II.] The Grand Signior to this day suffers not a Christian or a Jew to keep a horse of his own throughout his empire.
Our ancestors, and especially at the time they had war with the English, in all their greatest engagements and pitched battles fought for the most part on foot, that they might have nothing but their own force, courage, and constancy to trust to in a quarrel of so great concern as life and honour.

You stake (whatever Chrysanthes in Xenophon says to the contrary) your valour and your fortune upon that of your horse; his wounds or death bring your person into the same danger; his fear or fury shall make you reputed rash or cowardly; if he have an ill mouth or will not answer to the spur, your honour must answer for it.

And, therefore, I do not think it strange that those battles were more firm and furious than those that are fought on horseback: "Caedebant pariter, pariterque ruebant Victores victique; neque his fuga nota, neque illis." ["They fought and fell pell-mell, victors and vanquished; nor was flight thought of by either."-- AEneid, x.

756.] Their battles were much better disputed.

Nowadays there are nothing but routs: "Primus clamor atque impetus rem decernit." ["The first shout and charge decides the business."-- Livy, xxv.