[The quarrel between the ancients and the moderns].

The Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes took place at the turn of the eighteenth century The quarrel, or Battle of the Books, as it was referred to in England, was fought on two fronts. First was an argument over philosophical knowledge and the natural sciences: did the ancients know more than the moderns? The second debate involved literature and the arts: had the ancients perfected these areas? Underlying these two questions were broader notions concerning authority, the location of knowledge, and the purpose and relative worth of imitation and original creativity. These discussions foreshadowed a revolutionary attack on authority in religion and politics. The quarrel signaled a rupture it was an expression of the conflict between radically different pictures of the world. At the beginning of the twenty-first century we find ourselves once again struggling with the implications of a rupture in philosophy, art, science, history, and politics. The modern project has reached a period of crisis, and we are grappling with a choice between ancient authority, modern certainty, or some third way that we are as yet unable to fully define. As Leo Strauss writes: "Only in the light of the quarrel between the ancients and the moderns can modernity be understood."