O sovereign, I wish to teach you one more sacred lesson, one that bears great fruit and stands supreme among all teachings, namely this: Virtue must never be abandoned out of desire, fear, or temptation — nor even for the sake of life itself. Virtue is eternal; pleasure and pain are transient; life itself is indeed eternal, but its several phases are transient. Having cast off the transient, devote yourself to that which is eternal, and let contentment be yours, for contentment is the highest of all gains. Behold: renowned and mighty kings, who ruled over lands abounding in wealth and grain, have fallen prey to the Universal Destroyer, leaving behind their kingdoms and their vast sources of enjoyment. A son, reared with tender care, once dead, is lifted up and carried away by the people to the burning ground. With disheveled hair and piteous weeping, they then cast his body into the funeral pyre, as though it were a mere piece of wood. Others enjoy the wealth of the departed, while birds and fire feast upon the elements of his body. Only with two companions does he go into the other world — namely, his merits and his sins, which alone accompany him.