A Viking Parable - ouch

A farmer accompanied his son to the warships and gave him counsel, telling him to be valiant and hardy in perils. "How would you act if you were engaged in battle and knew beforehand that you were destined to be killed?" The son answered, "Why then should I refrain from striking right and left?" The farmer said, "Now suppose someone could tell you for certain that you would not be killed?" The son answered, "Why then should I refrain from pushing forward to the utmost?" The farmer said, "In every battle you fight, one of two things will happen: you will either fall or come away alive. Be bold, therefore, for everything is preordained. Nothing can bring a man to his death if his time has not come, and nothing can save one doomed to die. To die in flight is the worst death of all." (here)