Chapter 78: Military Pride

Verse 780
The King is on the battlefield, holding a dying soldier in his lap. He is deeply moved by the bravery of this fallen warrior and a tear falls down his cheek. Around him his commanders appreciate the king’s compassion for their difficult and dangerous task.

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Weaver’s Wisdom

Verse 771

Dare you not, my enemies, to stand against my monarch!
Many who did now stand as stone monuments.

Verse 772

It is more gratifying to carry a lance that missed an elephant
than to hold an arrow that hit a thicket-dwelling rabbit.

Verse 773

Intrepid courage is what they call valor,
and clemency toward the defeated is its sharp edge.

Verse 774

Having hurled his spear at a battlefield elephant,
the hero found another piercing his side and grasped it with glee.

Verse 775

Is it not a disgraceful defeat to the courageous warrior
if his defiant eyes so much as blink when a lance is hurled at him?

Verse 776

When recounting his days, the heroic soldier regards all those
on which no battle scars were sustained as squandered.

Verse 777

To fasten the warrior’s anklet on one who desires glory
more than life is to decorate heroism with distinction.

Verse 778

Men of courage who do not fear for their lives in battle do not
forfeit soldierly ardor, even if the king prohibits their fighting.

Verse 779

Who would dare deride as defeated
men who die fulfilling valor’s vow?

Verse 780

Heroic death that fills the sovereign’s eyes with tears
is worth begging for and then dying for.