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the cavalry general-第12章

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'19' Lit。 〃supposing both divisions to be backed by footmen;〃 etc。







'20' Or; 〃achieve a much more decisive victory。〃 Cf。 〃Cyrop。〃 III。



    iii。 28。







To make these dispositions is not hard; the difficulty is to discover



a body of men who will dash forward'21' and charge an enemy as above



described intelligently and loyally; with an eager spirit and



unfailing courage。 That is a problem for a good cavalry general to



solve。 I mean an officer who must be competent to so assert himself in



speech or action'22' that those under him will no longer hesitate。



They will recognise of themselves that it is a good thing and a right



to obey;'23' to follow their leader; to rush to close quarters with



the foe。 A desire will consume them to achieve some deed of glory and



renown。 A capacity will be given them patiently to abide by the



resolution of their souls。







'21' {parelontas}; in reference to S。 18 above; {parelaunoi}; 〃form



    squadron to the front。〃







'22' 〃To be this; he must be able as an orator as well as a man of



    action。〃 Cf。 〃Mem。〃 II。 ii。 11。







'23' Cf。 Tennyson's 〃The Charge of the Light Brigade〃:







Their's not to make reply;



Their's not to reason why;



Their's but to do and die。











To turn to another matter; take the case in which you have two armeis



facing one another in battle order; or a pair of fortresses'24'



belonging to rival powers; and in the space between all kinds of



cavalry manouvres are enacted; wheelings and charges and retreats。'25'



Under such circumstances the custom usually is for either party after



wheeling to set off at a slow pace and to gallop full speed only in



the middle of the course。 But now suppose that a commander; after



making feint'26' in this style; presently on wheeling quickens for the



charge and quickens to retirehe will be able to hit the enemy far



harder; and pull through absolutely without scathe himself most



likely; through charging at full speed whilst in proximity to his own



stronghold (or main body); and quickening to a gallop as he retires



from the stronghold (or main body) of the enemy。 If further; he could



secretly contrive to leave behind four or five troopers; the bravest



and best mounted of the squadron; it would give them an immense



advantage in falling upon the enemy whilst wheeling to return to the



charge。'27'







'24' Al。 〃fields and farmsteads between。〃







'25' Or; 〃retirements;〃 see 〃Horsemanship;〃 viii。 12; 〃Cyrop。〃 V。 iv。



    8; 〃Hell。〃 IV。 ii。 6; 〃Ages。〃 ii。 3。







'26' Or; 〃having precluded in this fashion。 See Theocr。 xxii。 102:







        {ton men anax ataraxen etosia khersi prodeiknus Pantothen};







    〃feinting on every side〃 (A。 Lang)。 Al。 〃having given due warning



    of his intention。〃 Cf。 Aristot。 〃H。 A。〃 ix。 37。







'27' Cf。 Aristoph。 〃Knights;〃 244 (Demosthenes calls to the



    hipparchs'?'):







        {andres eggus 。 all' amunou; kapanastrephou palin}。















IX







To read these observations over a few times will be sufficient; but



for giving them effect the officer will need perpetually to act as



circumstances require。'1' He must take in the situation at a glance;



and carry out unflinchingly whatever is expedient for the moment。 To



set down in writing everything that he must do; is not a whit more



possible than to know the future as a whole。'2' But of all hints and



suggestions the most important to my mind is this: whatever you



determine to be right; with diligence endeavour to perform。 For be it



tillage of the soil; or trading; or seafaring; or the art of ruling;



without pains applied to bring the matter to perfection; the best



theories in the world; the most correct conclusions; will be



fruitless。







'1' {pros to paratugkhanon}; lit。 〃to meet emergencies。〃 Cf。 Thuc。 i。



    122: 〃For war; least of all things; conforms to prescribed rules;



    it strikes out a path for itself when the moment comes〃 (Jowett)。







'2' Or; 〃is about as feasible as to foretell each contingency hid in



    the womb of futurity。〃







One thing I am prepared to insist on: it is clear to myself that by



Heaven's help our total cavalry force might be much more quickly



raised to the full quota of a thousand troopers;'3' and with far less



friction to the mass of citizens; by the enrolment of two hundred



foreign cavalry。 Their acquisition will be doubly helpful; as



intensifying the loyalty of the entire force and as kindling a mutual



ambition to excel in manly virtue。







'3' See Schneid。 ad loc。; Boeckh; 〃P。 E。 A。〃 pp。 263; 264; Herod。 vi。



    112; Thuc。 vi。 31; Aristoph。 〃Knights;〃 223; Aeschin。 〃De F。 L。〃



    334…337。 See for this reform; Martin; op。 cit。 343; 368。







I can state on my own knowledge that the Lacedaemonian cavalry only



began to be famous'4' with the introduction of foreign troopers; and



in the other states of Hellas everywhere the foreign brigades stand in



high esteem; as I perceive。 Need; in fact; contributes greatly to



enthusiasm。 Towards the necessary cost of the horses I hold that an



ample fund will be provided;'5' partly out of the pockets of those who



are only too glad to escape cavalry service (in other words; those on



whom the service devolves prefer to pay a sum of money down and be



quit of the duty);'6' and from wealthy men who are physically



incompetent; and I do not see why orphans possessed of large estates



should not contribute。'7' Another belief I hold is that amongst our



resident aliens'8' there are some who will show a laudable ambition if



incorporated with the cavalry。 I argue from the fact; apparent to



myself; that amongst this class persons are to be found most zealously



disposed to carry out the part assigned to them; in every other branch



of honourable service which the citizens may choose to share with



them。 Again; it strikes me that if you seek for an energetic infantry



to support your cavalry; you will find it in a corps composed of



individuals whose hatred to the foe is naturally intense。'9' But the



success of the above suggestions will depend doubtless on the



consenting will of Heaven。'10'







'4' 〃Entered on an era of prestige with the incorporation of;〃 after



    Leuctra; 371 B。C。; when the force was at its worst。 See 〃Hell。〃



    VI。 iv。 10。







'5' Or; 〃money will be forthcoming for them。〃 Cf。 Lys。 〃Against



    Philon;〃 xxxi。 15; Martin; op。 cit。 319。







'6' Cf。 〃Hell。〃 III。 iv。 15; 〃Ages。〃 i。 23。 Courier brackets this



    sentence '{oti 。 。 。 ippeuein}' as a gloss; Martin; p。 323;
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