ned, and beyng learned, with
difficultie are forgotten: for that the newe menne, be led of the olde,
and with tyme, a Province with these exercises, may become throughly
practised in the war. It is also necessarie to teache theim, to tourne
theim selves all at ones, and when neede requires, to make of the
flankes, and of the backe, the fronte, and of the front, flankes, or
backe, whiche is moste easie: bicause it suffiseth that every manne doe
tourne his bodie, towardes thesame parte that he is commaunded, and
where thei tourne their faces, there the fronte commeth to bee. True it
is, that when thei tourne to any of the flanckes, the orders tourne out
of their proporcion: for that from the breast to the backe, there is
little difference, and from the one flancke to the other, there is verie
moche distance, the whiche is al contrarie to the ordinarie order of the
battaile: therefore it is convenient, that practise, and discrecion, doe
place them as thei ought to be: but this is small disorder, for that
moste easely by themselves, thei maie remedie it. But that whiche
importeth more, and where is requisite more practise, is when a battaile
would tourne all at ones, as though it were a whole bodie, here is meete
to have greate practise, and greate discrecion: bicause mindyng to
tourne, as for insample on the left hande, the left corner must stande
still, and those that be next to hym that standeth still, muste marche
so softly, that thei that bee in the right corner, nede not to runne:
otherwise all thing should be confounded. But bicause it happeneth
alwaies, when an armie marcheth from place to place, that the battailes,
whiche are not placed in the front, shall be driven to faight not by
hedde, but either by flancke, or by backe, so that a battaile muste in a
sodaine make of flancke, or of backe, hedde: and mindyng that like
battailes in soche cace, maie have their proporcion, as above is
declared, it is necessarie, that thei have the Pikes on thesame flancke,
that ought to be hedde, and the Peticapitaines, Centurions, and
Conestables, to resorte accordyngly to their places. Therefore to mynde
to dooe this, in plasyng them together, you must ordeine the fower skore
rankes, of five in a ranke, thus: Set all the Pikes in the first twentie
rankes, and place the Peticapitaines thereof, five in the first places,
and five in the last: the other three score rankes, whiche come after,
bee all of Targaettes, whiche come to bee thr