QamvIS Hegh qaq law' torvIS yIn qaq puS
Better to die on our feet than live on our knees. ST6
("Dying while standing is preferable to living while kneeling"). 

TKW 95:  The grammatical construction is a bit aberrant; one would expect QamtaHvIS and tortaHvIS.  In proverbs, grammatical shortcuts are not uncommon.

SEE ALSO:

qIv             knee (n)

tom             be tilted, tilt (v)
joD             stoop (v)
'ung            squat (down) (v)
SIH             bend (v)
Qam             stand (v)
Hu'             get up (v)
van             salute, bow before (v)

TREK TRIVIA:

  "Or perhaps the thought of bending knee and tending sheep appeals to you?" (Kirk, TOS "Who Mourns for Adonais?")

(HQ 11.2):  And when the nose of the plane moves up or down, the plane is said to tor "pitch".  (The word tor also means "kneel", which Maltz thought was apt, since if a four-legged animal is able to kneel with either its hind legs or its front legs, it is able to pitch or tilt up or down.) …  The attitude of an aircraft is often talked about in terms of angles. The word for angle is tajvaj.  Klingon taH means "be at a negative angle".