LVCIVS Marcius Legat des Romains, en la guerre contre Perseus Roy de Macedoine, voulant gaigner le temps qu’il luy falloit encore à mettre en point son armee, sema des entregets d’accord, desquels le Roy endormy accorda trefue pour quelques iours: fournissant par ce moyen son ennemy d’opportunité et loisir pour s’armer: d’où le Roy encourut sa derniere ruine. Si est-ce, que les vieux du Senat, memoratifs des mœurs de leurs Peres, accuserent cette prattique, comme ennemie de leur stile ancien: qui fut, disoient-ils, combattre de vertu, non de finesse, ny par surprinses et rencontres de nuict, ny par fuittes apostees, et recharges inopinees: n’entreprenans guerre, qu’apres l’auoir denoncee, et souuent apres auoir assigné l’heure et lieu de la bataille.
Lucius Marcius, the Roman legate in the war against Perseus, king of Macedonia, needed time to get his army ready. To gain it, he put out hints of a settlement. Lulled by these, the king granted a truce for a few days, and so gave his enemy the opportunity and leisure to arm, which brought about the king’s final ruin. And yet the old men of the Senate, mindful of their fathers’ ways, condemned this practice as contrary to their ancient style. That style, they said, was to fight with valor, not with cunning: not by surprises and night encounters, not by feigned flights and unexpected counterattacks. They never undertook a war until they had declared it, and often only after appointing the hour and place of battle.
De cette conscience ils renuoierent à Pyrrhus son traistre Medecin, et aux Phalisques leur desloyal maistre d’escole. C’estoient les formes vrayement Romaines, non de la Grecque subtilité et astuce Punique, où le vaincre par force est moins glorieux que par fraude. Le tromper peut seruir pour le coup: mais celuy seul se tient pour surmonté, qui scait l’auoir esté ny par ruse, ny de sort, mais par vaillance de troupe à troupe, en vne franche et iuste guerre. Il appert bien par ce langage de ces bonnes gents, qu’ils n’auoient encore receu cette belle sentence, dolus an virtus quis in hoste requirat?
Out of this scruple they sent back to Pyrrhus his treacherous physician, and to the Faliscans their disloyal schoolmaster. These were the truly Roman ways, not those of Greek subtlety and Punic cunning, where conquering by force is thought less glorious than conquering by fraud. Deceit may serve for the moment. But the only one who considers himself beaten is the one who knows he was beaten neither by trickery nor by chance, but by valor, troop against troop, in an open and just war. It is clear enough from the way these good people talk that they had not yet taken up that fine maxim: who asks, of an enemy, whether it was guile or valor?
Les Achaïens, dit Polybe, detestoient toute voye de tromperie en leurs guerres, n’estimants victoire, sinon où les courages des ennemis sont abbatus. Eam vir sanctus et sapiens sciet veram esse victoriam, quæ salua fide, et integra dignitate parabitur, dit vn autre: Vos ne velit, an me regnare hera: quidue ferat fors / Virtute experiamur.
The Achaeans, says Polybius, detested every kind of deceit in their wars, and counted no victory a victory except where the enemy’s courage had been broken. A good and wise man will know that the only true victory is one won with honor intact and dignity unimpaired, says another. Whether our mistress Fortune wills that you reign or I, and whatever chance may bring, / let us put it to the test of valor.
Au Royaume de Ternate, parmy ces nations que si à pleine bouche nous appelons Barbares, la coustume porte, qu’ils n’entreprennent guerre sans l’auoir denoncee: y adioustans ample declaration des moiens qu’ils ont à y emploier, quels, combien d’hommes, quelles munitions, quelles armes, offensiues et defensiues. Mais aussi cela faict, ils se donnent loy de se seruir à leur guerre, sans reproche, de tout ce qui aide à vaincre.
In the kingdom of Ternate, among those nations we so roundly call barbarians, custom requires that they never undertake a war without first declaring it. They add a full statement of the means they have to wage it: what kind, how many men, what munitions, what weapons, offensive and defensive. But once that is done, they also allow themselves to use in their war, without reproach, whatever helps them win.
Les anciens Florentins estoient si esloignés de vouloir gaigner aduantage sur leurs ennemis par surprise, qu’ils les aduertissoient vn mois auant que de mettre leur exercite aux champs, par le continuel son de la cloche qu’ils nommoient, Martinella.
The old Florentines were so far from wanting to gain an advantage over their enemies by surprise that they warned them a month before taking their army into the field, by the continual ringing of the bell they called Martinella.
Quant à nous moins superstitieux, qui tenons celuy auoir l’honneur de la guerre, qui en a le profit, et qui apres Lysander, disons que, Où la peau du Lyon ne peut suffire, il y faut coudre vn lopin de celle du Regnard, les plus ordinaires occasions de surprise se tirent de cette praticque: et n’est heure, disons nous, où vn chef doiue auoir plus l’œil au guet, que celle des parlemens et traités d’accord. Et pour cette cause, c’est vne regle en la bouche de tous les hommes de guerre de nostre temps, Qu’il ne faut iamais que le Gouuerneur en vne place assiegee sorte luy mesmes pour parlementer.
