For much of the history of western culture, scholars, philosophers, and artists looked backward to the examples set by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Many of the most learned people in Europe read and wrote about ideas primarily in Latin—or, less commonly and in the case of areas that follow Eastern Orthodoxy, ancient Greek. Part of the reason for this use of antiquated languages is that the source texts for theological, philosophical, and medical theories were composed by ancient Greeks or Romans. The surviving works of these ancient authors was often considered authoritative, and the theories presented in them were only developed through intricate commentaries.

This tradition of reverence for the ancients came to a head during the European Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries. During this period, developments like archaeology, printing, and the scientific method created a rift in ideas about ancient works. The archaeological finds uncovered a wealth of previously unknown texts and artworks from this period that substantiated ancient mastery. Printing facilitated a common, vernacular literature that soon came to rival ancient works. The scientific method of inquiry, similarly, provided a codified method of engaging with the natural world and discovering its intricacies.