Dom João Afonso Telo, whom we have already mentioned, was present at this debate and, having listened to the arguments which they had all advanced, he began to put forward a strongly opposing viewpoint, which ran as follows:

‘Let me tell you, sire, that I am very much opposed to this advice and to the arguments that these men have advanced, for it seems to me that those who advise you not to fight nor go into battle against the Portuguese have no love either for your honour or for serving you. This I say for two reasons: they declare that on no account should you get involved in fighting them, urging that by defeating them you will derive neither honour nor praise. They put forward two arguments to justify this: the first is that they consider the enemy to be already defeated, not just by feats of arms, but also because they will overcome them with their bare hands; the other is that, by defeating them, as I said, neither honour nor praise will ensue. I take the very opposite view. As for the victory which they deem to be already achieved, in view of the small numbers of the Portuguese and the vast multitude that is your army, I believe that this outcome is not as straightforward as they think. That is because those very men who have taken up their positions there know full well how few of them there are, and how many of us there are and how we are better prepared than they are; for that very reason they are wholeheartedly determined to go ahead with what they have begun. Moreover, since they have sought us out and are now there waiting for us, I do not believe that it will be as swift a matter to dislodge them as these noblemen imagine. Indeed, anyone who does succeed in dislodging them will find that it will not be done without great cost.’

He was answered by Don Pero Díaz, the Prior of San Juan, who said, ‘You’re saying that because they’re Portuguese, just like you.’

‘That's not my reason for saying it’, the count replied. ‘I say this because I know most of them, and because I do not believe that they will be as easily captured as some people say.