attack with 800 horse, and with these he separated the 6000 Hungarian
grenadiers before the very eyes of the Austrian cavalry. This cavalry was
half a league off, and required a quarter of an hour to arrive on the
field of action; and I have observed that it is always these quarters of
an hour that decide the fate of a battle," including, we may add, the
battle of life.

Nor must we spare ourselves in other ways, for

"He who thinks in strife
To earn a deathless fame, must do, nor ever care for life." [2]

In the excitement of the struggle, moreover, he will suffer comparatively
little from wounds and blows which would otherwise cause intense
suffering.

It is well to weigh scrupulously the object in view, to run as little risk
as may be, to count the cost with care.

But when the mind is once made up, there must be no looking back, you must
spare yourself no labor, nor shrink from danger.

"He either fears his fate too much
Or his deserts are small,
That dares not put it to the touch
To gain or lose it all." [3]

Glory, says Renan, "is after all the thing which has the best chance of
not being altogether vanity." But what is glory?