In Albrecht Dürer’s famous engraving The Knight, Death, and the Devil, a knight, a figure of death, and the Devil represent three significant archetypes of human experience: success, the passing of time, and misfortune. Yet all arouse fear—even terror—and herald the inevitable tragedy of the near or distant future. The question is therefore how such an image of tragedy and misfortune can be the basis for a motivational text?

In Reading Albrecht Dürer’s The Knight, Death, and the Devil Ab Ovum: Life Understood as a Struggle, author William C. Auden...