haunce unto thee, as unto the Scipions in Spaine,
and to Asdruball in Italie but if the enemie have not many more men then
thou, and intende for to disorder thee, to assaulte thee on divers
sides, it shal be his foolishnesse, and thy good fortune: for as moche
as to doe so, it is convenient, that he become so thinne in soche wise,
that then easely thou maiste overthrow one bande, and withstande an
other, and in short time ruinate him: this maner of ordering an armie
against an enemie, whiche is not seen, but whiche is feared, is a
necessarie and a profitable thing, to accustome thy souldiours, to put
themselves together, and to march with soche order, and in marchyng, to
order theimselves to faight, accordyng to the first hedde, and after to
retourne in the forme, that thei marched in, then to make hedde of the
taile, after, of the flanckes, from these, to retourne into the first
facion: the whiche exercises and uses bee necessarie, mindyng to have an
armie, throughly instructed and practised: in whiche thyng the Princes
and the capitaines, ought to take paine. Nor the discipline of warre is
no other, then to knowe how to commaunde, and to execute these thynges.
Nor an instructed armie is no other, then an armie that is wel practised
in these orders: nor it cannot be possible, that who so ever in this
time, should use like disciplin shall ever bee broken. And if this
quadrante forme whiche I have shewed you, is somewhat difficulte, soche
difficultnesse is necessarie, takyng it for an exercise: for as moche as
knowyng well, how to set theim selves in order, and to maintaine theim
selves in the same, thei shall knowe after more easely, how to stand in
those, whiche should not have so moche difficultie.

ZANOBI. I beleve as you saie, that these orders bee verie necessarie,
and I for my parte, knowe not what to adde or take from it: true it is,
that I desire to know of you twoo thynges, the one, if when you will
make of the taile, or of the flancke hedde, and would make them to
tourne, whether this be commaunded by the voice, or with the sounde:
thother, whether those that you sende afore, to make plain the waie, for
the armie to marche, ought to be of the verie same souldiours of your
battailes, or other vile menne appoincted, to like exercise.

[Sidenote: Commaundementes of Capitaines being not wel understoode, maie
be the destruction of an armie; Respect that is to be had in
commaundementes made with the sounde of the Tr