n the battle? Shall we be a derision to our foes, we who were
their terror? Shall we take scorn instead of glory? The Briton will
marvel that he was conquered by men whom he sees fear is enough to
conquer. We struck them before with panic; shall we be panic-stricken by
them? We scorned them when before us; shall we dread them when they are
not here? When will our bravery win the treasure which our cowardice
rejects? Shall we shirk the fight, in scorn of the money which we fought
to win, and enrich those whom we should rightly have impoverished? What
deed more despicable can we do than to squander gold on those whom
we should smite with steel? Panic must never rob us of the spoils of
valour; and only war must make us quit what in warfare we have won.
Let us sell our plunder at the price at which we bought it; let the
purchase-money be weighed out in steel. It is better to die a noble
death, than to molder away too much in love with the light life. In a
fleeting instant of time life forsakes us, but shame pursues us past the
grave. Further, if we cast away this gold, the greater the enemy thinks
our fear, the hotter will be his chase. Besides, whichever the issue of
the day, the gold is not hateful to us. Conquerors, we shall triumph in
the treasure which now we bear; conquered, we shall leave it to pay our
burying."

So spoke the old man; but the soldiers regarded the advice of their king
rather than of their comrade, and thought more of the former than of
the latter counsel. So each of them eagerly drew his wealth, whatever
he had, from his pouch; they unloaded their ponies of the various goods
they were carrying; and having thus cleared their money-bags, girded on
their arms more deftly. They went on, and the Britons came up, but broke
away after the plunder which lay spread out before them. Their king,
when he beheld them too greedily busied with scrambling for the
treasure, bade them "take heed not to weary with a load of riches those
hands which were meant for battle, since they ought to know that a
victory must be culled ere it is counted. Therefore let them scorn the
gold and give chase to the possessors of the gold; let them admire the
lustre, not of lucre, but of conquest; remembering, that a trophy
gave more reward than gain. Courage was worth more than dross, if they
measured aright the quality of both; for the one furnished outward
adorning, but the other enhanced both outward and inward grace.
Therefore they