[Sidenote:  How the pikes that are placed on the flankes of the armie ought to governe them selves when the rest of the armie is driven to retire.]

LUIGI.  The rankes of the extraordinarie Pikes, whiche you place on the flanckes of the armie, when the first battailes retire into the second, will you have them to stande still, and remain with twoo homes to the armie?  Or will you that thei also retire together, with the battailes?  The whiche when thei should do, I see not how thei can, havyng no battailes behinde with distaunces that maie receive them.

[Sidenote:  Thexercise of the army in generall; The nomber that is mete to be written in the Ansigne of every band of men; The degrees of honours in an armie, whiche soche a man ought to rise by, as should bee made a generall capitain.]

FABRICIO.  If the enemie overcome theim not, when he inforceth the battailes to retire, thei maie stande still in their order, and hurte the enemie on the flanck, after that the firste battailes retired:  but if he should also overcome theim, as semeth reason, beyng so puisaunte, that he is able to repulce the other, thei also ought to retire:  whiche thei maie dooe excellently well, although thei have not behinde, any to receive them:  bicause from the middest thei maie redouble by right line, entring the one ranke into the other, in the maner whereof wee reasoned, when it was spoken of the order of redoublyng:  True it is, that to mynde redoublyng to retire backe, it behoveth to take an other waie, then thesame that I shewed you:  for that I told you, that the second ranke, ought to enter into the first, the fowerth into the thirde, and so foorth:  in this case, thei ought not to begin before, but behinde, so that redoublyng the rankes, thei maie come to retire backewarde not to tourne forward:  but to aunswere to all thesame, that upon this foughten field by me shewed, might of you bee replied.  I saie unto you again, that I have ordained you this armie, and shewed this foughten field for two causes, thone, for to declare unto you how it is ordered, the other to shewe you how it is exercised:  thorder, I beleve you understande moste well:  and concernyng the exersice, I saie unto you, that thei ought to be put together in this forme, as often times as maie be:  for as moche as the heddes learne therby, to kepe their battailes in these orders:  for that to particulare souldiours, it appertaineth to keepe well the orders of every battaile, to the heddes of the battailes, it appertaineth to keepe theim well in every order of the armie, and that thei knowe how to obeie, at the commaundement of the generall capitain:  therefore, it is conveniente that thei knowe, how to joyne the one battaile with thother, that thei maie knowe how to take their place atones:  and for this cause it is mete that thansigne of every battaile, have written in some evident part, the nomber therof:  as well for to be able to commaunde them, as also for that the capitain, and