And with that word his speche faille gan,
For from his feet up to his brest was come
The coold of deeth, that hadde hym overcome,
And yet mooreover, for in his armes two
The vital strengthe is lost and al ago.
Oonly the intellect, withouten moore,
That dwelled in his herte syk and soore,
Gan faillen whan the herte felte deeth.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Knight’s Tale. The description of the slow-motion death of Arcite, as it moves over the knight’s body. It starts at his feet, then moves up to his breast, into his two arms and finally to his heart, the dwelling-place of the intellect, says the narrator.