equidem, in quantum fieri praeter iactantiam potest, gaudeo de praestantissimi viri auctoritate, si certus est, amore, si fallitur: licet quis provocatus nunc ad facta maiorum non inertissimus, quis quoque ad verba non infantissimus erit? namque virtutes artium istarum saeculis potius priscis saeculorum rector ingenuit, quae per aetatem mundi iam senescentis lassatis veluti seminibus emedullatae parum aliquid hoc tempore in quibuscumque, atque id in paucis, mirandum ac memorabile ostentant.
For my part, as far as is possible without vainglory, I rejoice at this renowned mans attestation if he is right, and at his affection if he is wrong. Yet who, if challenged in these days to match our forefathers achievements, will not prove a sluggard, and who confronted with their words will not be like a speechless child? For it was in the men of bygone ages that the Ruler of all the ages preferred to implant the talents for such arts; but now, in an era when the world is growing old, these arts have lost the power of germinating, they are exhausted, they produce little that is remarkable or memorable in anyone, and even that only in a few.
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