[15] Where is the warrior, stout of heart and strong of will, who can wage war with cold and hunger?
If our style of soldiering is to be only what it has been, I say we ought to disband at once of our own accord, and not wait to be driven from the field against our will by sheer lack of means.

If we do wish to go forward, this is what we must do: we must detach from the enemy all the fortresses we can and secure all we can for our own: if this is done, the larger supply will be in the hands of those who can stow away the larger store, and the weaker will suffer siege.

[16] At present we are like mariners on the ocean: they may sail on for ever, but the seas they have crossed are no more theirs than those that are still unsailed.

But if we hold the fortresses, the enemy will find they are living in a hostile land, while we have halcyon weather.

[17] Some of you may dread the thought of garrison duty far from home; if so, dispel your doubts.