o his customes, and
that in hym bee honestie, and shame: otherwise, there shall bee chosen
an instrumente of mischief, and a beginnyng of corrupcion: for that
lette no manne beleve that in the dishoneste educacion, and filthy
minde, there maie take any vertue, whiche is in any parte laudable. And
I thinke it not superfluous, but rather I beleve it to bee necessarie,
to the entente you maie the better understande, the importaunce of this
chosen, to tell you the maner that the Romaine Consuls, in the beginnyng
of their rule, observed in the chosing of their Romain legions: in the
whiche choise of men, bicause thesame legions were mingled with old
souldiours and newe, consideryng the continuall warre thei kepte, thei
might in their choise procede, with the experince of the old, and with
the conjecture of the newe: and this ought to be noted, that these men
be chosen, either to serve incontinently, or to exercise theim
incontinently, and after to serve when nede should require. But my
intencion is to shew you, how an armie maie be prepared in the countrie,
where there is no warlike discipline: in which countrie, chosen men
cannot be had, to use them straight waie, but there, where the custome
is to levie armies, and by meane of the Prince, thei maie then well bee
had, as the Romaines observed, and as is observed at this daie emong the
Suisers: bicause in these chosen, though there be many newe menne, there
be also so many of the other olde Souldiours, accustomed to serve in the
warlike orders, where the newe mingled together with the olde, make a
bodie united and good, notwithstanding, that themperours after,
beginning the staciones of ordinarie Souldiours, had appoincted over the
newe souldiours, whiche were called tironi, a maister to exercise theim,
as appeareth in the life of Massimo the Emperour. The whiche thyng,
while Rome was free, not onely in the armies, but in the citee was
ordeined: and the exercises of warre, beyng accustomed in thesame, where
the yong men did exercise, there grewe, that beyng chosen after to goe
into warre, thei were so used in the fained exercise of warfare, that
thei could easely worke in the true: but those Emperours havyng after
put doune these exercises, thei wer constrained to use the waies, that I
have shewed you. Therefore, comyng to the maner of the chosen Romain, I
saie that after the Romain Consulles (to whom was appoincted the charge
of the warre) had taken the rule, myndyng to ordei