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than they otherwise would have been. For he said that a new
lineage would be rejoiced from heaven, which would do virtuous things
on earth, by which the devil would be vanquished.
Having seen these writings, Saint Paul was very impressed by them,
and said -- with a sorrowful heart, for Virgil had not been a Christian --
oh, how I could have brought you to God if you had lived at a time when
I could have come to you! There were other philosophers as well, each of
whom said wise and marvelous words. But we cannot now
recount all the good things that they said. For they were wise men
and valiant, since they put the clergy at the forefront. For were
it not for the clergy, one would not have known anything about who God was. And
if they had not been wise -- which they were --
there would never be as many clerics as there
now. And as one might still find it to be so, if those now
were like those who first founded the clerical profession.
But now that profession is sinking to nothing, so much so that it is close to
perishing. For these days people see hardly any reason why
they ought to understand the virtues,
or teach them to others, or give