he be not this he may happily preserve what he hath gain'd but cannot probably make any considerable new Conquests and it is upon such a subject that Monluc saith Vn Chef qui craint ne fera rien de bon a Chieftain who fears will never do good But I think I hear some say that a General should hazard his person least of all in Battel because if he fall the rout of the army immediately follows I Generals should hazard themselves â—â— Battel grant it hath sometimes fallen out so but that must not make a general rule for as the safety of an army consists not in the safety of the General so the loss of an army follows not necessarily the loss of a General Many brave Generals and Captains when their armies are irrecoverably routed in the field are forc'd to fly and so preserve themselves to better fortunes so on the other hand many armies have been sav'd and have gain'd the day after their Generals have either fled out of the field or been kill'd in it At a Battel fought with the Imperialists Loss of a General doth not lose an army in the year 1638 Paltsgrave Birkifeld fled with most of his General persons yet his army gain'd the Victory and in our own days the Generals of three armies join'd at that time all in one fled before the Battel was half fought yet the mishap was that the General who fought against them and bravely kept the field lost the honour of the day Titus Livius tells us that the two Decii Father and Son both Consuls in two several Battels which the Romans fought with their neighbours in Italy when they saw their own men began to fly consecrated and devoted themselves and their prevailing enemies to Mother Tellus and all the Infernal spirits with all the Hellish rites of that Heathen action describ'd at length by Livy
had either just title or claim While these two Brothers-in-law remained Friends Antony gave the Kingdom of Judea to Herod the Idumean in whose Reign our Blessed Lord was born Herod's Title was very weak for Antony himself had no just title to Judea and Qui non habet non potest dare He who hath not cannot give But Antony is beaten and kills himself and Augustus remains the sole Usurper of the whole Roman Empire He by his usurped power confirms Herod in a Kingdome to which neither the one nor the other had a just title Herod the Great dyes and his Son Archelaus by Augustus his permission succeeds who could have no better title than his graceless Father had upon his misdemeanours Augustus banishes him and reduces the Kingdom of Judea to a Province giving a Tetrarchy to Herod Antipas who beheaded the Baptist All this power did Augustus usurp the true Soveraignty of all these Countreys belonging not to him but to the Senate of Rome if it belong'd to the Romans at all Augustus dyes and leaves Tiberius his adopted Son to be Successor to his ill-got Empire Tiberius proves a Tyrant â—troque modo sine titulo exercitio He wanted a just claim because he who gave it him wanted one himself But Tiberius was wise enough to know that Quomodo aliquid acquiritur eodem modo tenetur By what means a thing is acquir'd by those same means it is kept And therefore what his Predecessor had gain'd with his Sword he resolves to maintain with the same and therefore kept Judea Garrison'd with Souldiers In the fifteenth year of his Cruel and Tyrannical Reign about the time that Jesus Christ began to Preach and manifested himself to be the Messiah did the Roman Souldiers ask the Baptist What they should do to be saved But he neither bid them forsake their trade of Souldiery or keeping it to learn another nor did he say to them That though their profession of Souldiery was lawful yet it was not lawful for them to serve in an unjust cause or under an Usurper and a Tyrant as Tiberius was And truly this passage is very observable for my purpose for if it had been told those Souldiers That they incurr'd the hazzard of eternal damnation by serving in an unjust War they should presently have laid down their Arms though the Tyrant should have put them all to death for it So it seems to me the Baptist thought invincible Ignorance excused them not knowing the cause to be unjust But assuredly if Tiberius had ask'd him the question What he should do Jâ—hn would have bid him resign the Government over to the Senate and be contented with his own proper goods and to do no more violence to any man I believe none will offer to justifie the Invasions and bloody Ambition of the Emperour Maximianus and yet the Thâ—ban Legion which was compos'd of Christians serv'd him faithfully in his Wars and refus'd none of his Commands except to Sacrifice to Idols and for that all of them receiv'd the Crown of Martyrdome either they thought it did not concern them to examine the cause or they thought it was just which was enough to save them from the injustice of it we may observe hâ—re That neither our Saviour the Baptist or any of their Apostles or Disciples ever seem'd to take notice of the Usurpation or Tyranny of either Augustus Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero or Dâ—mitian in whose reign if I mistake not the longest liv'd Apostle dyed Our Saviour as Man not meddling with Secular Powers his Kingdome not being of this World both himself and his Apostles ever inculcating on all his followers and Disciples passive obedience to all Superiour Powers even without exception of Tyrants Tiberius his title to the Roman Empire was no better than that of his Predecessor who gave him both the Empire and Title but Augustus had no just title to that Soveraignty which he had usurped which is clear enough by the History and much more clear by a resolution he once took to restore the Supreme power to the Senate and the People but wavering in his thoughts being loth to wrong his Natural Conscience by keeping that which did not belong to him and as loth to make himself a Subject since he had been a Soveraign He call'd his two great Friends and Favourites Agrippa and Mecoenas to his Council protesting he would do in that business as they would advise him Agrippa in a long Speech counsell'd him to do Justice and resign his power but Mecoenas in as long an harangâ—e advis'd him to retain the Soveraignty for the good of the people preferring Monarchy to both Aâ—istoâ—racy and Democracy the last Speech fitting the ambition of Augustus prevail'd with him and made him adhere to his usurpation by which only he had power to devolve the Succession of the Empire to Tiberius Nor could this Tiberius pretend prescription for That as Lawyers say orders possession to be one hundred years old and all Augustus his Reign even from the first time of his Trinmvirate consisted but of fifty six years But I believe Lawyers say also That in Soveraignties there is no prescription of time but whenever the just owner can he may resume his power which the Roman Senate knew very well when Nerâ— fled out of the City and deserted the Government they made a Decree That the Monstrous Tyrâ—nt should be put to death mâ—re maj 〈…〉 that was to be well whipp'd and then have his Head cut off Now we must be very wary to aver That the Souldiers who were in Tiberius his pay serv'd in a just War because their Master was left Successor by Augustus his Testament and had the Empire confirm'd to him by the Votes of the Senate and People of Rome for if that made him a lawful Prince and his Wars just then the Armies which serv'd in Scotland England and Ireland under Richard Cromwel the pretended Protector of the three Nations serv'd in a just and lawful War and under a just and lawful Prince for Richard had the Protectorship and Soveraignty left him by his Father Oliver the Usurper and had the supreme power confirm'd to him by the greater the more visible and governing party of the three Kingdomes But as no honest person will aver this so the other of Teberius can be granted by no judicious man The Corollary of this discourse will be first That the profession of pure Souldiery though joyn'd with no other trade is lawful as also that a Souldier may serve in an unjust and unlawful War and under an unjust Master provided he think the Cause and the War just and lawful because his Ignorance may excuse him On the other hand I think if a Souldier know the cause to be unjust and the War not to be lawful nay if he doubt whether it be just and lawful or not if he continue to serve in it he sins heinously for qui dubitat damnabitur may hold true in this