第24章

Scipiothoughtitmuchbettertogoandattackhisenemy’sterritoriesinAfricathantostayathometodefendhisownandtofighthiminItaly，anditsucceededwellwithhim。But，onthecontrary，Hannibalinthesamewarruinedhimselfbyabandoningtheconquestofaforeigncountrytogoanddefendhisown。TheAthenianshavinglefttheenemyintheirowndominionstogooverintoSicily，werenotfavouredbyfortuneintheirdesign;butAgathocles，kingofSyracuse，foundherfavourabletohimwhenhewentoverintoAfricaandleftthewarathome。

Bywhichexampleswearewonttoconclude，andwithsomereason，thatevents，especiallyinwar，forthemostpartdependuponfortune，whowillnotbegovernedbynorsubmituntohumanreasonsandprudence，accordingtothepoet:

"Etmaleconsultispretiumest:prudentiafallitNecfortuneprobatcausas，sequiturquemerentes，Sedvagapercunctosnullodiscriminefertur。

Scilicetestaliud，quodnoscogatqueregatqueMajus，etinpropriasducatmortalialeges。"

["Andthereisvalueinillcounsel:prudencedeceives:nordoesfortuneinquireintocauses，noraidthemostdeserving，butturnshitherandthitherwithoutdiscrimination。Indeedthereisagreaterpowerwhichdirectsandrulesus，andbringsmortalaffairsunderitsownlaws。"——Manilius，iv。95。]

But，totakethethingright，itshouldseemthatourcounselsanddeliberationsdependasmuchuponfortuneasanythingelsewedo，andthatsheengagesalsoourargumentsinheruncertaintyandconfusion。

"Wearguerashlyandadventurously，"saysTimaeusinPlato，"byreasonthat，aswellasourselves，ourdiscourseshavegreatparticipationinthetemerityofchance。"

EndTheEssaysofMontaigne，V8

byMicheldeMontaigneTranslatedbyCharlesCottonEditedbyWilliamCarewHazilitt1877

CONTENTSOFVOLUME8。

XLVIII。Ofwar—horses，ordestriers。

XLIX。Ofancientcustoms。

L。OfDemocritusandHeraclitus。

LI。Ofthevanityofwords。

LII。OftheparsimonyoftheAncients。

LIII。OfasayingofCaesar。

LIV。Ofvainsubtleties。

LV。Ofsmells。

LVI。Ofprayers。

LVII。Ofage。

CHAPTERXLVIII

OFWARHORSES，ORDESTRIERS

Iherehavebecomeagrammarian，Iwhoneverlearnedanylanguagebutbyrote，andwhodonotyetknowadjective，conjunction，orablative。I

thinkIhavereadthattheRomanshadasortofhorsesbythemcalled’funales’or’dextrarios’，whichwereeitherledhorses，orhorseslaidonatseveralstagestobetakenfreshuponoccasion，andthenceitisthatwecallourhorsesofservice’destriers’;andourromancescommonlyusethephraseof’adestrer’for’accompagner’，toaccompany。Theyalsocalledthosethatweretrainedinsuchsort，thatrunningfullspeed，sidebyside，withoutbridleorsaddle，theRomangentlemen，armedatallpieces，wouldshiftandthrowthemselvesfromonetotheother，’desultoriosequos’。TheNumidianmen—at—armshadalwaysaledhorseinonehand，besidesthattheyrodeupon，tochangeintheheatofbattle:

"Quibus，desultoruminmodum，binostrahentibusequos，interacerrimamsaepepugnam，inrecentemequum，exfesso，armatistransultaremoserat:tantavelocitasipsis，tamquedocileequorumgenus。"

["Towhomitwasacustom，leadingalongtwohorses，ofteninthehottestfight，toleaparmedfromatiredhorsetoafreshone;soactivewerethemen，andthehorsessodocile。"——Livy，xxiii。29。]

