“‘I clearly see . . .
How time is hurrying towards me in order
To deal me such a blow as would be most
Grievous for him who is not set for it;
Thus, it is right to arm myself with foresight,
That if I lose the place most dear, I may
Not lose the rest through what my poems say.'”

—from Canto XVII of Dante’s Paradiso by Dante Alighieri