The Wisdom of J. D. Tant

The following sentiment is so near to that of J. W. McGarvey, that for a moment I thought I had incorrectly attributed the quote when I shared it this summer. While the sentiment and even the manner of expression are very much the same, the following--in my opinion--bears repeating as often and in as varied a way as possible:

I would as soon risk my chance of heaven to die drunk in a bawdy house as to die on the battlefield, with murder in my heart, trying to kill my fellow man.