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Machiavelli, Volume I by Niccolò Machiavelli
page 101 of 414 (24%)
historye thereof, celebrated of Titus Livius, and you shall see in the
same, most seldom times made mencion of Partasens, but rather alwaies he
saieth, that the Dartes being thrown, they laid their hands on their
sweardes. Therefore I will leave this staffe, and observe, concerning
the Romanes, the swoorde for to hurte, and for defense the Targaet, with
the other armours aforesaide.

[Sidenote: A brave and a terrible thing to the enemies.]

The Greekes did not arme them selves so heavyly, for their defense, as
the Romans dyd: but for to offend the enemies, they grounded more on
their staves, then on their swoordes, and in especiallye the Fallangye
of Macedonia, which used staves, that they called Sarisse, seven yardes
and a halfe long, with the which they opened the rankes of their
enemies, and they keept the orders in their Fallangy. And although some
writers saie, that they had also the Targaet, I can not tell (by the
reasons aforesayde) howe the Sarisse and they coulde stande together.
Besides this, in the battaile that Paulus Emilius made, with Persa king
of Macedonia, I do not remember, that there is made any mention of
Targaettes, but only of the Sarisse, and of the difficultie that the
Romane armie had, to overcome them: so that I conjecture, that a
Macedonicall Fallange, was no other wise, then is now a dayes a battaile
of Suizzers, the whiche in their Pikes have all their force, and all
their power. The Romanes did garnish (besides the armours) the footemen
with feathers; the whiche thinges makes the fight of an armie to the
friendes goodly, to the enemies terrible. The armour of the horsemen, in
the same first Romane antiquitie, was a rounde Targaet, and they had
their head armed, and the rest unarmed: They had a swoorde and a staffe,
with an Iron head onely before, long and small: whereby it happened,
that they were not able to staye the Targaet, and the staffe in the
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