The Looking Glass of the Holy War, Chapter 40
CHAP. XL. Of the moderation of the Conquerours paſsions, and of his Temperance.
I Come now to the ſecond particular of the Conquerours carriage; namely, the moderation of himſelfe, which brancheth out it ſelfe in theſe two things; foreign.the moderation of his paſsions, and temperance in the uſe of things: in the command of theſe, doth a man conquer himſelfe, which indeed is the greateſt conqueſt: for what ſhall it profite a man to overcome all others, and to be a ſlaue to himſelfe, that is, to his own corruptions: but if a man can overcome himſelfe he cannot be conquerd. Where the ſoule is free (ſaith Plato) and is the Commandreſſe of the Paſsions, there is the braveſt victory.
Vincere poſſe hoſtes, haud parva est gloria regni;
At ſe poſſe ipſos vincere, maior ea eſt.
To conquer foes, its glory great to Fings;
Themſelvs to conquer, greater glory brings.
That ſpeech of Claudian to Honorius the Emperour, is worthy the noting; where he ſheweth him, that if he could conquer from one India to another, and all the world ſhould obey him; yet if he ſhould obey hi. inordinate p…ſsions, as fear, luſt, and wrath, he were no free man.
—tunc omnia iure tenebis
Cum poteris rex eſſe tui.
Then holdſt thou all by right,
Whilst King th'art of thy ſelfe.
In a word, as Seneca ſaith; He overcommeth twice, that overcommeth himſelfe.
Exceſſe of paſſion was a foule blemiſh to Phillips victorie; vaunting himſelfe of his great victory at Cheronea, over the Grecians, he grew to ſuch a height of pride, that Archidamus Agiſelaus his ſonne, took him wiſely down with this cooler; Rhodig ii. 6 cap. 26.That he could not ſee his ſhadow to be any longer after the victory, then it was before the victory. A fit anſwer indeed; for this exorbitancy of paſſion is from want of knowledge of a mans ſelfe. That divine Oracle ſhould ever be with us, foreign.Know thy ſelfe. Auguſtus Caeſar, Severus, and other Heathens, were ſo eminent in this excellent Motto, that it commended them more then all their victories: and though they had but the rules of nature, and meer Morality to direct them; yet they may make many a one bluſh that liveth under the light of the Goſpell. Charles the Great, was not ſo truely great, from that Majeſty and Dominion wherein hee excelled, as from that care hee had, that hee and his, ſhould behaue themſelues worthy of ſo great victories; as may appeare by a ſpeech worthy of himſelfe, made to his ſouldiers after the victory in that long war againſt the Lombards and Saxons; Heroes vocabimus, … ſocit regum.wherein he calleth his ſouldiers by the name of Nobles, and …ings fellowes, and willeth them to carry themſelues as Kings over their owne corruptions, and that they ſhould not deface that glory gotten in war by drunkeneſſe, ſcurrilitie or beaſtlineſſe, of which if they ſhould keepe themſelues unſpotted and carrie themſelues toward women, and orphanes, as became generous ſpirits, he would not onelyonly maintayne them, but he would alſo account injurie done to them as Leſ-majestie againſt himſelfe: but if they ſhould let looſe their raines to diſorder, they ſhould turne their glory into ſhame, and his bounty into puniſhment. Aeneas Silvius lib. 2. Commentar de rebus geſtus. Alphonſus. Rom. 12.21 Queſtion.I would hauehave all conquerours, both Generalls and ſouldiers; to take a patterne our of this. To this I may add that carriage of Fredericke the Emperour, after his victory over the Gunzians in Hungary: Wee hauehave done a great worke (ſaith he) my ſouldiers; but their remaineth a greater; namely, to overcome our ſelues by brid…ing our avarice, and deſire of revenge.
To apply with the Author, had the now Emperour and his, learned of him, the blood and outrage of their victories, had not made ſo loud a cry in Gods eares, as at this day it doth. It is a good rule for conquerours; Applicatiōbe not overcome of evill, but overcome evill with good: Rom. 12.2.And it were a greater glory for ſome to conquer their paſſions, rather then Pulpits.
