"Take the question on its merits. In a duel with swords there are two
things you want to know: first, what is your opponent's natural temper,
when he is fighting in earnest; secondly, what is the character of his
play and the quality of his swordsmanship. No one can deny that it is
very advantageous to know, whether the man that you have to face is
impatient and excitable or self-possessed and cool; whether he will
attack you with resolution or play a waiting game; whether he will
attempt to parry or simply offer his point; whether he is energetic or
the reverse, skilful or clumsy, an ugly customer or not particularly
formidable. The fact of your presence at a previous encounter is
sufficient by itself to give you information on all these heads. You
are reassured and reinforced; undisturbed by doubt and hesitation you
can mature your plans at leisure with a quiet mind. You have been over
the ground and know how the land lies. Even if you have not the vaguest
notion of fencing, if your ignorance is so complete that you are not in
a position to make the best use of all this valuable information, still
the fact that you have been a spectator of the first fight, apart from
any conclusions you may draw, robs of its imaginary terrors the great
unknown, and shows you what you have to do.
"Your antagonist on the contrary has everything to learn. He does
not know whether you are skilful or incompetent; whether he ought to
attack you or to wait for your attack; whether your nerves are shaky or
firm; whether you are naturally cool or excitable. He is in the dark,
a stranger feeling his way in a new country. You, meanwhile, having
no need to waste time on such deliberations, go to work at once, with
every probability of winning an easy victory.
"Therefore, just as in the case of the man who is at a disadvantage
in point of science and practice, but superior in bodily strength,
soundness of wind, and condition, I maintained that he has as much
right to make full use of those advantages as his opponent has to use
those which he possesses, so in the situation we are now considering,
I maintain that we must refuse to allow anything that goes to handicap
the combatants, or tends to incline the scales unfairly on one side
rather than the other.
"It may be that some of the considerations, that I have put forward,
have not occurred to you before. But now, bearing them in mind, can
you say that you really and truly believe that such a fight as this is
a fair fight, or that you would consent to have anything to do with it?
"I think that I have said everything that I had to say on the duties
of seconds, as they appear to me in the light of my own experience and
of the history of the subject. To-morrow we will discuss a still more
important matter, the methods to be adopted by the principals."
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