Therearemanyhorsestrainedtohelptheirriderssoastorunuponanyone，thatappearswithadrawnsword，tofallbothwithmouthandheelsuponanythatfrontoropposethem:butitoftenhappensthattheydomoreharmtotheirfriendsthantotheirenemies;and，moreover，youcannotloosethemfromtheirhold，toreducethemagainintoorder，whentheyareonceengagedandgrappled，bywhichmeansyouremainatthemercyoftheirquarrel。IthappenedveryilltoArtybius，generalofthePersianarmy，fighting，mantoman，withOnesilus，kingofSalamis，tobemounteduponahorsetrainedafterthismanner，itbeingtheoccasionofhisdeath，thesquireofOnesiluscleavingthehorsedownwithascythebetwixttheshouldersasitwasrearedupuponhismaster。AndwhattheItaliansreport，thatinthebattleofFornova，thehorseofCharlesVIII。，withkicksandplunges，disengagedhismasterfromtheenemythatpresseduponhim，withoutwhichhehadbeenslain，soundslikeaverygreatchance，ifitbetrue。

[InthenarrativewhichPhilipdeCommineshasgivenofthisbattle，inwhichhehimselfwaspresent（lib。viii。ch。6），hetellsusofwonderfulperformancesbythehorseonwhichthekingwasmounted。ThenameofthehorsewasSavoy，anditwasthemostbeautifulhorsehehadeverseen。Duringthebattlethekingwaspersonallyattacked，whenhehadnobodynearhimbutavaletdechambre，alittlefellow，andnotwellarmed。"Theking，"saysCommines，"hadthebesthorseunderhimintheworld，andthereforehestoodhisgroundbravely，tillanumberofhismen，notagreatwayfromhim，arrivedatthecriticalminute。"]

TheMamalukesmaketheirboastthattheyhavethemostreadyhorsesofanycavalryintheworld;thatbynatureandcustomtheyweretaughttoknowanddistinguishtheenemy，andtofallfouluponthemwithmouthandheels，accordingtoawordorsigngiven;asalsotogatherupwiththeirteethdartsandlancesscattereduponthefield，andpresentthemtotheirriders，onthewordofcommand。’Tissaid，bothofCaesarandPompey，thatamongsttheirotherexcellentqualitiestheywerebothverygoodhorsemen，andparticularlyofCaesar，thatinhisyouth，beingmountedonthebareback，withoutsaddleorbridle，hecouldmakethehorserun，stop，andturn，andperformallitsairs，withhishandsbehindhim。Asnaturedesignedtomakeofthisperson，andofAlexander，twomiraclesofmilitaryart，soonewouldsayshehaddoneherutmosttoarmthemafteranextraordinarymannerforeveryoneknowsthatAlexander’shorse，Bucephalus，hadaheadincliningtotheshapeofabull;thathewouldsufferhimselftobemountedandgovernedbynonebuthismaster，andthathewassohonouredafterhisdeathastohaveacityerectedtohisname。Caesarhadalsoonewhichhadforefeetlikethoseofaman，hishoofsbeingdividedintheformoffingers，whichlikewisewasnottoberidden，byanybutCaesarhimself，who，afterhisdeath，dedicatedhisstatuetothegoddessVenus。

IdonotwillinglyalightwhenIamonceonhorseback，foritistheplacewhere，whetherwellorsick，Ifindmyselfmostatease。Platorecommendsitforhealth，asalsoPlinysaysitisgoodforthestomachandthejoints。Letusgofurtherintothismattersincehereweare。

WereadinXenophonalawforbiddinganyonewhowasmasterofahorsetotravelonfoot。TrogusPompeiusandJustinsaythattheParthianswerewonttoperformallofficesandceremonies，notonlyinwarbutalsoallaffairswhetherpublicorprivate，makebargains，confer，entertain，taketheair，andallonhorseback;andthatthegreatestdistinctionbetwixtfreemenandslavesamongstthemwasthattheonerodeonhorsebackandtheotherwentonfoot，aninstitutionofwhichKingCyruswasthefounder。

ThereareseveralexamplesintheRomanhistory（andSuetoniusmoreparticularlyobservesitofCaesar）ofcaptainswho，onpressingoccasions，commandedtheircavalrytoalight，bothbythatmeanstotakefromthemallhopesofflight，asalsofortheadvantagetheyhopedinthissortoffight。

"QuobauddubiesuperatRomanus，"

["WhereintheRomandoesquestionlessexcel。"——Livy，ix。22。]

saysLivy。Andsothefirstthingtheydidtopreventthemutiniesandinsurrectionsofnationsoflateconquestwastotakefromthemtheirarmsandhorses，andthereforeitisthatwesooftenmeetinCaesar:

