Are we living in a second Renaissance?

[Boleslav]

I may be biased as I am enthralled to Classical Antiquity, Medieval [Carolingian Renaissance+Ottonian Renaissance] and Byzantine history, the Italian Renaissance, the Period of Enlightenment and the Age of European Romanticism. However, I would generally state that the contemporary world is a collective manifestation of a dilapidated state of human affairs with the decrease in the devotion to knowledge and the vulgarity and baseness of language.

In the broad expanse of history you indicate, how prevalent was knowledge-devotion? How literate were the societies in even the most developed of these cultures? I admit that the social and religious-political elites were probably highly educated, but the masses surely were not. It seems to me that as technology and education become more accessible to more segments of the population a devotion to knowledge would increase rather than decrease. I suppose if you are looking at overall levels of knowledge from the subset of literate people only, then perhaps a case can be made for historical elites having a greater aggregate level of knowledge than the literate masses of today. Even if that were to be true, I would view that widespread literacy and access to education as being liberating and essential. Of course, knowledge is wonderful, but so are skills. My ability to speak multiple languages is not going to help me ice a cake or change a car tire or any number of tasks which I find myself needing to do.

The youth are consumed by lasciviousness whilst those advanced in years are incorrigible and dazzled by a false glaring light. The general licentiousness of human nature is revolting and such sullies the passions of the spirit.

I would contend that lasciviousness is a fundamental component of human nature. I would further argue that there is sufficient historical evidence that the ancients were every bit as excited and fascinated by the reproductive and pleasurable potential of their bodies as people are today. When was the last time any of us went to a museum and didn't see an artifact from Ancient Greece or Rome representing priapism or some other sexual content?