Ancient Knightly Wisdom (True Quote, no matter the source)

[Thorsteinn]

"No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that's in the right and keeps on a-comin".
-Texas Ranger Captain William Jesse McDonald's personal motto.
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"I'm not a Wiccan. I'm not big on churches of any kind, despite the fact that I've spoken, face-to-face, with an archangel of the Almighty.

But there were some things I believed in. Some things I had faith in. And faith isn't about perfect attendance to services, or how much money you put on the little plate. It isn't about going skyclad to the Holy Rites, or meditating each day upon the divine.

Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others--even when there's not going to be anyone telling you what a hero you are.

Faith is a power of its own, and one even more elusive and difficult to define than magic."

and

"There are things you can't walk away from. Not if you want to live with yourself afterward."
- Harry Dresden, "The Dresden Files'.

[Sir William]

I like those...well put.

[Thorsteinn]

Thanks!

Got one?

[Sir William]

Nothing I haven't already said previously. 

[Thorsteinn]

"If you're a guy full of sh** without the gold medal...when you get the gold medal, you're still a guy full of sh**"- Didier Berthod, First Ascent

[Sir Edward]

There's a historical quote that's similar. I forget where it's from or the exact wording. I think I heard it recently on the Chivalry-Today podcast... it said something along the lines of whether or not you're a noble, a knight, or whatever, if you act like a churl, you're a churl.

[Sir William]

Here's one that applies to all mankind.

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside all people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

--uncredited source

[Thorsteinn]

Not so ancient but...

"When you go out to fight do you pick people you think you can beat or people you think might beat you? Your answer to that question will determine a lot about you." --Nissan Maxima (of the Armour Archive)

[Sir William]

Been a long time since I was in a fight but judging from my track record, I'd pick people I was sure could beat me good.  Turns out, I was right, they could.  lol

[Sir Edward]

Well, I think it depends. In all the HEMA activities I do, I really like to fight people who are at my level or better, because it pushes me to do my best and forces me to improve.

If I were at war, I'd go for the lowest-hanging fruit first if the situation called for it, since that's just good tactics. Chivalry doesn't demand that we lower our chances for victory. Quite the opposite. There's more to prowess than how hard you can hit. It's easy to forget that Chivalry and Prowess also include striving for excellence and victory.

[Sir William]

A win's a win, eh Sir Edward?  There are uses for that sort of chivalry I suppose.  LOL

I'm kidding of course, its only sound strategy.  A cop once told me, after I'd complained to him about him getting me when I was at the back of the convoy when the guy in front was moving faster than I was.

He used a fishing analogy that basically went- slowest one gets the jakes.

Good times.

[Sir Edward]

A win's a win, eh Sir Edward?  There are uses for that sort of chivalry I suppose.  LOL

Well, there's a couple of different ways to look at it. Historically, knights weren't expected to be honorable towards peasants, which most of the enemy troops would have been. Chivalry only applied to their equals and betters. In the modern context, that doesn't apply anymore of course, but it was a historical reality.

In the other sense, you can be both honorable and fierce, chivalric and strategic, all at the same time. That is, you can fight to win once the gloves are off, but you can't mistreat your foe once you've defeated him. Does that make sense?

In war, knights had to be effective, first and foremost. It doesn't mean they discard their honor, just that they have to apply it appropriately, without taking it to such an extreme that they're giving the other side the upper-hand.

[Sir Edward]

I should add though that it really depends on the situation.

Here's a thought experiment-- Imagine that you're a biplane combat pilot in World War I, and that your squadron comes into contact with a German squadron of equal number, but one of them is the Red Baron. What would you do?

I'd probably strongly consider going for the Red Baron first. To me, my team's best chances of survival are in keeping him from getting onto anyone's tail, rather than just try to rack up kills on my own behalf going after lesser pilots. And if I couldn't shoot him down, but managed to force him to withdraw, I'd have to let him go and make sure my team can handle the remaining planes.

But in other scenarios, if you're the cavalry and you just really need to reduce the number of people shooting/charging at your side, sometimes the best thing to do is simply cull the herd.

(BTW, have you ever looked at the Red Baron's combat record? Man, that was one heck of a pilot!)

[Sir James A]

Interesting idea, Sir Edward. In all of my RPG experience, you usually thin out the "minions" when confronting larger bosses, so that the remaining party members can focus on the big guy and take him down with extreme prejudice. You just have to be faster at eliminating the minions than the boss is at eliminating your team mates.

Nissan Maxima is an interesting guy.

[Thorsteinn]

"In fighting and in everyday life you should be determined though calm. Meet the situation without tenseness yet not recklessly, your spirit settled yet unbiased. An elevated spirit is weak and a low spirit is weak. Do not let the enemy see your spirit."

"The true science of martial arts means practicing them in such a way that they will be useful at any time, and to teach them in such a way that they will be useful in all things."

-Miyamoto Musashi


"If the race goes too swiftly, victory goes to those who are willing to fail."- Roddenberry's 'Andromeda'