"Armaproferri，jumentaproduci，obsidesdarijubet。"

["Hecommandedthearmstobeproduced，thehorsesbroughtout，hostagestobegiven。"——DeBelloGall。，vii。II。]

TheGrandSigniortothisdaysuffersnotaChristianoraJewtokeepahorseofhisownthroughouthisempire。

Ourancestors，andespeciallyatthetimetheyhadwarwiththeEnglish，inalltheirgreatestengagementsandpitchedbattlesfoughtforthemostpartonfoot，thattheymighthavenothingbuttheirownforce，courage，andconstancytotrusttoinaquarrelofsogreatconcernaslifeandhonour。Youstake（whateverChrysanthesinXenophonsaystothecontrary）yourvalourandyourfortuneuponthatofyourhorse;hiswoundsordeathbringyourpersonintothesamedanger;hisfearorfuryshallmakeyoureputedrashorcowardly;ifhehaveanillmouthorwillnotanswertothespur，yourhonourmustanswerforit。And，therefore，Idonotthinkitstrangethatthosebattlesweremorefirmandfuriousthanthosethatarefoughtonhorseback:

"Caedebantpariter，pariterqueruebantVictoresvictique;nequehisfuganota，nequeillis。"

["Theyfoughtandfellpell—mell，victorsandvanquished;norwasflightthoughtofbyeither。"——AEneid，x。756。]

Theirbattlesweremuchbetterdisputed。Nowadaystherearenothingbutrouts:

"Primusclamoratqueimpetusremdecernit。"

["Thefirstshoutandchargedecidesthebusiness。"——Livy，xxv。41。]

Andthemeanswechoosetomakeuseofinsogreatahazardshouldbeasmuchaspossibleatourowncommand:whereforeIshouldadvisetochooseweaponsoftheshortestsort，andsuchofwhichweareabletogivethebestaccount。Amanmayreposemoreconfidenceinaswordheholdsinhishandthaninabullethedischargesoutofapistol，whereintheremustbeaconcurrenceofseveralcircumstancestomakeitperformitsoffice，thepowder，thestone，andthewheel:ifanyofwhichfailitendangersyourfortune。Amanhimselfstrikesmuchsurerthantheaircandirecthisblow:

"Et，quoferrevelint，permitterevulneraventisEnsishabetvires;etgensquaecumquevirorumest，Bellageritgladiis。"

["Andsowheretheychoosetocarry[thearrows]，thewindsallowthewounds;theswordhasstrengthofarm:andwhatevernationofmenthereis，theywagewarwithswords。"——Lucan，viii。384。]

ButofthatweaponIshallspeakmorefullywhenIcometocomparethearmsoftheancientswiththoseofmodernuse;only，bytheway，theastonishmentoftheearabated，whicheveryonegrowsfamiliarwithinashorttime，Ilookuponitasaweaponofverylittleexecution，andhopeweshallonedaylayitaside。ThatmissileweaponwhichtheItaliansformerlymadeuseofbothwithfireandbyslingwasmuchmoreterrible:

theycalledacertainkindofjavelin，armedatthepointwithanironthreefeetlong，thatitmightpiercethroughandthroughanarmedman，Phalarica，whichtheysometimesinthefielddartedbyhand，sometimesfromseveralsortsofenginesforthedefenceofbeleagueredplaces;theshaftbeingrolledroundwithflax，wax，rosin，oil，andothercombustiblematter，tookfireinitsflight，andlightinguponthebodyofamanorhistarget，tookawayalltheuseofarmsandlimbs。Andyet，comingtoclosefight，Ishouldthinktheywouldalsodamagetheassailant，andthatthecampbeingasitwereplantedwiththeseflamingtruncheons，wouldproduceacommoninconveniencetothewholecrowd:

"MagnumstridenscontortaPhalaricavenit，Fulminisactamodo。"

["ThePhalarica，launchedlikelightning，fliesthroughtheairwithaloudrushingsound。"——AEneid，ix。705。]

Theyhad，moreover，otherdeviceswhichcustommadethemperfectin（whichseemincredibletouswhohavenotseenthem），bywhichtheysuppliedtheeffectsofourpowderandshot。Theydartedtheirspearswithsogreatforce，asofttimestotransfixtwotargetsandtwoarmedmenatonce，andpinthemtogether。Neitherwast