eby men of no maner of age can live honestly, it cannot bee used for
an arte, but of a common weale: or of a kyngdome: and the one and the
other of these, when thei bee well ordeined, will never consente to any
their Citezeins, or Subjectes, to use it for any arte, nor never any
good manne doeth exercise it for his particulare arte: for as moche as
good he shall never bee judged, whom maketh an excersise thereof, where
purposing alwaies to gaine thereby, it is requisite for hym to be
ravenyng, deceiptfull, violente, and to have many qualities, the whiche
of necessitie maketh hym not good: nor those menne cannot, whiche use it
for an arte, as well the greate as the leaste, bee made otherwise: for
that this arte doeth not nourishe them in peace. Wherfore thei ar
constrained either to thinke that there is no peace, or so moche to
prevaile in the tyme of warre, that in peace thei maie bee able to kepe
them selves: and neither of these two thoughtes happeneth in a good man:
for that in mindyng to bee able to finde himself at all tymes, dooe
growe robberies, violence, slaughters, whiche soche souldiours make as
well to the frendes, as to the enemies: and in mindyng not to have
peace, there groweth deceiptes, whiche the capitaines use to those,
whiche hire them, to the entent the warre maie continue, and yet though
the peace come often, it happeneth that the capitaines beyng deprived of
their stipendes, and of their licencious livyng, thei erecte an ansigne
of adventures, and without any pitie thei put to sacke a province. Have
not you in memorie of your affaires, how that beyng many Souldiours in
Italie without wages, bicause the warre was ended, thei assembled
together many companies, and went taxyng the tounes, and sackyng the
countrie, without beyng able to make any remedie? Have you not red, that
the Carthagenes souldiours, the first warre beyng ended which thei had
with the Romaines, under Matho, and Spendio, twoo capitaines,
rebelliously constituted of theim, made more perillous warre to the
Carthaginens, then thesame whiche thei had ended with the Romaines? In
the time of our fathers, Frances Sforza, to the entente to bee able to
live honourably in the time of peace, not only beguiled the Millenars,
whose souldiour he was, but he toke from them their libertie and became
their Prince. Like unto him hath been all the other souldiours of Italie
whiche have used warfare, for their particulare arte, and albeeit thei
have not