On Military Matters

PREFACE BY ROBERTO VALTURIO TO HIS BOOKS ON MILITARY MATTERS

DEDICATED TO THE MAGNANIMOUS AND ILLUSTRIOUS

HERO SIGISMUNDO PANDOLFO

MALATESTA, THE MOST SPLENDID

RULER AND FOREVER UNCONQUERED

COMMANDER OF THE PEOPLE OF RIMINI. Sigismundo Pandolfo Malatesta (1417 to 1468) was the Lord of Rimini and a famous mercenary leader. He was the primary patron of Roberto Valturio.

I believe, and I am not unaware, renowned Leader and General Sigismundo Pandolfo, that the malice and envy of our current age is quite perverse. I know many will attack this small work of mine. They will question why I have dared to write books on such a grand subject, especially when there is already a great abundance of highly respected authors in both languages original: "utriusque linguae." This refers to Latin and Greek, the two essential languages for Renaissance scholars. who have handed down the principles of military science with such precision and elegance. They may say I have devised these books rashly or poorly. Because of this, I will first explain the reasoning behind my project and discuss why I felt it necessary to write this work.

Among those who read my writings, I know there will be a new, or rather ancient and strange, type of person. These people are a nuisance not only to me, the least of men, but even to the most important and greatest authors. Nothing is ever done correctly in their eyes. If you try to speak with them, they find fault with everything, even if they do not speak their minds. They are never satisfied with any opinion. Yet, if you pass through life in silence, like mute animals lacking reason, they still find cause for indignation.

Some are like swine grunting in the mud. They realize that they cannot reach this path to immortality and glory through their own literary efforts or intelligence. Because they cannot discover anything new or explain what has already been found, they will argue that I have labored in vain. Since they are not helped by their own efforts, they assume no one else can be helped either.

Others are like the drones of the beehive or the most wicked sycophants. In classical literature, drones were often used as a metaphor for people who live off the work of others without contributing anything themselves. They have a constant habit of belittling everything. They are clever at finding faults in any detail. There will be critics who will surely insult the arrangement of my topics.