# CHAPTER 6 — How the Romans Proceeded in Waging War

Having discussed how the Romans proceeded in increasing their territory, we shall now discuss how they proceeded in waging war; and in each one of their actions, it will be seen with what prudence they deviated from the universal methods of others in order to clear their path to supreme greatness. The intention of those who make war by choice or out of ambition is to acquire territory and to maintain it, and to proceed in such a way that it enriches but does not impoverish their native city and the countryside. It is necessary, therefore, both in acquiring territory and in maintaining it, to try not to spend, but rather to undertake everything in a way that benefits the public treasury. Anyone who desires to do all these things must follow the Roman style and method: this was first of all to make wars short and massive, as the French say, because by fielding enormous armies, the Romans brought to a very swift conclusion all the wars that they waged against the Latins, the Samnites, and the Etruscans. If we take note of all those wars they fought from the beginnings of Rome until the siege of Veii, we shall see that all of them were expedited, some in six days, others in ten, and still others in twenty days. Thus, this was their custom: as soon as war was declared, they marched forth against the enemy with their armies and immediately waged a decisive battle. When they were victorious, the enemy, in order to avoid the total destruction of their territory, came to terms, and the Romans condemned them to give up part of their lands; they allotted these lands as private property or consigned them to a colony, which, placed at their frontiers, came to serve as a guard-post at the Roman borders to the profit of the colonists, who owned these lands, as well as to Rome’s public treasury, which maintained these guard-posts without expense. Nor could this method be any more secure or stronger or more profitable: while the enemy did not march into the field, this guard-post was sufficient; if the enemy came out in force to attack the colony, then the Romans came out in force themselves and did battle with them; and once they had done this and won the day, they imposed upon the enemy even more onerous conditions and then returned home. In this way, step by step, they came to gain a reputation over that of their enemy and internal strength.

They adhered to this method until they altered their method of proceeding in war; this happened after the siege of Veii when, in order to wage war over a longer period of time, they decided to pay the soldiers, whom they did not pay earlier, since the brevity of the wars made it unnecessary. Even though the Romans paid them and by virtue of such payments were able to wage longer wars, and, by waging them further away, had to remain in the field, they none the less never varied from their first method of ending them quickly, based on the place and time, nor did they ever vary from their system of sending out colonies. With regard to keeping wars brief, besides their normal practice, the ambition of the consuls also held them to this first method: since they were elected for a single year, for six months of which they were confined at home, they wanted to end wars in order to enjoy a triumph. In the matter of sending out colonies, the profit and the great convenience held them to it. They did somewhat alter their way of distributing the booty, in which they were not as liberal as they once had been, both because it did not seem so necessary, since the soldiers had a salary, and also because they planned, once the booty was much greater, to fatten the public treasury, so that they would not be forced to pay for their undertakings with taxes levied on the city. In a short time this system made their treasury extremely rich. These two methods, therefore, both that of distributing the spoils and that of sending out colonies, made Rome grow rich from warfare, whereas other princes and less wise republics were impoverished from it. And things were finally reduced to a state in which a consul was unable to enjoy a triumph if he did not carry in his triumphant procession a great deal of gold and silver and every other sort of booty into the treasury. Thus the Romans, with the provisions described above and with their practice of ending wars quickly, by being skilful in wearing down their enemies with long delays, and through routs, raids, and treaties made to their advantage, became ever richer and more powerful.