f 
5793s on improvements in artillery. 285 
greatly to. the succefs of afsailants. And, it is a 
pleasing reflection, that the more the art of killing 
men in battle is improved, the, fewer men are kil- 
\Ied ; as appears by comparing the list. of the killed 
and wounded in modern, with that in ancient battles, 
when the numbers of the combatants were equal. 
“‘ This remarkable event’ has arisen from the 
use of gun powder in war, and from the improve- 
ments of mufkets and field pieces, which have made 
the following changes in the mode of fighting. . 
‘* Before the invention of fire arms, the comba- 
tants in battle had foot to foot, and fhield to fhield, 
so that he that fled, was almost certain cf death, or 
of wounds ; but in modern battles, the combatants 
are so seldom near each other, that in general flight 
produces safety. 
Tn the ancient engagements, personal enmity 
was almost unavoidable, because every one saw his 
adversary ; which, joined to the practice of killing 
_or selling the prisoners, produced an obstinacy in 
the ancient. battles very different from that in the 
modern, in which the distance and the smoke, hin- 
der the combatants from knowing each other, and in 
which all the prisoners are treated with the utmost 
humanity. 
‘« The armies of ancient times were arranged 
in deep columns with narrow fronts. But, since 
the improvements on mufkets and field pieces, ar- 
mies have been arranged in long thin lines; so that 
the battle is never. general at the same time, nor 
consequently the flight, This makes it dangerous 
to pursue; because there are always parts of the 
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