They Pay No Attention To Commerce,
Shipping, Or Manufactures, And Suffer No Interruption But By
Martial Exercises.
They anxiously study the defence of their
country and their liberty; for these they fight, for these they
undergo hardships, and for these willingly sacrifice their lives;
they esteem it a disgrace to die in bed, an honour to die in the
field of battle; using the poet's expressions, -
"Procul hinc avertite pacem,
Nobilitas cum pace perit."
Nor is it wonderful if it degenerates, for the ancestors of these
men, the AEneadae, rushed to arms in the cause of liberty. It is
remarkable that this people, though unarmed, dares attack an armed
foe; the infantry defy the cavalry, and by their activity and
courage generally prove victors. They resemble in disposition and
situation those conquerors whom the poet Lucan mentions:
- "Populi quos despicit Arctos,
Felices errore suo, quos ille timorum
Maximus haud urget leti metus, inde ruendi
In ferrum, mens prona viris, amimaeque capaces,
Mortis et ignavum rediturae parsere vitae."
They make use of light arms, which do not impede their agility,
small coats of mail, bundles of arrows, and long lances, helmets
and shields, and more rarely greaves plated with iron. The higher
class go to battle mounted on swift and generous steeds, which
their country produces; but the greater part of the people fight on
foot, on account of the marshy nature and unevenness of the soil.
The horsemen as their situation or occasion requires, willingly
serve as infantry, in attacking or retreating; and they either walk
bare-footed, or make use of high shoes, roughly constructed with
untanned leather.
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