the whiche serve him that bessegeth, and him that defendeth:  and therfore I will speake no forther of theim:  But let us retourne to our reasonyng and let us come to particular offences.  They ought to have care not to be taken by famine, and not to be overcome through assaultes:  concernyng famin, it hath ben tolde, that it is requiset before the siege come, to be well provided of vitualles.  But when a towne throughe longe siege, lacketh victuals, some times hath ben seen used certaine extraordinarie waies to be provided of their friendes, whome woulde save them:  inespeciall if through the middest of the besieged Citie there runne a river, as the Romaines vittelled their castell called Casalino besieged of Anibal, whom being not able by the river to sende them other victual then Nuttes, wherof castyng in the same great quantitie, the which carried of the river, without beyng abel to be letted, fedde longe time the Casalinians.  Some besieged, for to shew unto the enemie, that they have graine more then inough and for to make him to dispaire, that he cannot, by famin overcome theim, have caste breade oute of the gates, or geven a Bullocke graine to eate, and after have suffered the same to be taken, to the intent that kilde and founde full of graine, might shewe that aboundance, whiche they had not.  On the other parte excellent Capitaines have used sundrie waies to werie the enemie.

[Sidenote:  A policie of Fabius in besieging of a toune; A policie of Dionisius in besiegynge of a toune.]

Fabius suffered them whome he besieged, to sowe their fieldes, to the entente that thei should lacke the same corne, whiche they sowed.

Dionisius beynge in Campe at Regio, fained to minde to make an agreement with them, and duryng the practise therof he caused him selfe to be provided of their victuales, and then when he had by this mean got from them their graine, he kepte them straight and famished them.

[Sidenote:  Howe Alexander wanne Leucadia.]

Alexander Magnus mindyng to winne Leucadia overcame all the Castels aboute it, and by that means drivyng into the same citie a great multitude of their owne countrie men, famished them.

[Sidenote:  The besieged ought to take heed of the first brunte; The remedie that townes men have, when the enemies ar entred into the towne; How to make the townes men yeelde.]

Concernynge the assaultes, there hath been tolde that chiefely thei ought to beware of the firste bronte, with whiche the Romaines gotte often times manie townes, assaultyng them sodainly, and on every side:  and thei called it Aggredi urbem corona.  As Scipio did, when he wanne newe Carthage in Hispayne:  the which brunte if of a towne it be withstoode, with difficultie after will bee overcome:  and yet thoughe it should happen that the enemie were entred into the citie, by overcomynge the wall, yet the townes men have some remedie, so thei forsake it not:  for as much as manie armies through entring into a