《君主论·第十三章·援军·混合军与自己的军队》第4节
I wish also to recall to memory an instance from the Old Testament applicable to this subject. David offered himself to Saul to fight with Goliath, the Philistine champion, and, to give him courage, Saul armed him with his own weapons; which David rejected as soon as he had them on his back, saying he could make no use of them, and that he wished to meet the enemy with his sling and his knife. In conclusion, the arms of others either fall from your back, or they weigh you down, or they bind you fast. Charles the Seventh, the father of King Louis the Eleventh, having by good fortune and valour liberated France from the English, recognized the necessity of being armed with forces of his own, and he established in his kingdom ordinances concerning men-at-arms and infantry. Afterwards his son, King Louis, abolished the infantry and began to enlist the Switzers, which mistake, followed by others, is, as is now seen, a source of peril to that kingdom; because, having raised the reputation of the Switzers, he has entirely diminished the value of his own arms, for he has destroyed the infantry altogether; and his men-at-arms he has subordinated to others, for, being as they are so accustomed to fight along with Switzers, it does not appear that they can now conquer without them. Hence it arises that the French cannot stand against the Switzers, and without the Switzers they do not come off well against others. The armies of the French have thus become mixed, partly mercenary and partly national, both of which arms together are much better than mercenaries alone or auxiliaries alone, but much inferior to one’s own forces. And this example proves it, for the kingdom of France would be unconquerable if the ordinance of Charles had been enlarged or maintained.
注释摘要
马基雅维利在这一节继续推进他对军队类型的评判，刚刚说完援军比雇佣军更危险，现在他需要用一个更直观、更不容置疑的例子来巩固这个结论，于是他转向了《旧约》中大卫与歌利亚的故事。扫罗王把自己的盔甲和兵器交给大卫，意图是保护他、给他勇气，但大卫一穿上就拒绝了，说自己用不惯，宁可带着自己的投石器和刀去迎战。马基雅维利从这个故事里提炼出一个极其浓缩的警句：他人的武器要…