The Cavalry General
I
Your first duty is to offer sacrifice, petitioning the gods to grant you
such good gifts[2] as shall enable you in thought, word, and deed to
discharge your office in the manner most acceptable to Heaven, and with
fullest increase to yourself, and friends, and to the state at large of
affection, glory, and wide usefulness. The goodwill of Heaven[3] so
obtained, you shall proceed to mount your troopers, taking care that the
full complement which the law demands is reached, and that the normal
force of cavalry is not diminished. There will need to be a reserve of
remounts, or else a deficiency may occur at any moment,[4] looking to the
fact that some will certainly succumb to old age, and others, from one
reason or another, prove unserviceable.