Sympathetic Theater

I remember having read in a certain place in Plutarch this Question proposed by him: Why do horses, which, when they were still foals, were pursued by wolves and provided for their own safety by flight, excel the others in the speed of their feet and in running? To which he responds that it is possible that terror and fear, which the grim aspect of a wolf strikes into a still small animal, cause it to contend with all its strength to escape the danger imminent to its neck, and thus fear loosens the joints of the limbs, stretches the nerves, and renders the ligaments and other parts especially suited for running prompt, so that through the whole course of life it observes and feels that, and from that result it turns out to be an excellent runner. Or perhaps, he says, this happens because the foals of horses that are naturally strong in running avoid death by fleeing, while others, who do not enjoy such speed of feet, are seized by wolves and fall into the nets, as the sought-after prey. And therefore they are not more prompt to run for the reason that, aided by the help of flight, they snatched themselves from the jaws of the wolf, but because the natural aptitude for running with which they are endowed withdrew them from the snares of the wolves and saved them from destruction. He brings forward several more reasons, and finally