r adversary.
(13) S. 15 should perhaps stand before S. 13.
VI
But, after all, no man, however great his plastic skill, can hope to
mould and shape a work of art to suit his fancy, unless the stuff on
which he works be first prepared and made ready to obey the
craftsman's will. Nor certainly where the raw material consists of
men, will you succeed, unless, under God's blessing, these same men
have been prepared and made ready to meet their officer in a friendly
spirit. They must come to look upon him as of greater sagacity than
themselves in all that concerns encounter with the enemy. This
friendly disposition on the part of his subordinates, one must
suppose, will best be fostered by a corresponding sympathy on the part
of their commander towards the men themselves, and that not by simple
kindness but by the obvious pains he takes on their behalf, at one
time to provide them with food, and at another to secure safety of
retreat, or again by help of outposts and the like, to ensure
protection during rest and sleep.
When on active service (1) the commander must prove himself
conspicuously careful in the matter of forage, quarters, water-supply,
outposts, (2) and all other requisites; forecasting the future and
keeping ever a wakeful eye in the interest of those under him; and in
case of any advantage won, the truest gain which the head of affairs
can reap is to share with his men the profits of success.
(1) Al. "on garrison outpost duty."
(2) Reading {phulakon}, or if with Courier {thulakon}, "haversacks,"
i.e. "la farine, le contenant pour le contenu."
Indeed, to put the matter in a nutshell, there is small risk a general
will be regarded with contempt by those he leads, if, whatever he may
have to preach, he shows himself best able to perform.
Beginning with the simple art of mounting on horseback, let him so
train himself in all particulars of horsemanship that, to look at him,
the men must see their leader is a horseman who can leap a trench
unscathed or scale a parapet, (3) or gallop down a bank, and hurl a
javelin with the best. These are accomplishments which one and all
will pave the way to make contempt impossible. If, further, the men
shall see in their commander one who, with the knowledge how to act,
has force of will and cunning to make them get the better of the
enemy; and if, further, they have got the notion well into their heads
that this same leader may be trusted not to lead
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