To come to later times, Lewes the 12, was eminent in this vertue; and Henry the 4 of France, is for this much extolled in a Poem by Stephanus. And not to detract from Generall Norice, it was the crown of his commendation, wherein it is ſaid that Henry the 4, did not diſdaine to emulate him. If a queſtion here be put, whether Chriſtians may rejoyce in the victories over their enemies or no? I anſwere, all things concurring to make the victory lawfull, without queſtion they may rejoyce in their overthrow, eſpecially as they are Gods enemies. Pſal. 58.11 12.The juſt ſhall rejoyce when he ſeeth the vengeance, and he ſhall waſh his feete in the bloud of the wicked, and when the wicked periſh there is ſhouting ioy: Pro. 11.10.But this muſt be as they are the enemies of God, therefore the heauen & the earth, and all therein, are ſaid to ſing for ioy, at the ſpoyling of eaſterne Babilon; Ier. 51.48.49becauſe ſhee had cauſed the ſlaine of Iſrael to fall. So at the fall of weſtern Babilon, beyond her in impietie and crueltie; heauen, and all the holy hoaſt, ſhall reioyce over her, Rev. 18.20when God ſhall avenge them upon her.
The ſecond branch of ſelfe-government, conſiſteth in the temperate uſe of ſuch effluence of things, as in their conqueſts many times they meete with all; as the beautie and bravery of their captive woemen, the delicacie of their fare; for this Scipio was much commended, and it was great Alexander his greateſt grace, that he would not ſo much as look upon his captives, the wife and daughter of Darius, but with good deliberation. But his laſt did not anſwer the firſt: for after that he had overcome all, he was overcome of cups, which marred all, and loſt him more glory then ever he got. Drunkeneſſe in a King is a capitall ſin. As the corruption of a fiſh beginneth at the head, and ſo goeth through the body; ſo the drunkeneſſe of a King maketh the land reele, and therefore woe to the land whoſe King is a drunkard. Philip after his victory, falling foule on cups, began in his drinke to inſult ouer his Greeke captives: but Demades, a captive, tooke him boldy up; thus, Art not thou King Philip aſhamed, whom the Grecians hauehave choſen Generall, as another Agamemnon, to ſhew thy ſelfe like a bibbing Therſites? at which freedome of ſpeech, Philip taking up himſelf, and not his captive, caſt his Crowns and Garlands from his head, and his rich robes from his backe, and for very ſhame and ſence of diſgrace, done to himſelfe, by himſelfe, did ſet free Demades, and all the reſt of the Greeke captives. Behold in this a looking-glaſſe for great ones, how incident it is to them to err eſpecially in puffing-up victories; but it is more then Princely to correct themſelves at the checke of their vaſſals. Wee hauehave too many Philips forgetting themſelues, and their places in their carriage of ſucceſſe, but too too few Philips humbling themſelues with ſhamefaſtneſſe, when by their inferiours they are rebuked. The delights and delicacies of proud and luxorious Capua, Hanibilem armis invictam voluptate vicit, & enervavit Capua.wherewith Hanibal was taken, when he had taken the towne, did him more hurt then all the Romane forces. To this effect there is a pretty ſaying of Hanibal; that he being invincible by Armes, was overcome with the pleaſure and plenty of the place. Aſia undid Alexander, and Iulius Caeſar was ſlaine with good ſucceſſe: for as Authors obſerve, he being capable of all things, and fortunate in every thing, grew ſo inſolent of his victories, that uſurping the prieſt-hood, Sueton.he would needs be Deified; he ſpoyled the treaſurie, and growing ſacrilegious: perfidious, and luſtfull, he ruled all by luſt, and not by law.
Now I proceed to the third maine thing; namely, their carriage toward the conquered. Firſt, they muſt ſhew humanitie, in humando corpora captivorum, in giving the ſlaine to be buried, or cauſing them to be buried. To that end, the Armies entered conditions, as Authors mention. Appion recordeth how Aſdrubal, at the requeſt of Scipio did bury the bodyes of the Tribunes. It was an evidence of yeelding amongſt the Grecians, if they demanded their bodies to be buried. It was counted (as Tacitus writeth in his Annalls) great crueltie in Tiberius, to forbid the buriall of the dead, with whom the cruel brood of Rome deſerveth to be ranked, and that in the firſt place; who not onelyonly deny the buriall of the dead, but with all inhumane abuſes doe injurie the bodyes of the dead: they come nothing ſhort in this of the old typical Babel, hindering (as the Pſalmiſt ſaith) the buriall of the Saints bodyes, Pſal. …9.2.3.giuing them to be meat to the fowles of the heauen, and their fleſh unto the beaſts of the earth, but the Lord will one day (as it is there) render them, ſeven-fold into their boſome.
Secondly, they muſt not envie their captives but as they are Gods enemies, and ſo they muſt hate them with a perfect hatred. It is reputed as a foule fault in the Athenians, and Lacedemonians (otherwiſe the braveſt ſouldiours in the world) that they hated captives with an irreconciliable hatred, Alex. ab Alex. lib. 4. pag. 2.3.which was in the end their onelyonly overthrow.
