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 laborious 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 civilized 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 civilized nation, it became
necessary that all its neighbors should follow
the example. They soon found that their
safety depended upon their doing so, and that
their own militia was altogether incapable of
resisting the attack of such an army.
The soldiers of a standing army, though
they may never have seen an enemy, yet have
frequently appeared to possess all the courage
of veteran troops, and, the very moment that
they took the field, to have been fit to face
the hardiest and most experienced veterans.
In 1756, when the Russian army marched
into Poland, the valour of the Russian soldiers
did not appear inferior to that of the
Prussians, at that time supposed to be the
hardiest and most experienced veterans in
Europe. The Russian empire, however,
had enjoyed a profound peace for near twenty
years before, and could at that time have very
few soldiers who had ever seen an enemy.
When the Spanish war broke out in 1739,
England had enjoyed a profound peace for
about eight-and-twenty years. The valour
of her soldiers, however, far from being corrupted
by that long peace, was never more
distinguished than in the attempt upon Carthagena,
the first unfortunate exploit of that
unfortunate war. In a long peace, the generals,
perhaps, may sometimes forget their
skill; but where a well regulated standing
army has been kept up, the soldiers seem never
to forget their valour.
When a civilized nation depends for its
defence upon a militia, it is at all times exposed
to be conquered by any barbarous nation
which happens to be in its neighbourhood.
The frequent conquests of all the
civilized countries in Asia by the Tartars,
sufficiently demonstrates the natural superiority
which the militia of a barbarous has
over that of a civilized nation. A well regulated
standing army is superior to every
militia. Such an army, as it can best be
maintained by an opulent and civilized nation,
so it can alone defend such a nation against
the invasion of a poor and barbarous neighbour.
It is only by means of a standing
army, therefore, that the civilization of any