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the cavalry general-第6部分

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object。'4' But if the ground nowhere admits of cover; your best course



is to form your files'5' into ranks one behind the other; and wheel



them round so as to leave intervals between each file; the troopers



nearest the enemy in each file will keep their lances erect; and the



rest low enough not to show above。







'3' Cf。 Polyaen。 II。 i。 17; of Agesilaus in Macedonia; 394 B。C。 (our



    author was probably present); IV。 iv。 3; of Antipater in Thessaly;



    323 B。C。







'4' Lit。 〃steal your troopers。〃 See 〃Cyrop。〃 V。 iv。 48。







'5' Lit。 〃form your decads (squads of ten; cf。 our 'fours') in ranks



    and deploy with intervals。〃







To come to the next topic: you may work on the enemy's fears by the



various devices of mock ambuscades; sham relief parties; false



information。 Conversely; his confidence will reach an overweening



pitch; if the idea gets abroad that his opponents have troubles of



their own and little leisure for offensive operations。







But over and beyond all that can be written on the subject



inventiveness is a personal matter; beyond all formulasthe true



general must be able to take in; deceive; decoy; delude his adversary



at every turn; as the particular occasion demands。 In fact; there is



no instrument of war more cunning than chicanery;'6' which is not



surprising when one reflects that even little boys; when playing; 〃How



many (marbles) have I got in my hand?〃'7' are able to take one another



in successfully。 Out goes a clenched fist; but with such cunning that



he who holds a few is thought to hold several; or he may present



several and appear to be holding only a few。 Is it likely that a grown



man; giving his whole mind to methods of chicanery; will fail of



similar inventiveness? Indeed; when one comes to consider what is



meant by advantages snatched in war; one will find; i think; that the



greater part of them; and those the more important; must be attributed



in some way or other to displays of craft;'8' which things being so; a



man had better either not attempt to exercise command; or; as part and



parcel of his general equipment; let him pray to Heaven to enable him



to exercise this faculty and be at pains himself to cultivate his own



inventiveness。







'6' Cf。 〃Cyrop。〃 IV。 ii。 26; VII。 i。 18。







'7' {posinda}; lit。 〃How many?〃 (i。e。 dice; nuts; marbles; etc。); cf。



    the old game; 〃Buck! buck! how many horns do I hold up?〃 Schneid。



    cf。 Aristot。 〃Rhet。〃iii。 5。 4。







'8' 〃Have been won in connection with craft。〃 See 〃Cyrop。〃 I。 vi。 32;



    〃Mem。〃 III。 i。 6; IV。 ii。 15。







A general; who has access to the sea; may exercise the faculty as



follows: he may either; whilst apparently engaged in fitting out his



vessels; strike a blow on land;'9' or with a make…believe of some



aggressive design by land; hazard an adventure by sea。'10'







'9' A ruse adopted by Jason; 371 B。C。 Cf。 〃Hell。〃 VI。 iv。 21。







'10' Cf。 the tactics of the Athenians at Catana; 415 B。C。 Thuc。 vi。



    64。







I consider it to be the duty of the cavalry commander to point out



clearly to the state authority the essential weakness of a force of



cavalry unaided by light infantry; as opposed to cavalry with foot…



soldiers attached。'11' It is duty also; having got his footmen; to



turn the force to good account。 It is possible to conceal them



effectively; not only between the lines; but in rear also of the



troopersthe mounted soldier towering high above his follower on



foot。







'11' Or; 〃divorced from infantry。〃 In reference to {amippoi}; cf。



    Thuc。 v。 57; 〃Hell。〃 VII。 v。 23。







With regard to these devices and to any others which invention may



suggest towards capturing the foeman by force or fraud; I have one



common word of advice to add; which is; to act with God; and then



while Heaven propitious smiles; fortune will scarcely dare to



frown。'12'







