Chapter 18, “The Philosophy of Sederado” (p. 199)
“

In all these fights and flights I have never known that mad joy of battle of which the epics speak. Before the combat I am frightened, during it I am confused, and after it I am weary and disgusted.

— L. Sprague de Camp

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "In all these fights and flights I have never known that mad joy of battle of which the epics speak. Before the combat I am frightened, during it I am confused, and after it I am weary and disgusted." in the context of "Chapter 18, “The Philosophy of Sederado” (p. 199)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "L. Sprague de Camp" (Quotes, The Tritonian Ring (1951): Many editions. All page numbers here are from the mass market paperback edition published by The Paperback Library, catalogue number 64-696, in September 1971, second printing ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
L. Sprague de Camp

About L. Sprague de Camp

L. Sprague de Camp (November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biographies of other fantasy authors. He was a major figure in science fiction in the 1930s and 1940s.