at if the horse so disposed, begin to see, that he must run upon
the poincte of the Pike, either of himself, he wil refrain the course so
that so sone as he shall feele himself pricked, he will stande still
atones, or beeyng come to theim, he will tourne on the right, or on the
lefte hande. Whereof if you wil make experience, prove to run a horse
against a walle: you shall finde fewe, with what so ever furie he come
withall, will strike against it. Cesar havyng in Fraunce, to faighte
with the Suizzers, a lighted, and made every manne a light on foote, and
to avoide from the araies, the horses, as a thyng more meete to flie,
then to faight. But notwithstandyng these naturall impedimentes, whiche
horses have, thesame Capitaine, whiche leadeth the footemen, ought to
chuse waies, whiche have for horse, the moste impedimentes that maie
bee, and seldome tymes it happeneth, but that a manne maie save hymself,
by the qualitie of the countrie: for that if thou marche on the hilles,
the situacion doeth save thee from thesame furie, whereof you doubt,
that thei go withail in the plain, fewe plaines be, whiche through the
tillage or by meanes of the woddes, doe not assure thee: for that every
hillocke, every bancke, although it be but small, taketh awaie thesame
heate, and every culture where bee Vines, and other trees, lettes the
horses: and if thou come to battaile, the very same lettes happeneth,
that chaunceth in marchyng: for as moche as every little impedemente,
that the horse hath, abateth his furie. One thyng notwithstandyng, I
will not forgette to tell you, how the Romaines estemed so moche their
orders, and trusted so moche to their weapons, that if thei shuld have
had, to chuse either so rough a place to save theim selves from horses,
where thei should not have been able, to raunge their orders, or a place
where thei should have nede, to feare more of horses, but ben able to
deffende their battaile, alwaies thei toke this, and left that: but
bicause it is tyme, to passe to the armie, having armed these
souldiours, accordyng to the aunciente and newe use, let us see what
exercises the Romaines caused theim make, before the menne were brought
to the battaile. Although thei be well chosen, and better armed, thei
ought with moste greate studie be exercised, for that without this
exercise, there was never any souldiour good: these exercises ought to
be devided into three partes, the one, for to harden the bodie, and to
make it