Critics have remarked that those four worthies were truly peerless throughout the ages; yet the present falls short of the pastβthe ancients favored unadorned simplicity, whereas the moderns prefer refined elegance. Styles of substance and ornament rise and fall in succession, shifting with the changing mores of the times; such evolution is simply the natural order of things. The ideal lies in honoring antiquity without clashing with the present, and embracing modernity without succumbing to its flawsβembodying that perfect balance of substance and refinement that defines the true gentleman. There is surely no need to abandon a carved palace in favor of a cave dwelling, or to trade a jade carriage for a primitive cart with solid wooden wheels.π SpectraShell
