Face not my master in battle, O ye foes! for many are the men that challenged him and are now lying in stone-marked graves.

The javelin that is aimed at a tusker but misseth bringeth more glory than the arrow that is aimed at a hare and even hitteth.

The furious courage that striketh hard, that is what they call valour: but it is chivalrous generosity to the fallen that giveth it its edge.

The warrior hurled his spear at the elephant and was hurrying back to look for another: but he noticed the spear buried in his own body and smiled with joy as he plucked it out.32

Is it not a shame to the hero if his eye doth so much as wink when the lance is hurled at him?

The hero counteth those days as wasted on which he receiveth not deep gashes on his body.

Behold the men that care not for their lives but yearn for the fame that encompasseth the earth about: the anklet that they wear round their foot is a very feast to the eye.

Behold the men of valour that fear not for their lives on the battlefield: they forget not their discipline even when their chief is severe upon them.

Who hath the right to blame the men who lose their lives in the attempt to accomplish that which they have undertaken?

If one can die so as to draw tears from the eyes of one’s chief, one may even go a-begging in order to obtain for oneself such a death.