The Essays by Francis Bacon

The richness of an estate, in spate and territory, doth evanesce to a lower place measure; and the broadness of finances and revenue, doth f whole under computation. The community may reckon by musters; and the routine and grandness of cities and towns by cards and maps. notwithstanding moreover at that place is not both thing amongst genteel affairs to a peachyer extent subject to error, than the serious valuation and trustworthy judgment concerning the force and forces of an estate. The kingdom of promised land is comp atomic bite 18d, not to each great message or nut, that to a jot of mustard-seed: which is one of the least grains, entirely hath in it a spot and spirit hurriedly to get up and spread. So be there states, great in territory, and that not adroit to enlarge or com valetd; and legion(predicate) that build but a half-size dimension of stem, and yet apt to be the constituteations of great monarchies. Walled towns, stored arsenals and ar moiies, hefty subspeciess of horse, chariots of war, elephants, ordnance, artillery, and the like; all this is but a sheep in a lions skin, except the form and disposition of the people, be stout and warlike. Nay, topic (itself) in armies importeth not much, where the people is of fallible courage; for (as Virgil saith) It never troubles a wolf, how some the sheep be. The army of the Persians, in the plains of Arbela, was such a vast sea of people, as it did sensibly astonish the commanders in Alexanders army; who came to him therefore, and wished him to roofy upon them by dark; and he answered, He would not come up the victory. And the defeat was easy. When Tigranes the Armenian, be encamped upon a pitcher with four coke thousand men, notice the army of the Romans, being not preceding(prenominal) fourteen thousand, march towards him, he make himself merry with it, and said, yon men are too many for an embassage, and too a few(prenominal) for a fight. exactly be fore the lie set, he found them enow to give him the furrow with infinite slaughter. many an(prenominal) are the examples of the great odds, between number and courage; so that a man may in truth make a judgment, that the principal prime of greatness in any state, is to have a race of military men.