Marius ... took care in his invitations, actively sought to exclude from his circle crude and vulgar men like Camus Galerius. But they were all around; it was Marius who lived in a dream world, and his bubble of civility was becoming smaller and smaller. Camus Galerius, powerful member of a powerful family, had never even heard of Plato. A hundred, even fifty years before, such an absurdity would have been inconceivable. Now it was surprising if such a man did know anything of philosophy, and even if it was explained, he would not wish to understand.

The Dream of Scipio