As for us, who are less superstitious, we hold that the honor of war belongs to whoever has the profit of it, and we say, after Lysander, that where the lion’s skin will not do, you must sew on a patch of the fox’s. So the most common occasions for surprise are drawn from this very practice. There is no hour, we say, when a commander should keep a sharper watch than during parleys and peace talks. And for this reason it is a rule on the lips of every military man of our time that the governor of a besieged place must never go out himself to parley.
Du temps de nos peres cela fut reproché aux Seigneurs de Montmord et de l’Assigni, deffendans Mouson contre le Comte de Nansau. Mais aussi à ce conte, celuy la seroit excusable, qui sortiroit en telle façon, que la seureté et l’audantage demeurast de son costé: comme fit en la ville de Regge, le Comte Guy de Rangon (s’il en faut croire du Bellay, car Guicciardin dit que ce fut luy mesmes) lors que le Seigneur de l’Escut s’en approcha pour parlementer: car il abandonna de si peu son fort, qu’vn trouble s’estant esmeu pendant ce parlement, non seulement Monsieur de l’Escut et sa trouppe, qui estoit approchee auec luy, se trouua le plus foible, de façon qu’Alexandre Triuulce y fut tué, mais luy mesme fut contrainct, pour le plus seur, de suiure le Comte, et se ietter sur sa foy à l’abri des coups dans la ville.
In our fathers’ time this was held against the Seigneurs de Montmord and de l’Assigni, who were defending Mouzon against the Count of Nassau. But by the same reckoning, a man would be excusable who went out in such a way that safety and advantage remained on his side. So did Count Guido Rangoni in the town of Reggio (if we are to believe du Bellay, for Guicciardini says it was he himself), when the Seigneur de l’Escut approached it to parley. He left his stronghold by so little that when a disturbance broke out during the parley, Monsieur de l’Escut and the troop that had come up with him found themselves the weaker, so much so that Alessandro Trivulzio was killed there. More than that, l’Escut himself was forced, as the safest course, to follow the Count and throw himself on his word, into the town and out of reach of the blows.
Eumenes en la ville de Nora pressé par Antigonus qui l’assiegeoit, de sortir pour luy parler, alleguant que c’estoit raison qu’il vinst deuers luy, attendu qu’il estoit le plus grand et le plus fort: apres auoir faict cette noble responce: Ie n’estimeray iamais homme plus grand que moy, tant que i’auray mon espee en ma puissance, n’y consentit, qu’Antigonus ne luy eust donné Ptolemæus son propre nepueu ostage, comme il demandoit.
Eumenes, in the town of Nora, was pressed by Antigonus, who was besieging him, to come out and talk with him. Antigonus argued that it was only right for Eumenes to come to him, since he was the greater and the stronger. Eumenes first gave this noble reply: “I will never consider any man greater than I, as long as I have my sword in my power.” Then he would not consent until Antigonus had given him his own nephew Ptolemy as a hostage, as he demanded.
Si est ce qu’encores en y a-il, qui se sont tresbien trouuez de sortir sur la parole de l’assaillant: tesmoing Henry de Vaux, Cheualier Champenois, lequel estant assiegé dans le Chasteau de Commercy par les Anglois, et Barthelemy de Bonnes, qui commandoit au siege, ayant par dehors faict sapper la plus part du Chasteau, si qu’il ne restoit que le feu pour accabler les assiegez sous les ruines, somma ledit Henry de sortir à parlementer pour son profict, comme il fit luy quatriesme; et son euidente ruyne luy ayant esté montree à l’œil, il s’en sentit singulierement obligé à l’ennemy: à la discretion duquel apres qu’il se fut rendu et sa trouppe, le feu estant mis à la mine, les estansons de bois venus à faillir, le Chasteau fut emporté de fons en comble.
And yet there are some who have done very well by going out on the attacker’s word. Witness Henri de Vaux, a knight of Champagne. He was besieged by the English in the castle of Commercy, and Barthélemy de Bonnes, who commanded the siege, had sapped most of the castle from outside, so that only the fire was needed to bring the ruins down on the besieged. He then summoned Henri to come out and parley for his own good. Henri did so, with three companions; and when his obvious ruin had been shown to him before his eyes, he felt singularly obliged to the enemy. He and his troop surrendered at the enemy’s discretion. Then the fire was set to the mine, the wooden props gave way, and the castle was brought down from top to bottom.
Ie me fie aysement à la foy d’autruy: mais mal-aysement le feroi-ie, lors que ie donrois à iuger l’auoir plustost faict par desespoir et faute de cœur, que par franchise et fiance de sa loyauté.
I readily trust another man’s word. But I would find it hard to do so if I gave people reason to think I had done it out of despair and lack of courage, rather than out of frankness and confidence in his good faith.