Thirdly, they muſt not, like vulturs, or Harpies, reioycingly glut themſelues in the ſight of bloud-ſhed, as the Dragon and the ſcarlet whore of Rome doth; ſhee muſt be drunke with bloud, ere ſhee bid hold, or ſay it is enough. Inſtances of this unquencheable bloud-thirſt in them, I could give you tomany; take the carriage of Charles the 9, in the maſſacre of Paris, for a ſcantling of the reſt: Beholding the bloudy bodies of the butchered profeſſors, and feeding his eye upon a woefull ſpectacle, he breathed out this bloudy ſpeech: how good is the ſmell of the dead enemie; Quam bonus eſt odor hoſtis mortui.which ſpeech it ſeemeth he had from that beaſtly and cruell Vitellius, who having overcome Otho, went into the field full of ſlaine bodyes, & notwithſtanding (as Tacitus ſaith) of the fearfull ſpectacle, & filthy corrupt ſmell; yet delighting in it, he uſed the ſame ſaying, Lib. 2. hiſt. Hanibal Scotus.that a ſlaine enemie ſmelled well, but a ſlaine ſubiect better. Tyrants muſt hauehave bloud though it be of their ſubiects. Yet for all this crueltie unbeſeening a man, much more a King towards his ſubiects, that furie of France wanted not a popiſh helhound, to commend his crueltie in a ſet oration: but as he lived a man of blouds, ſo he made a bloudy end. Another inſtance we hauehave in Queen mother, of the houſe of Guiſe (who was the contriver of the Pariſian maſſacre) ſhee confeſſed that ſhee delighted in nothing ſo much, as in the ſlaughter of Profeſsors of the Goſpell, although they were her owne ſubiects. To theſe wee may joyne our owne Queene Mary who could never be ſatiated with the bloud of her ſubjects, yea ſhee had preyed on the life of her owne ſiſter, if the Lord had not reſtreyned her: and which is mounſtrouſly unnaturall, ſhee meant if ſhee had lived, to hauehave taken up her fathers bones and burned them. In this, popiſh Rome is worſe then heathen Rome, who had written in their Capitol for moderation of victory; parce victis, frange ſuperbos, ſpare the conquered, and bring under the proud. Epaminondus may be a patterne to all in this; who hauing reioyced for his victory at Luctris, came forth the next day amongſt his ſouldiers, all evill put on, and with a ſad countenance; the cauſe whereof being demanded by his friends; I did pleaſe my ſelfe too much (ſaid he) yeſterday, with conceit of the victory; but thinking on the bloud that is ſhed, I chaſtiſe my ſelfe to day. Agiſelaus, after his great victory at Corinth, ſeeing a great number of Corinthians and Athenians lying ſlaine, was ſo far from reioycing or growing proud of the victory, that in ſorrow he cryed out; woe is me for Greece, Plutarch. in Lacon. Malo unū civem ſervare, quam mille hoſtes occidere.who in civill combuſtions hath loſt ſo many brave ſouldiers, as might hauehave conquered all the barbarians, (for ſo they termed other nations.) It was a frequent, and a worthy ſaying of Antonius Pius, for the which Capitolinus commendeth him much, that he had rather ſave the life of one ſubiect then kill 1000 enemies.
Fourthly, they muſt not abuſe the conquered captive, detracting from him, and taking arrogantly to themſelues that which doth not become them. This did cruell Adonibezeck, who cut off the Thumbes of 70 Kings, and made them gather their meate under his table like Doggs. So Tigranes, King of Armenia, cauſed four Kings to waite on his table. Seſoſtris had his chariot drawen with Kings; and Tamarlan carried Bajazet about with him in an iron cage. That diſhonorable & hatefull contempt, done upon the ſuppoſed body of Iames the fourth (found dead, as they ſaid, in the field of Floudon) was both voide of generoſitie & humanitie: but becauſe he tooke Armes againſt Iulius the ſecond, his uſage could not be bad enough. Yea Thomas Howard, Earle of Surry, Commander of the field, being puft up with the glory of the day, forgot his distance excedingly in the adding to his Armes; for where before he gaue the white Lyon, he gaue it then upon the red Lyon, tearing him as it were with his clawes. Rer. Scoticar. lih. 13. pag. 422.But this his inſolencie is thought to hauehave been plagued in his poſteritie, whoſe ends for the moſt part, and that in both ſexes were ſtigmatized with ſome note of diſgrace. Borbon and Lanoy carried themſelues more noblie toward Francis King of France, being taken at the battle of Pavia: for ſupper being prepared; Lanoy and Alphonſus Vaſtius did ſerve the King with Baſon and Ewer; both they, and Borbon could hardly be intreated to ſit downe, Bartholomeus Chaſaneus in Catalog. gloriae mū di. Pars 9.19. Conſid. in fine.but ſtill they deſired to attend him at ſupper. The like, or greater generoſitie, was ſhowen by Prince Edward, the mirror of man-hood, towards King Iohn his captive, before whom he ſtood uncovered, and would hardly be intreated to ſit down at ſupper.
