of the ordinarie Veliti, and a Capitaine over all
the maine battaile with his Asigne and Drume, and I
have of purpose repeated this order the oftener, to
the intent, that after when I shall shewe you, the
maners of orderyng the battailes, and tharmies, you
should not be confounded: I saie therefore, how
that, that king, or that common weale, whiche intendeth
to ordeine their subjectes to armes, ought to appoincte
theim with these armoures and weapons, and with these
partes, and to make in their countrie so many maine
battailes, as it were able: and when thei should
have ordained them, according to the forsaid distribucion,
minding to exercise them in the orders, it should
suffice to exercise every battaile by it self:
and although the nomber of the men, of every one of
them, cannot by it self, make the facion of a juste
armie, notwithstandyng, every man maie learne to dooe
thesame, whiche particularly appertaineth unto hym:
for that in the armies, twoo orders is observed, the
one, thesame that the men ought to doe in every battaile,
and the other that, whiche the battaile ought to doe
after, when it is with the other in an armie.
And those men, whiche doe wel the first, mooste easely
maie observe the seconde: But without knowyng
thesame, thei can never come to the knowlege of the
seconde. Then (as I have saied) every one of these
battailes, maie by them selves, learne to kepe the
orders of the araies, in every qualitie of movyng,
and of place, and after learne to put them selves togethers,
to understande the soundes, by meanes wherof in the
faight thei are commaunded, to learne to know by that,
as the Gallics by the whissell, what ought to be doen,
either to stande still, or to tourne forward, or to
tourne backwarde or whiche waie to tourne the weapons,
and the face: so that knowyng how to kepe well
the araie, after soche sorte, that neither place nor
movyng maie disorder them, understandyng well the
commaundementes of their heddes, by meanes of the sounde,
and knowyng quickly, how to retourne into their place,
these battailes maie after easly (as I have said)
beyng brought many together, learne to do that, whiche
all the body together, with the other battailes in
a juste armie, is bounde to dooe. And bicause
soche universall practise, is also not to bee estemed
a little, ones or twise a yere, when there is peace,
all the main battaile maie be brought together, to
give it the facion of an whole armie, some daies exercisyng
theim, as though thei should faight a fielde, settyng
the fronte, and the sides with their succours in their
places. And bicause a capitaine ordeineth his
hoste to the fielde, either for coumpte of the enemie
he seeth, or for that, of whiche without seyng he
doubteth, he ought to exercise his armie in the one
maner, and in the other, and to instructe theim in
soche sorte, that thei maie knowe how to marche, and
to faight, when nede should require, the wyng to his
souldiours, how thei should governe theim selves, when
thei should happen to be assaulted of this, or of that