Quod militia delectum eodgit, sdentiam et
The Prince and the Art of War
The prince must cultivate wisdom and military expertise to effectively lead the armed forces.
Training. Next is the armed force that practices, as mentioned, a military life of camps and bloodshed. However, the prince’s wisdom and justice shine most brightly in how he moderates this. As Vegetius Renatus says, no one needs to know more or better things than a prince, whose learning should benefit all his subjects. Since he must manage the affairs of both peace and war, he himself must possess expertise in the laws and in military matters. While we’ve already touched on peaceful pursuits, we’ll now discuss the armed force, which can't thrive without discernment, knowledge, and training. For if any of these are lacking, an untrained force is useless; but in these matters, knowledge and training are more useful. For knowledge of the art of combat nourishes boldness.
The Strength of Discipline
Historical examples demonstrate that military victory is secured through training, loyalty, and discipline rather than mere numbers or physical stature.
No one is afraid to do what they're confident they've learned well. In the heat of battle, a small, well-trained force is much readier for victory than a raw, untrained mob that's always exposed to slaughter. For what made the Romans the victors over all other nations? It was, of course, their knowledge, their training, and the loyalty that those chosen for the service of the state pledged through their oath. What could a small Roman force have accomplished against the massive numbers of the Gauls? What could their short stature have dared against the towering height of the Germans? It's clear that the Spaniards surpassed the Romans not only in numbers but also in physical strength. And against the trickery and wealth of the Africans, they were always at a disadvantage.
The Selection of the Faithful
True soldiers are forged through hardship and simple living, as illustrated by the biblical account of Gideon's chosen three hundred.
That is why it was useful to choose a clever recruit against all these threats; and, so to speak, to teach him the rules of combat, to strengthen his training with daily practice, to anticipate in field exercises whatever might happen in the heat of battle, and to use strict punishment against the lazy. The author mentioned above confirms this, using almost the same words to add that a soldier raised in luxury and accustomed to comforts is useless. He prefers instead the rustic folk who are raised in the open air and in hard labor—patient under the sun, indifferent to shade, knowing nothing of baths, ignorant of luxuries, simple of heart, content with little food, with limbs hardened to endure every kind of toil, and for whom carrying iron, digging trenches, and bearing burdens is a habit learned from the countryside. Would singers, gamblers, or bird-catchers be suitable for these tasks when the need arises? He clearly rejects not only these, but also fishermen, confectioners, linen-weavers, and anyone who seems to have handled anything related to women’s work, from military service. Instead, he considers blacksmiths, carpenters, and hunters of deer and boar to be the ones to choose for the military. For Jerubbaal, too—to pass over the mysteries of the figures—was forbidden by the Lord’s command to place his trust in a timid and untrained multitude. He was told to bring out against the Midianites only those whom the strength of their spirit and the training of their bodies would approve. When Gideon therefore proclaimed to all who were listening, 'Whoever is fearful and timid, let him turn back,' twenty-two thousand men withdrew from the people, and only ten thousand remained. But from these ten thousand, the Lord’s judgment chose only those who, in their thirst, had lapped the water like dogs, bringing it to their mouths with their hands, leaving behind those who had knelt down to drink. Thus, the liberation of the people was accomplished by three hundred men; the enemies were slaughtered, the kings captured, and the leaders—not so much of the military as of the malice—were killed. He struck down Zebah and Zalmunna by the edge of the sword and took the ornaments and the crescents that usually adorned the necks of the royal camels, as well as the jewelry, necklaces, and purple robes that the kings of Midian were accustomed to wear. He reserved for himself from such great spoils only the golden earrings of the Ishmaelites, while the rest were distributed among the people as was right.
Hardening the Soul for Service
Even those accustomed to city comforts must undergo rigorous training and detachment from luxury to become effective in service.
He conquered, therefore, countless enemy forces with a small, agile band of brave men—men I would hardly believe had learned to lap water like dogs while living in the luxury of cities or amidst royal feasts and daily banquets, which is why the Lord judged them worthy of being chosen over the rest. If, however, necessity sometimes demands that city-dwellers and those more delicate be compelled to take up arms, they must learn from the moment they first enlist to labor, to march, to carry their own weight, and to endure the sun and the dust; they should use simple, rustic food and spend time living sometimes under the open sky and sometimes in tents. Only then should they be trained in the use of weapons; and if a longer expedition arises, they must be kept busy with heavy labor and held far from the enticements of the city, so that in this way their bodies and their souls may gain strength. It can't be denied that after the city was founded, the Romans always marched out from it to war; but in those days, they weren't burdened by any luxuries.