'12' Or; 〃and then by the grace of Heaven you may win the smiles of



    fortune;〃 reading with Courier; etc。; {ina kai e tukhe sunepaine}。



    Cf。 〃Cyrop。〃 III。 iii。 20。







At times there is no more effective fraud than a make…believe'13' of



over…caution alien to the spirit of adventure。 This itself will put



the enemy off his guard and ten to one will lure him into some



egregious blunder; or conversely; once get a reputation for



foolhardiness established; and then with folded hands sit feigning



future action; and see what a world of trouble you will thereby cause



your adversary。







'13' S。 15 should perhaps stand before S。 13。















VI







But; after all; no man; however great his plastic skill; can hope to



mould and shape a work of art to suit his fancy; unless the stuff on



which he works be first prepared and made ready to obey the



craftsman's will。 Nor certainly where the raw material consists of



men; will you succeed; unless; under God's blessing; these same men



have been prepared and made ready to meet their officer in a friendly



spirit。 They must come to look upon him as of greater sagacity than



themselves in all that concerns encounter with the enemy。 This



friendly disposition on the part of his subordinates; one must



suppose; will best be fostered by a corresponding sympathy on the part



of their commander towards the men themselves; and that not by simple



kindness but by the obvious pains he takes on their behalf; at one



time to provide them with food; and at another to secure safety of



retreat; or again by help of outposts and the like; to ensure



protection during rest and sleep。







When on active service'1' the commander must prove himself



conspicuously careful in the matter of forage; quarters; water…supply;



outposts;'2' and all other requisites; forecasting the future and



keeping ever a wakeful eye in the interest of those under him; and in



case of any advantage won; the truest gain which the head of affairs



can reap is to share with his men the profits of success。







'1' Al。 〃on garrison outpost duty。〃







'2' Reading {phulakon}; or if with Courier {thulakon}; 〃haversacks;〃



    i。e。 〃la farine; le contenant pour le contenu。〃







Indeed; to put the matter in a nutshell; there is small risk a general



will be regarded with contempt by those he leads; if; whatever he may



have to preach; he shows himself best able to perform。







Beginning with the simple art of mounting on horseback; let him so



train himself in all particulars of horsemanship that; to look at him;



the men must see their leader is a horseman who can leap a trench



unscathed or scale a parapet;'3' or gallop down a bank; and hurl a



javelin with the best。 These are accomplishments which one and all



will pave the way to make contempt impossible。 If; further; the men



shall see in their commander one who; with the knowledge how to act;



has force of will and cunning to make them get the better of the



enemy; and if; further; they have got the notion well into their heads



that this same leader may be trusted not to lead them recklesssly



against the foe; without the help of Heaven; or despite the auspices



I say; you have a list of virtues which will make those under his



command the more obedient to their ruler。







'3' Or; 〃stone walls;〃 〃dykes。〃















VII







If prudence may be spoken of as the one quality distinctive of true



generalship; there are two respects in which a general of cavalry at



Athens should pre…eminently excel。 Not only must he show a dutiful



submission to the gods; but he must possess great fighting qualities;



seeing that he has on his borders a rival cavalry equal to his own in



number and backed by a large force of heavy infantry。'1' So that; if



he undertake to invade the enemy's territory unsupported by the other



forces of the city'2'in dealing with two descriptions of forces



single…handed; he and his cavalry must look for a desperate adventure;



or to take the converse case; that the enemy invades the soil of



Attica; to begin with; he will not invade at all; unless supported by



other cavalry besides his own and an infantry force sufficient to



warrant the supposition that no force on our side can cope with him。







'1' The reference is doubtless to the Thebans。 Unfortunately we do not



    know; on good authority; how many troops of either arm they had in



    the field at Leuctra or at Mantinea。







'2' Lit。 〃without the rest of the city;〃 i。e。 the hoplites; etc。







Now; to deal with this vast hostile array; if only the city will



determine to sally out en masse to protect her rural districts; the



prospect is fair。 Under God; our troopers; if properly cared for; are



the finer men; our infantry of the line are no less numerous; and as



regards physique; if it comes to that; not one whit inferior; while in



reference to moral qualities; they are more susceptible to the spur of



a noble ambition; if only under God's will they be correctly trained。



Or again; as touching pride of ancestry; what have Athenians to fear



as against Boeotians on that score?'3'







'3' See 〃Mem。〃 III。 v。 3; where it is contended that in pride of



    ancestry Athenians can hold their own against Boeotians。







But suppose the city of Athens determine to betake herself to her



navy; as in the old days when the Lacedaemonians; leagued with the



rest of Hellas; brought invasion;'4' and is content
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