to reason therof any more.  I have heard many dispraise the armours, and the orders of the aunciente armies, arguyng, how now a daies, thei can doe little, but rather should bee altogether unprofitable, havyng respecte to the furie of the artillerie:  bicause, this breaketh the orders, and passeth the armours in soche wise, that it semeth unto them a foolishenesse to make an order, whiche cannot bee kepte, and to take pain to beare a harneis, that cannot defende a man.

[Sidenote:  An aunswere to the questions that were demaunded, concernyng the shoting of ordinaunce; The best remedie to avoide the hurte that the enemie in the fielde maie doe with his ordinaunce; A policie against bowes and dartes; Nothyng causeth greater confusion in an armie, than to hinder mennes fightes; Nothing more blindeth the sight of men in an armie, then the smoke of ordinaunce; A policie to trouble the enemies sight; The shotte of greate ordinaunce in the fielde, is not moche to bee feared of fotemenne; Bicause menne of armes stand closer together then light horsmen, thei ought to remaine behinde the armie till the enemies ordinaunce have done shootyng; The artillerie is no let, why the auncient orders of warfar ought not to be used in these daies.]

FABRICIO.  This question of yours (bicause it hath many heddes) hath neede of a long aunswere.  It is true, that I made not thartillery to shoote more than ones, and also of thesame ones, I stoode in doubte:  the occasion was, for asmoche as it importeth more, for one to take hede not to be striken, then it importeth to strike the enemie.  You have to understande, that to purpose that a pece of ordinaunce hurte you not, it is necessarie either to stande where it cannot reche you, or to get behinde a wall, or behinde a banke:  other thing there is not that can witholde it:  and it is nedefull also, that the one and the other be moste strong.  Those capitaines whiche come to faight a field, cannot stand behind a wal, or behind bankes, nor where thei maie not be reached:  therfore it is mete for them, seyng thei cannot finde a waie to defende them, to finde some mean, by the whiche thei maie be least hurte:  nor thei cannot finde any other waie, then to prevente it quickly:  the waie to prevent it, is to go to finde it out of hande, and hastely, not at leasure and in a heape:  for that through spede, the blowe is not suffered to bee redoubled, and by the thinnesse, lesse nomber of menne maie be hurt.  This, a bande of menne ordered, cannot dooe; bicause if thesame marche hastely, it goweth out of order:  if it go scattered, the enemie shall have no paine to breake it, for that it breaketh by it self:  and therfore, I ordered the armie after soche sorte, that it might dooe the one thyng and the other:  for as moche as havyng set in the corners thereof, a thousande Veliti, I appoincted that after that our ordinaunce had shotte, thei should issue out together with the light horsemen, to get the enemies artillerie: