The Moderns should raise themselves up instead. The Moderns offered to trade places or else to shovel down the higher hill, as a way of avoiding war, but the Ancients rejected the offer, surprised by the newcomers’ insolence. The battle began, the story goes, when the Moderns, occupying the lower of the two tops of the hill Parnassus, grew jealous of the Ancients on the higher one. Like dogs, people fight over scarce resources but tend to be at peace during times of plenty. The main tale begins with reflections about the causes of battles: mainly, pride and want. Weak satires apply “wit without knowledge,” while strong ones have depth. Most people do not see themselves in the satire, seeing only others, and it is not a problem when someone sees himself and get offended, since in anger his counter-arguments are weak. Then comes a preface from the author in which the nature of satire is discussed. The manuscript about the battle is incomplete, so we still do not know who won. The controversy led to a battle between the books themselves, literally, in the King’s library. “The Battle of the Books” begins with a note from the bookseller to the reader, telling the reader that it refers to a “famous dispute … about ancient and modern learning.” Sir William Temple had taken the side of the ancients against Charles Boyle, who had praised the ancient writer Phalaris, but Wotton and Bentley had taken Boyle’s side.
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