your decision is to be taken on us, and not on our estate. For so long as there was peace, we had a material fortune and our father was skillful in his farming; but after the invasion of the enemy, we were deprived of the whole of it. So this was the very reason why we were zealous in your service: we knew that we had no funds from which we could pay a fine, but that our personal zeal in your service entitles us to get some recompense.