Read the original Latin
exercitationem. Restat armata manus quae castrensem et cruentam (ut dictum est) exercet militiam. In huius autem moderatione sapientia et iustitia prineipis elucet plurimum. Vt enim ait Vegetius Renatus, nullus est quem oporteat uel plura uel meliora scire quam principem, cuius doctrina debet omnibus prodesse subiectis. Cum enim pacis itemque belli debeat opera moderari, legum reique bellicae ipsum oportet habere peritiam. Et quidem de pacatis studiis aliqua superius dicta sunt, nunc manus armata discutitur, quae sine delectu scientia et exercitatione non conualescit. Quouis enim istorum cessante non prodest inutilis manus; at in his scientia et exercitatio utiliora sunt. Scientia enim rei a bellicae dimicandi nutrit audaciam.
Nemo facere metuit quod se bene didicisse confidit. Etenim in certamine bellorum exercitata paucitas ad uictoriam promtior est quam rudis et indocta multitudo exposita semper ad caedem. Quid enim Romanos gentium omnium fecit esse uictores? Scientia utique, exercitatio et fides quam electi ex sacramento rei publicae impendebant. Nam quid aduersus Gallorum multitudinem Romana paucitas ualuisset? Quid aduersus Germanorum proceritatem breuitas potuisset audere? Hispanos quidem non tantum numero sed et uiribus corporis manifestum est praestitisse Romanis. Affrorum dolis atque diuitiis semper impares extiterunt.
Vnde aduersus haec omnia profuit tironem soUertem eligere; et, ut ita dictum sit, docere ius armorum; cotidiano exercitio roborare doctrinam; quaecumque possunt in acie et praeliis euenire praenosse meditatione campestri; et in desides seueritas uindictae. Hoc memoratus auctor testatur et fere uerbis eisdem adiciens inutilem esse militem nutritum tenere et deliciis assuetum, praeferens tamquam aptiorem plebem rusticam quae sub diuo et in labore nutritur, solis patiens, negligens umbrae, balnearum nescia, ignara deliciarum, simplicis animi, paruo contenta cibo, duratis ad omnem laborum tolerantiam membris, cui gestare ferrum, fossam ducere, onus ferre consuetudo de rure est. Numquid cantores aleatores aut aucupes, cum opus fuerit, ad haec inuenientur idonei? Plane et istos et piscatores, dulcarios, linteones et omnes qui aliquid tractasse uidebuntur ad genecia pertinens, a militari officio sic repellit ut fabros ferrarios itemque lignarios, ceruorum aprorumque uenatores in usum militiae censeat eligendos. Nam et leroboal, ut figuralium misteria taceantur, Domino mandante prohibitus est in multitudine timida et inexercitata habere fiduciam et illos solos aduersus Madianitas producere, quos robur animi et exercitium corporis approbaret. Cum ergo Gedeon cunctis audientibus proclamaret: Qui formidolosus et timidus est, reuertatur; recesserunt ex populo uiginti et duo milia uirorum, et tantum decem milia remanserunt. Sed ab his decem milibus illos solos tamquam expeditiores ad bella iudicium Domini praeelegit, qui in siti sua uelut canes festini lamberant manu ad os proiciente aquas, his relictis qui deflexo poplite biberant. In trecentis itaque uiris facta est liberatio populi, hostes caesi, captiuati reges, et interfecti non tam militiae quam malitiae principes; percussitque Zebee et Salmana in ore gladii, et tulit ornamenta et buUas quibus colla regalium camelorum decorari solent, omamenta quoque monilia et uestem purpuream quibus reges Madian uti consueuerant, sibique de tanta praeda solas inaures aureas Ismaelitarum reseruauit, ceteris ex ratione populo distributis.
Vicit ergo innumerabiles hostium copias in expedita paucitate uirorum fortium quos non facile crediderim in deliciis urbium aut regalibus epulis cotidianisque conuiuiis didicisse ut aquam lamberent, unde eos Dominus prae ceteris censuit eligendos. Si tamen interdum necessitas exigit urbanos delicatioresque ad arma compelli, ex quo primum nomen dedere militiae, laborare decurrere portare pondus et solem pulueremque ferre condiscant, parco uictu utantur et rustico, interdum sub diuo, interdum sub papilionibus commorentur. Tunc demum ad usum erudiantur armorum; et, si longior expeditio emergit, in angariis plurimum detinendi sunt proculque habendi ab illecebris ciuitatis ut eo modo et corporibus eorum robur accedat et animis. Nec infitiandum est post urbem conditam Romanos ex ciuitate semper profectos esse ad bellum; sed tunc nullis deliciis
Policraticus companion
Study the argument weekly; pray the tradition daily
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John of Salisbury argued that rulers must keep the law of God before their eyes daily; Chosen Portion gives modern readers that same daily discipline in five minutes a morning.
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