The allegorising and the length which repel readers of to-day did not disgust generations whose favourite literary style was the allegorical, and who had abundance of leisure; but the real secret of its vogue, as of all such vogues, is that it faithfully held up the mirror to the later middle ages.
"A Short History of French Literature"
George Saintsbury
What curious pranks time plays with tastes and vogues.
"The Delicious Vice"
Young E. Allison