# 44. Results are often obtained by Impetuosity and Daring which could never have been obtained by Ordinary Methods

When the Samnites were attacked by the Roman army, and their own army was unable to keep the field against them, they decided to leave garrisons in the towns of Samnium and to move with all their forces into Tuscany which had made a truce with the Romans, in the hope that, by so doing, the presence of the army might induce the Tuscans to take up arms again, which they had declined to do when ambassadors were sent to them. In the speech which the Samnites made to the Tuscans, in the course of which they pointed out the causes which had induced them to take up arms, they made a remark worthy of attention, for they said that ‘they had rebelled because when peace means servitude it is more intolerable to free men than is war’. And thus, partly by argument and partly owing to the presence of their army, they induced the Tuscans again to take up arms. Here it is to be noted that if one ruler desires to get something from another, he should, when circumstances permit, not give him time for consideration, but should act in such a way that he will see the need of a prompt decision, which he will do if he sees that to refuse what is asked or to postpone the matter will at once arouse resentment that may be dangerous.

We find that such means have been effectively employed in our own times by Pope Julius in his dealings with the French, and by Monsieur de Foix, the French king’s general, in dealing with the Marquess of Mantua. For when Pope Julius wanted to expel the Bentivogli from Bologna, he realized that he would require French forces for this, and that the Venetians must remain neutral. So he approached them both, but, on receiving ambiguous and discrepant answers, he decided to bring both of them round to his point of view by giving them no time to do ought else. So he set out from Rome with such forces as he could muster, and approached Bologna, sending at the same time messages telling the Venetians to remain neutral and the King of France to send troops. Whereupon, since there was left to them but a brief space of time, and since the Pope would obviously become highly indignant if they hesitated or refused, they yielded to his wishes, and the king sent help and the Venetians remained neutral.

Similarly, when Monsieur de Foix, then at Bologna with his army, heard that Brescia had rebelled and wanted to go and recover it, he had two ways to go: one through territory belonging to the king, a long and tedious route; the other a short route through Mantuan territory. The latter route would not only mean that he had to pass through the dominion of the Marquess, but that he would also have to enter it by certain routes which lay between marshes and lakes wherein that region abounds, and which were locked and guarded by the Marquess with castles and other defences. Wherefore, de Foix, having decided to go by the short route, to obviate any difficult he did not give the Marquess time to consider, but at once marched with his troops along this road, and notified the Marquess that he should hand him the keys to pass through. Whereupon the Marquess, bewildered by this sudden decision, sent him the keys. This he would never have done if de Foix had been more hesitant in his behaviour, for the Marquess was in league both with the Pope and with the Venetians, and had a son in the Pope’s charge, which would have afforded him plenty of honest excuses for refusing. But, overwhelmed by the sudden decision, he gave way, for the reasons given above. Just so did the Tuscans behave towards the Samnites, when, owing to the presence of an army in Samnium, they took up arms, which on previous occasions they had refused to do.