Fiftly and laſtly, they are to keepe quarters with captives being taken. For to caſt off priſoners, and put them to the ſword is againſt the lawes of Armes; though Turkes and Papiſts make no bones of this amongſt the reſt of their cruelties; yet far be it from any ſo to doe, that profeſſeth Chriſt truely. And thus much for the conquerors carriage towards the conquered.
Amongſt many motives that I might giuegive for this moderation, take onelyonly this, that the conquerour ſometimes may come to ſtand in neede of the conquered, who as they will remember moderate uſage, and repay it with good; ſo they will requite tyranny with evill. Hiſtorians tell us how the Lacedemonians, the great Masters of Armes through all the world, having ſo great an overthrouw at the battle of Luctris, that they were forſaken of all their confederates, and had no refuge but to betake themſelues to the Athenians, againſt whom they had warred, and whoſe Walls they had rayſed; yet for all this they received them very lovingly.
The fourth main thing followeth, how to demeane themſelues in the uſe of the goods or poſſeſſions of the conquered. It is true, that the ſpoyle is theirs, but the good creatures of God they muſt not ſpoile. The Lord giveth a ſtrait charge againſt this in Deut: when thou ſhalt lay ſiedge to a cittie and take it, thou ſhalt not destroy the trees thereof, and thou ſhalt not cut them down; onelyonly that which is not for meate thou mayeſt cut downe. By this prohibition God reſtrayneth the waſte, and ſpoyl which ſouldiers uſually make in warre; and teacheth them thereby, that there is a kind of mercy to be manifeſted toward the creatures, ſpecially thoſe that ſerve for the maintenance of mans life. This reſpect had Chriſt to the creatures, when he cauſed his diſciples to take up the broken meate, after the people had eaten and were filled, that nothing ſhould be lost. It is reported of the Danes, Io. 6.12.that with ſuch crueltie and outrage, they made havocke of all where they came, that they ſeemed not ſo much to conquer the land, as to conſume it; not ſo much to poſſeſſe it, as to race out the remembrance of it.
Now I come to the laſt main thing required in the conqueror, namely his carriage towards his own. That Generall will never deale well with his enemies, nor get glory to himſelfe, that dealeth evill with his owne. As they hauehave bought the victory with their bloud, and the hazard of their lives; Saluſtais. Tacitus. Livius. Amain. Polyb.their is no reaſon but they ſhould be both commended and rewarded. It was the cuſtome of the chiefe Commander (as all our ancient writers do record) after the victorie, to go up to ſome pulpit, and there with a ſolemne oration to commend the ſouldiers, according to every mans place, worth, and preſent ſervice; neither was that enough, barely to commend or giuegive thē thanks, but with their prayſe they diſtributed divers gifts. Is it equitie or conſcience that all ſhould fight, and one, or a few, carry a way the ſpoyle? David was of a more equall mind, who did not onelyonly willingly divide the ſpoile of the Amalekits, to thoſe that were in the fight; but alſo gaue the 200 weake and wearyed ones a ſhare that ſtayed by the ſtuffe; and that was made a ſtatute and an ordinance for Iſraell, as his part is that goeth to the battle, 1. Sam. 30.24.ſo ſhall his part be that tarryeth by the ſtuffe: neither was there any wrong done to thoſe wicked men who grudged at it: for, firſt, they wanted not will, but power to goe to the battle: Secondly, they ſtayed by the ſtuffe to keep it, as neceſſary a peece of ſervice as to fight, and that with as great danger as thoſe that fought, if they had been overcome: And laſtly, they had but a Geometricall ſhare, not an Arithmeticall, or equall with the other. The like inſtance you hauehave in Moſes, who according to Gods commandement, divided the ſpoile of the Madianites (on whom the Lord had avenged himſelfe) amongſt the ſouldiers and the people. Numb. 31.27.This continued as a Law, 2 Mach. 8 28.and was obſerved by the Macchabees when they got any ſpoyle. So that you ſee it is the Lords own Ordinance; beſides, reaſon and equity, doth inforce it.
