In short, the war got off to a pretty good start, with the help of chaos.
More than anything I am afraid of fear itself overwhelming me. One must use any bit of folly to control it. 
The Church needs a firm hierarchy and is forced to distrust such of her underlings as show a tendency to become too holy.
The law, as manipulated by clever and highly respected rascals, still remains the best avenue for a career of honourable and leisurely plunder.
Men are sheep. Which is why armies and wars are possible. They die victims of their stupid docility.
So, in order to be courageous, I now have a fairly simple means at my disposal: to accept death. 
The desire for carnal possession quickly cools, whereas the desire to own land never quits the heart of man. 