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Sometimes the quarrel between two princes is to decide which of them shall dispossess a third of his dominions, where neither of them pretends to any right. Sometimes one prince quarrels with another, for fear the other should quarrel with him. Sometimes the neighboring countries want the things which they have, or they have the things which the author's country wants, and they both fight.
The author also satirically says that it is a very justifiable cause of a war to invade a country after the people have been wasted by famine, destroyed by pestilence, or embroiled by factions among themselves. He comments in the same vein that it is justifiable to enter into war against the nearest ally when one of his towns lies convenient for them, or a territory of land that would render their dominions round and complete. The author remarks on those hawkish princes who send forces into a nation where the people are poor and ignorant, and lawfully put half of them to death and make slaves of the rest, in order to civilize and uplift them from their barbarous way of living.
Who help these princes and the elites in satisfying their lust for wealth, power, land and luxury?
Ans. In order to feed the luxury and intemperance of the males, and the vanity of the females, the greatest part of the necessary things are exported to other countries. A vast number of people are compelled to seek their livelihood by pimping, forswearing, flattering, voting, scribbling, poisoning, whoring, and the like occupations. Poor people are hired as the soldiers who kill thousands of innocents to conquer the desired lands for their princes.
How has the author provided a description of the art of war to his master?
Ans. To enable the master horse to understand the art of war, the author provided him a brief account of various war weapons along with the description of the destruction caused by them. He gave him a description of cannons, culverins, muskets, carbines, pistols, bullets, powder, swords, bayonets, battles, sieges, retreats, attacks, undermines, countermines, bombardments, sea-fights; ships sunk with a thousand men; twenty thousand killed on each side; dying groans, limbs flying in the air; smoke, noise, confusion, trampling to death under horses' feet; flight, pursuit, victory; fields strewed with carcasses left as food for dogs and wolves and birds of prey; plundering, stripping, ravishing, burning, and destroying. And, to underscore the valor of his own dear countrymen, the author assured his master that he had seen them blow up a hundred enemies at once in a siege, and as many in a ship, and beheld the dead bodies come down in pieces from the clouds to the great diversion of the spectators.