"A warrior ought to read ancient records regularly in order to steel
himself.  In famous books such as Gunkan, Nobunaga-ki, Taiko-ki, and so
on, and in records of battles, the names of those who did distinguished
deeds are mentioned, and also the total numbers of deaths are recorded.
Among so many thousands or hundreds of deaths, there must have been many
who were knights of major status whose names were not recorded because
they did not do anything special to merit it.  Warriors of distinguished
military achievement alone have their name recorded, even if they are
of minor status.

"For those who died ignominiously and those who died gloriously,
the pain when they handed their heads to the enemy was no different.
Realizing this, the true attitude of a warrior is to determine that if
you are going to have to give up your life anyway, you may as well die
heroically, startling enemies and allies alike, regretted by employers
and commanders, and honor to your posterity for all time.

"In contrast, to lag behind the others when attacking, yet to make sure
to be the first in retreat, or to crouch behind one's comrades in the
thick of fire when besieging an enemy castle, using them as a shield,
and then to be downed by a chance arrow, trampled underfoot by your own
allies, dying a dog's death, losing life, the most precious thing of
all -- this is the most bitter mortification, a regrettable situation;
for a warrior no indiscretion could be worse.

"Contemplate this point well, and strive to ponder it and practice it
day and night."

 -- _Bushido Shoshinshu_ by Daidoji Yuzan (ca. 17th century)