# CHAPTER XXXVIII —_Of the Qualities of a Captain in whom his Soldiers

CHAPTER XXXVIII.—_Of the Qualities of a Captain in whom his Soldiers
can confide._


Valerius Corvinus, as I have said already, was sent in command of an
army against the Samnites, who were then new enemies to Rome.
Wherefore, to reassure his soldiers and familiarize them with their
adversaries, he made them engage with them in various unimportant
passages of arms. But not thinking this enough, he resolved before
delivering battle to address his men, and by reminding them of their
valour and his own, to make it plain how little they should esteem such
enemies. And from the words which Titus Livius puts in his mouth we may
gather what manner of man the captain ought to be in whom an army will
put its trust. For he makes him say:—“_Bear ye also this in mind under
whose conduct and auspices you are about to fight, and whether he whom
you are to obey be great only in exhorting, bold only in words, and all
unpractised in arms; or whether he be one who himself knows how to use
his spear, to march before the eagles, and play his part in the
thickest of the fight. Soldiers! I would have you follow my deeds and
not my words, and look to me for example rather than for commands; for
with this right hand I have won for myself three consulships, and an
unsurpassed renown._” Which words rightly understood give every one to
know what he must do to merit a captain’s rank. And if any man obtain
it by other means, he will soon discover that advancement due to chance
or intrigue rather takes away than brings reputation, since it is men
who give lustre to titles and not titles to men.

From what has been said it will likewise be understood that if great
captains when matched against an unfamiliar foe have had to resort to
unusual methods for reassuring the minds even of veteran soldiers, much
more will it be necessary for them to use all their address when in
command of a raw and untried army which has never before looked an
enemy in the face. For if an unfamiliar adversary inspire terror even
in a veteran army, how much greater must be the terror which any army
will inspire in the minds of untrained men. And yet we often find all
these difficulties overcome by the supreme prudence of a great captain
like the Roman Gracchus or the Theban Epaminondas, of whom I have
before spoken, who with untried troops defeated the most practised
veterans. And the method they are said to have followed was to train
their men for some months in mimic warfare, so as to accustom them to
discipline and obedience, after which they employed them with complete
confidence on actual service.

No man, therefore, of warlike genius, need despair of creating a good
army if only he have the men; for the prince who has many subjects and
yet lacks soldiers, has only to thank his own inertness and want of
foresight, and must not complain of the cowardice of his people.