第 4 节
作者:嘟嘟      更新:2021-04-30 16:07      字数:9322
  standing army。 When he was at peace; which he was very seldom;
  and never for any long time together; he was careful not to
  disband that army。 It vanquished and subdued; after a long and
  violent struggle; indeed; the gallant and well exercised militias
  of the principal republics of ancient Greece; and afterwards;
  with very little struggle; the effeminate and ill…exercised
  militia of the great Persian empire。 The fall of the Greek
  republics and of the Persian empire was the effect of the
  irresistible superiority which a standing army has over every
  sort of militia。 It is the first great revolution in the affairs
  of mankind of which history has preserved any distinct or
  circumstantial account。
  The fall of Carthage; and the consequent elevation of Rome;
  is the second。 All the varieties in the fortune of those two
  famous republics may very well be accounted for from the same
  cause。
  From the end of the first to the beginning of the second
  Carthaginian war the armies of Carthage were continually in the
  field; and employed under three great generals; who succeeded one
  another in the command: Hamilcar; his son…in…law Hasdrubal; and
  his son Hannibal; first in chastising their own rebellious
  slaves; afterwards in subduing the revolted nations of Africa;
  and; lastly; in conquering the great kingdom of Spain。 The army
  which Hannibal led from Spain into Italy must necessarily; in
  those different wars; have been gradually formed to the exact
  discipline of a standing army。 The Romans; in the meantime;
  though they had not been altogether at peace; yet they had not;
  during this period; been engaged in any war of very great
  consequence; and their military discipline; it is generally said;
  was a good deal relaxed。 The Roman armies which Hannibal
  encountered at Trebia; Thrasymenus; and Cannae were militia
  opposed to a standing army。 This circumstance; it is probable;
  contributed more than any other to determine the fate of those
  battles。
  The standing army which Hannibal left behind him in Spain
  had the like superiority over the militia which the Romans sent
  to oppose it; and in a few years; under the command of his
  brother; the younger Hasdrubal; expelled them almost entirely
  from that country。
  Hannibal was ill supplied from home。 The Roman militia;
  being continually in the field; became in the progress of the war
  a well disciplined and well…exercised standing army; and the
  superiority of Hannibal grew every day less and less。 Hasdrubal
  judged it necessary to lead the whole; or almost the whole of the
  standing army which he commanded in Spain; to the assistance of
  his brother in Italy。 In this march he is said to have been
  misled by his guides; and in a country which he did not know; was
  surprised and attacked by another standing army; in every respect
  equal or superior to his own; and was entirely defeated。
  When Hasdrubal had left Spain; the great Scipio found
  nothing to oppose him but a militia inferior to his own。 He
  conquered and subdued that militia; and; in the course of the
  war; his own militia necessarily became a well…disciplined and
  well…exercised standing army。 That standing army was afterwards
  carried to Africa; where it found nothing but a militia to oppose
  it。 In order to defend Carthage it became necessary to recall the
  standing army of Hannibal。 The disheartened and frequently
  defeated African militia joined it; and; at the battle of Zama;
  composed the greater part of the troops of Hannibal。 The event of
  that day determined the fate of the two rival republics。
  From the end of the second Carthaginian war till the fall of
  the Roman republic; the armies of Rome were in every respect
  standing armies。 The standing army of Macedon made some
  resistance to their arms。 In the height of their grandeur it cost
  them two great wars; and three great battles; to subdue that
  little kingdom; of which the conquest would probably have been
  still more difficult had it not been for the cowardice of its
  last king。 The militias of all the civilised nations of the
  ancient world; of Greece; of Syria; and of Egypt; made but a
  feeble resistance to the standing armies of Rome。 The militias of
  some barbarous nations defended themselves much better。 The
  Scythian or Tartar militia; which Mithridates drew from the
  countries north of the Euxine and Caspian seas; were the most
  formidable enemies whom the Romans had to encounter after the
  second Carthaginian war。 The Parthian and German militias; too;
  were always respectable; and upon several occasions gained very
  considerable advantages over the Roman armies。 In general;
  however; and when the Roman armies were well commanded; they
  appear to have been very much superior; and if the Romans did not
  pursue the final conquest either of Parthia or Germany; it was
  probably because they judged that it was not worth while to add
  those two barbarous countries to an empire which was already too
  large。 The ancient Parthians appear to have been a nation of
  Scythian or Tartar extraction; and to have always retained a good
  deal of the manners of their ancestors。 The ancient Germans were;
  like the Scythians or Tartars; a nation of wandering shepherds;
  who went to war under the same chiefs whom they were accustomed
  to follow in peace。 Their militia was exactly of the same kind
  with that of the Scythians or Tartars; from whom; too; they were
  probably descended。
  Many different causes contributed to relax the discipline of
  the Roman armies。 Its extreme severity was; perhaps; one of those
  causes。 In the days of their grandeur; when no enemy appeared
  capable of opposing them; their heavy armour was laid aside as
  unnecessarily burdensome; their labourious exercises were
  neglected as unnecessarily toilsome。 Under the Roman emperors;
  besides; the standing armies of Rome; those particularly which
  guarded the German and Pannonian frontiers; became dangerous to
  their masters; against whom they used frequently to set up their
  own generals。 In order to render them less formidable; according
  to some authors; Dioclesian; according to others; Constantine;
  first withdrew them from the frontier; where they had always
  before been encamped in great bodies; generally of two or three
  legions each; and dispersed them in small bodies through the
  different provincial towns; from whence they were scarce ever
  removed but when it became necessary to repel an invasion。 Small
  bodies of soldiers quartered; in trading and manufacturing towns;
  and seldom removed from those quarters; became themselves
  tradesmen; artificers; and manufacturers。 The civil came to
  predominate over the military character; and the standing armies
  of Rome gradually degenerated into a corrupt; neglected; and
  undisciplined militia; incapable of resisting the attack of the
  German and Scythian militias; which soon afterwards invaded the
  western empire。 It was only by hiring the militia of some of
  those nations to oppose to that of others that the emperors were
  for some time able to defend themselves。 The fall of the western
  empire is the third great revolution in the affairs of mankind of
  which ancient history has preserved any distinct or
  circumstantial account。 It was brought about by the irresistible
  superiority which the militia of a barbarous has over that of a
  civilised nation; which the militia of a nation of shepherds has
  over that of a nation of husbandmen; artificers; and
  manufacturers。 The victories which have been gained by militias
  have generally been; not over standing armies; but over other
  militias in exercise and discipline inferior to themselves。 Such
  were the victories which the Greek militia gained over that of
  the Persian empire; and such too were those which in later times
  the Swiss militia gained over that of the Austrians and
  Burgundians。
  The military force of the German and Scythian nations who
  established themselves upon the ruins of the western empire
  continued for some time to be of the same kind in their new
  settlements as it had been in their original country。 It was a
  militia of shepherds and husbandmen; which; in time of war; took
  the field under the command of the same chieftains whom it was
  accustomed to obey in peace。 It was; therefore; tolerably well
  exercised; and tolerably well disciplined。 As arts and industry
  advanced; however; the authority of the chieftains gradually
  decayed; and the great body of the people had less time to spare
  for military exercises。 Both the discipline and the exercise of
  the feudal militia; therefore; went gradually to ruin; and
  standing armies were gradually introduced to supply the place of
  it。 When the expedient of a standing army; besides; had once been
  adopted by one civilised nation; it became necessary that all its
  neighbours should follow their example。 They soon found that
  their safety depended upon their doing so; and that their own
  militia was altogether inca