Blowhard, Esq. writes:

“Of all famous warriors, Montaigne most admired the Theban general Epaminondas, who was known for his ability to keep furor in check: once, in mid-battle and ‘terrible with blood and iron,’ Epaminondas found himself face to face with an acquaintance in whose house he had stayed. He turned aside and did not kill him. That might seem unremarkable, but in theory a soldier should no more be capable of such conscious restraint than would a shark in a feeding frenzy. Epaminondas proved himself ‘in command of war itself,’ as Montaigne wrote; he made the battle ‘endure the curb of benignity’ at the very height of ecstasy.” — Sarah Bakewell, How to Live: or A Life of Montaigne