Together with the further maxim, divide et impera, it is also being followed in establishing the so-called élite of an army. On the other hand, the example of the Italian condottieri, like that of the praetorian guards of earlier times, plainly demonstrates how much political power can be wielded through the possession of arms, military practice and the art of strategy. The mercenary boldly seized the crowns of princes, tossed them hither and thither, and became the natural candidate for the highest power in the state,[1] a phenomenon repeatedly witnessed in times of excitement and war when military power is readily manipulated by individuals, even in our own age, e. g., Napoleon and his generals, also—Boulanger!
The history of the German "Wars of Liberation" furnishes important information about the influence of the external political situation on the development of armies and militarism. When, after the pitiful failure of the wars of the Coalition against the French Revolution, the feudal
- ↑ Cf. Burckhardt, I, p. 22.
