(Ars amatoria 3.121–28)19
[Let ancient times delight other folk: I congratulate myself that I
was not born till now; this age fits my mores well. Not because now
stubborn gold is drawn from out the earth and shells come gathered
from divers shores, nor because mountains diminish as the
marble is dug from them, nor because masonry puts to flight the
dark waters; but because culture (cultus) is with us, and rusticity,
which survived until our grandsires, has not lived to our days.]
[Let ancient times delight other folk: I congratulate myself that I
was not born till now; this age fits my mores well. Not because now
stubborn gold is drawn from out the earth and shells come gathered
from divers shores, nor because mountains diminish as the
marble is dug from them, nor because masonry puts to flight the
dark waters; but because culture (cultus) is with us, and rusticity,
which survived until our grandsires, has not lived to our days.]