tolde, how the souldiours maie be tourned to faight,
with speakyng to theim: doe you meane by this, that all the armie must
bee spoken unto, or to the heddes thereof?

[Sidenote: It is requisite for excellent Capitaines to bee good orators;
Alexander Magnus used openly to perswade his armie; The effecteousnes of
speking; Souldiours ought to be accustomed to heare their Capitaine
speake; How in olde time souldiers were threatened for their faltes;
Enterprises maie the easelier be brought to passe by meanes of religion;
Sertorius; A policie of Silla; A policie of Charles the seventh king of
Fraunce against the Englishmen; How souldiers maiebee made to esteme
little their enemies; The surest wai to make souldiours moste obstinat
to faight; By what meanes obstinatenesse to faighte is increased.]

FABRICIO. TO perswade, or to diswade a thyng unto fewe, is verie easie,
for that if woordes suffise not, you maie then use aucthoritie and
force: but the difficultie is, to remove from a multitude an evill
opinion, and that whiche is contrary either to the common profite, or to
thy opinion, where cannot be used but woordes, the whiche is meete that
thei be heard of every man, mindyng to perswade them all. Wherfore, it
was requisite that the excellente Capitaines were oratours: for that
without knowyng how to speake to al the army, with difficultie maie be
wrought any good thing: the whiche altogether in this our tyme is laied
aside. Rede the life of Alexander Magnus, and you shall see how many
tymes it was necessarie for hym to perswade, and to speake publikly to
his armie: otherwise he should never have brought theim, beyng become
riche, and full of spoile, through the desertes of Arabia, and into
India with so moche his disease, and trouble: for that infinite tymes
there growe thynges, wherby an armie ruinateth, when the capitain either
knoweth not, or useth not to speake unto thesame, for that this speakyng
taketh awaie feare, in courageth the mindes, increaseth the obstinatenes
to faight, discovereth the deceiptes, promiseth rewardes, sheweth the
perilles, and the waie to avoide theim, reprehendeth, praieth,
threatened, filleth full of hope, praise, shame, and doeth a11 those
thynges, by the whiche the humaine passions are extincte or kendled:
wherefore, that prince, or common weale, whiche should appoincte to make
a newe power, and cause reputacion to their armie, ought to accustome
the Souldiours thereof, to heare the capitai