3 0 THE KNIGHTS ΤΒΜΡΜΒβ, " As often as thou who wagest a secular warfare marchesi forth to battle, it is greatly to be feared lest when thou slayest thine enemy in the body, he should destroy thee in the spirit, or lest peradventore thou shouldst be at once slain by him both in body and soul. From the disposition of the heart, indeed, not by the event of the fight, is to he estimated either the jeopardy or the victory of the Christian. If, fighting with the desire of killing another, thou shouldest chance to get killed thyself, thon diest a man-slayer ; if, on the other hand, thou prevailest, and through a desire of conquest or revenge killest a man, thou livest a manslayer. .. . Ο unfortunate victory, when in overcoming thine adversary thou fallest into sin, and anger or pride having the mastery over thee, in vain thou gloriest over the vanquished . . . " What, therefore, is the fruit of this secular, I will not say ' militia,' but ' malitia,' if the slayer committeth a deadly sin, and the slain perisheth eternally ? Verily, to use the words of the apostle, he that ploweth should plow in hope, and he that thresheth should be partaker of his hope. Whence, therefore, Ο soldiers, coineth this so stupendous error ? What insufferable madness is this—to wage war with so great cost and labour, but with no pay except either death or crime ? Ye cover your horses with silken trappings, and I know not how much fine cloth hangs pendent from your coats of mail. Ye paint your spears, shields, and saddles ; your bridles and spurs are adorned on all sides with gold, and silver, and gems, and with all this pomp, with a shameful fury and a reckless insensibility, ye rush on to death. Are these military ensigns, or are they not rather the garnishments of women? Can it happea that the sharp-pointed sword of the enemy will respect gold, will it spare gems, will it be unable to penetrate the silken garment? Lastly, as ye yourselves have often experienced, three things are indispensably necessary to the success of the soldier ; he must, for example, be bold, active, and