Amongſt many other reaſons for this enduring ordinance, David giveth a ſpeciall one, which I would hauehave Commanders to obſerue; namely, that the ſpoyle is of the Lords giving: 3 Sam. 30.23.You ſhall not doe ſo my brethren with that which the Lord giveth us. Obſerue here that David, the Generall, ſaith not, giveth me, but giveth us. Should one man, or a few, take that to themſelues, that God giveth to all? No ſurely, David, out of doubt, as many braue Generals had wont, kept little or nothing to himſelfe. Alexander the Great reſerved onelyonly hope; and our braue Generall Norice was like that Biſhop of Lincolne (a black Swan now,) Quod nondum dede rat, ſe nondum credit habere.that never thought he had that thing, which he did not giuegive. The defrauding of ſouldiers of their ſhares of the ſpoyle, was ſeverely puniſhed amongſt the Romans. Marcus Salinator, a man of Conſular dignity, was condemned by the people for unequall diviſion of the prey to the Souldiers. Front. l. 4. cap. 1.The wrong in this done to the ſouldiers, when ſervice is performed, maketh ſouldiers ſo looſe in the performance of their ſervice; where if they had but hopes of better reſpect, and aſſurance of place and recompence upon their deſert, it would incourage them many times to ſtand to it brauely to death, when they mind nothing indeed but ſhifting for their life. That ſpeech which I related of Charles the Great, to his ſouldiers; the warre being ended, together with his bounty towards them; ſhewed him truely to be great. Thoſe that will hauehave all to themſelues, muſt fight all by themſelues: Souldiers are out of requeſt when their ſervice is done. It was a pretty ſaying, and very true, of Generall Vere to the King of Denmarke; that Kings cared not for Souldiers, untill ſuch time as their Crowns hung on the one ſide of their head. It was the ſad complaint of Georgius Fronſbergius, a braue Captaine, and one who had well deſerved, both under Maximilian the 1, …nd Charles the 5, and yet being much neglected and forgot…en: Three things, ſaid he, did terrifie a man from a military life; the ſpoyling of harmleſſe men, the godleſſe, and diſſolute life of the ſouldier, and the neglect of thoſe who had well deſerved. The times are partly come, and are yet to come, that a good ſouldier will be worth the making on. Yea, let thoſe who looke to liue in ſafety, and to die with honour, make … of them. There be ſuch an Antipathie betwixt ſome and Armes, that the very ſight of a ſouldier, the ordering of Armes, the ſound of a Trumpet, or beating of a drum are as terrible to them, as thunder was to Caligula: others againe loues Souldiers, but onelyonly to make uſe of them: In the moſt of this unhappy age, the eſteem of Souldiers (be they never ſo worthy) dies and liues with the neceſſitie of their ſervice; the cauſes whereof are, under-valewing of merit, and unthankfulneſſe. But States muſt beware, if they will be ſafe, not to uſe their ſouldiers, as the Athenians uſed Themiſtocles, of whom he ſaid wittily; Illos non laudo homines, qui eodem vaſe pro calice & matula utuntur Aelian. l. 13 de varr. Hiſt.That they uſed him like the Plantan tree, of which they made both their drinking cup, and their chamber…pot; they ſhook him off, and fet him on at their pleaſure, when they ſtood in need of him: But he told them at laſt, that he could not like thoſe men, that would firſt drink out of a veſſell, and then make their water in it. My counſell is to the Vnited Provinces, that they would caſt back their eye upon the pit, out of which their life, wealth, and dignity are digged; which is not the depths nor hell, (as that Popiſh pamphletter ſuggeſteth) but the bloud of the valourous Brittains; for the which, the Nation ſhould be precious in their eyes: if Xerxes held Themistocles (on bare hopes of ſervice) to be his rareſt Iewell; how ſhould they eſteem of Brittain, which to them hath been a field of precious, and profitable Iewels; whoſe worth they can never valew? Therefore as I would hauehave them not to ſlight the Nation, ſo I wiſh they may abandon all neglect and diſ-eſteeme of the ſouldier: For generous ſpirits looks for anſwerable reſpect; yea, they who ſow in bloud, looks to reap at leaſt in honour, and account. A… Themiſtocles left Greece at length, upon continuance of bad uſage: So I hope they will take heed, that no ſuch uſage from them, ſhall provoke their beſt friends to forſake them. And ſo much for the carriage of the Conquerour.