Laudator Temporis Acti

Petrarch (1304-1374), Rerum Familiarum Libri 17.3 (to Guido Sette; tr. Aldo S. Bernardo):

"Nowhere on earth is life peaceful." In one place there is war, in another a peace sadder than war; in one place there is infected air, in another an even more fatal infected morality; in one place there is desolate famine, in another a flowing abundance more dangerous than famine; in one place there is wretched slavery, in another an insolent freedom worse than slavery; in one place there is thirst and a desert region, in another a widespread raging of rivers; finally in one place there is heat, in another cold; in one place attacks by beasts, in another the deceits of men; in one place a vast and horrible solitude, in another a rough and troublesome crowd. Thus the spot that we seek is nowhere.

Nusquam terrarum mora tranquilla est. Illic bellum, hic tristior bello pax, illic aer infectus, hic quod est pestilentius infecti mores: illic fames avida, hic fame periculosior exundans copia: illic calamitosa servitus, hic servitute peior insolens libertas; illic sitiens et inaquosa regio, hic fluminum vagus furor; denique illic æstus, hic frigora, illic ferarum impetus, hic hominum doli; illic solitudo vasta et horribilis, hic gravis et importuna frequentia. Ita locus ille quem quærimus nusquam est.