placed high, be most weake, bicause thei maie better bee under muined:
and puttyng after in a Cave of this Gunne pouder, whiche in a momente
kindelyng, not onely ruinateth a wall, but it openeth the hilles, and
utterly dissolveth the strength of them.
[Sidenote: The reamedie against Caves or undermuinynges; What care the
besieged ought to have; What maketh a citee or campe difficulte to bee
defended; By what meanes thei that besiege ar made afraied; Honour got
by constancie.]
The remedie for this, is to builde in the plain, and to make the diche
that compasseth thy citee, so deepe, that the enemie maie not digge
lower then thesame, where he shall not finde water, whiche onely is
enemie to the caves: for if thou be in a toune, which thou defendest on
a high ground, thou canst not remedie it otherwise, then to make within
thy walles many deepe Welles, the whiche be as drouners to thesame
Caves, that the enemie is able to ordain against thee. An other remedie
there is, to make a cave againste it, when thou shouldeste bee aware
where he muineth, the whiche waie easely hindereth hym, but difficultly
it is foreseen, beyng besieged of a craftie enemie. He that is besieged,
ought above al thinges to have care, not to bee oppressed in the tyme of
reste: as is after a battaile fought, after the watche made, whiche is
in the Mornyng at breake of daie, and in the Evenyng betwen daie and
night, and above al, at meale times: in whiche tyme many tounes have
been wonne, and armies have been of them within ruinated: therefore it
is requisite with diligence on all partes, to stande alwaies garded, and
in a good part armed. I will not lacke to tell you, how that, whiche
maketh a citee or a campe difficult to be defended, is to be driven to
kepe sundred all the force, that thou haste in theim, for that the
enemie beyng able to assaulte thee at his pleasure altogether, it is
conveniente for thee on every side, to garde every place, and so he
assaulteth thee with all his force, and thou with parte of thine
defendest thee. Also, the besieged maie bee overcome altogether, he
without cannot bee, but repulced: wherefore many, whom have been
besieged, either in a Campe, or in a Toune, although thei have been
inferiour of power, have issued out with their men at a sodaine, and
have overcome the enemie. This Marcellus of Nola did: this did Cesar in
Fraunce, where his Campe beeyng assaulted of a moste great nomber of
Frenchmen, and seeyng hymself not able to defende it, beyng constrained
to devide his force into many partes, and not to bee able standyng
within the Listes, with violence to repulce thenemie: he opened the
campe on thone side, and turning towardes thesame parte with all his
power, made so moche violence against them, and with moche valiantnes,
that he vanquisshed and overcame them. The constancie also of the
besieged, causeth many tymes displeasure, and maketh afraied them that
doe besiege. Pompei beyng against Cesar, and Cesars armie beeyng in