I shall review the upshot of our previous exchange. When…I ended up by deploring with heavy heart the defect and misery of our present age, and at the same time our unhappiness and that of others to whom it has been giveen to conduct this mortal life in these times; and I made out those of an early age to have been a more fortunate lot, especially during the principate of Caesar Augustus, when the world was almost pacified and the Latin genius flourished to the greatest extent, and when due reward was given to merit. But now you, if I have caught the sense of your words, take the part of our age, nor will you give preference to the memory of Ancient times — since, as you say, those times did not lack in miseries, when men were ambitious of glory and keen on dominating, and hence for that reason were burning with the ardor of conquering, and were always in arms and frequently afflicted with miserable disasters. Thus you and I differ with respect to these matters. I prefer the Ancient times, you defend the Modern. Hence it might be of some use to discuss this matter thoroughly.

…if we think of the cultivation of virtues, the reward of duties, the robustness and efficacy of minds, and finally of the excellence of minds, I shall not cease to claim boldly that we are greatly outdone by our predecessors, and that the Modern times have notably declined from the Ancient. Ah, would that I could demonstrate the opposite!…The customs of this age are obvious if we just open our eyes a little. Today everyone recognizes, and I find it disgusting to recall, by what arts the favor of princes is sought, by what merits higher honors and greater riches can be hoped for, and finally who and what sort of men are commonly believed to excel in sense and prudence….Now you see everywhere a mankind whose greatest aim it should be to mingle with others socially, to live together and communicate in a civil way, cheating one’s neighbor and setting traps everywhere, by means of which any careless or unsuspecting person who walks by may be tripped up. A man seems to himself superior, he seems wiser and more prudent, not just to himself, but, what is still more to be deplored, to others as well, who uses whatever mind heaven has endowed him with for the embezzlement of another’s wealth, or for the betrayal of a trusting associate. And he who deploys the machinery of the abominable arts more subtly and shrewdly will easily gain the favor of princes, will receive the gifts and rewards, and in a short time will gain dominion over those who dominate.

But who and what sort of men those Ancients were, by what customs they lived, what virtues they had, what sorts of actions gained reward, and what sorts of things were given to those who deserved well, all belong to a bygone age and cannot be seen by our eyes or touched with our hands; they can, however, be recognized by great testimonies and reliable evidence. The best evidence consists of the writings which outstanding minds have left to the memory f posterity…To my way of thinking it is out of the question that such genuine men could have written anything except the truth – especially those who were intending to write history…If you in all fairness compare what we perceive to present with these, you will admit that justice, courage, temperance, and prudence really dwelt more profoundly in their souls, and that they who did great things by the guidance of these virtues were provided with far more worthy rewards. Moreover, proof of this is given by those objects which remain in Rome to this day as testimony to the honors that used to be conferred upon outstanding actions. For although time has consumed many of them and only ruins of others appear, still those thing that remain testify that those who decreed them must have been of great virtue, and that something great and worthy of praise must have been enacted by those for whom they were being given for their lasting honor and glory. I mean the statues which, either cast in bronze or chiseled in marble, have lasted to the present, and the many fragments of those that have been shattered lying about everywhere, the marble triumphal arches of impressive workmanship and the sculptured columns showing the histories of great deeds, and so many other things of this kind publicly built in honor of great men who were distinguished, whether because they had established peace or because they had liberated the fatherland from immanent peril or had extended empire over subjected peoples, as I recall having read in some of them. And you similarly, in some of them I suspect, have noticed in passing sometimes and have stopped a little while with some amazement and perhaps said to yourself, “surely these are proof of great men.”

Let us move along to the vigor and effectiveness of minds, in which matter it can be called an abuse rather than a comparison to compare ours with those of the Ancients, since it is clear that they had robust and strong minds, whereas we should judge the action of ours to be such as to make us think that we have not only weak and feeble minds but none at all….And so one should not look for the sort of vigor in us that our ancestors had. Among us you find few who dare to await the advancing enemy and do so with eagerness. I realize what many people are accustomed to say on this topic, namely, that those deeds which are told of the character of our Ancients were derived rather from rage and imprudence than from virtue, and that they were led to this fury by a desire for empty glory and by ambition for domination. But whatever the truth may be in this matter — I do not presently inquire; I ask that you grant only one thing of those mentioned, namely, that such great and fearless deeds proceeded from great spirits.

Finally, to turn the discussion from character to genius, there can be no one to whom it is not transparently clear that the Modern powers of mind have declined from those of the Ancients. For since the minds of men are known through nothing so much as their works, the magnitude of difference between them and us can be shown in no better way than by comparing the works achieved by us respectively. The special achievements of the human mind are the discoveries of the arts and sciences….Our minds are inferior quality: if we have anything historical from them, it is without a doubt more careless than Livy or Sallust, if oratorical, much inferior to Cicero, if poetical, Maro precedes and Horace and Ovid, if philosophical, Varro and Seneca outshine. If you even find anyone among us who is at all learned in the divine canon and in the sacred scriptures, you will find that he walks far below Augustine and Jerome and innumerable others of the Ancients.

Of the artistic products of ancient genius, few survive. But those that do remain anywhere are eagerly sought and seen and highly prized by those who feel strongly about such things: and if you compare them with those of today, it will soon become obvious that their authors were by nature more powerful in genius and more learned in the mastery of their art….And so I never cease to wonder and become indignant at the fact that we, brought up and nourished in the light of the true religion, have departed so much from former virtue; we have so ceased to be men that in many respects we are driven almost like sheep. Forgive me I pray you, best of men, for grief has no measure. I know that I have written too much, inanities badly put together, but indignation drove my pen, and I have acted with you in a friendly and confidential fashion.