Wherein they imagine
themselves to imitate the prudence of Fabius Maximus, who by protracting
the war with Hannibal, saved the Roman commonwealth; not perceiving that
in most instances such advice to a captain is either useless or hurtful.
For the truth of the matter is, that a captain who would keep the
field, cannot decline battle when his adversary forces it on him at all
hazards. So that the instruction to avoid battle is but tantamount to
saying, "You shall engage when it pleases your enemy, and not when it
suits yourself." For if you would keep the field and yet avoid battle,
the only safe course is to interpose a distance of at least fifty miles
between you and your enemy, and afterwards to maintain so vigilant
a look-out, that should he advance you will have time to make your
retreat. Another method is to shut yourself up in some town. But both
of these methods are extremely disadvantageous. For by following the
former, you leave your country a prey to the enemy, and a valiant prince
would far sooner risk the chances of battle than prolong a war in a
manner so disastrous to his subjects; while by adopting the latter
method, and shutting yourself up in a town with your army, there is
manifest danger of your being besieged, and presently reduced by famine
and forced to surrender. Wherefore it is most mischievous to seek to
avoid battle in either of these two ways.

To intrench yourself in a strong position, as Fabius was wont to do, is
a good method when your army is so formidable that the enemy dare not
advance to attack you in your intrenchments; yet it cannot truly be said
that Fabius avoided battle, but rather that he sought to give battle
where he could do so with advantage. For had Hannibal desired to fight,
Fabius would have waited for him and fought him. But Hannibal never
dared to engage him on his own ground. So that an engagement was avoided
as much by Hannibal as by Fabius, since if either had been minded to
fight at all hazards the other would have been constrained to take one
of three courses, that is to say, one or other of the two just now
mentioned, or else to retreat. The truth of this is confirmed by
numberless examples, and more particularly by what happened in the war
waged by the Romans against Philip of Macedon, the father of Perseus.
For Philip being invaded by the Romans, resolved not to give them
battle; and to avoid battle, sought at first to do as Fabius had done
in Italy, posting hims