Jerome : "Do not ask,' what is the cause that the former days were better than these?' For you do not enquire wisely about this. "Do not prefer the previous age to this one, since God created both one and the other. Virtues create good days for man, and vices make bad days. Do not say therefore that the days were better in the time of Moses and Christ, than now they are. For even in that time there were more disbelievers and their days were made wicked by this; now there are more believers, about whom the Saviour said, "more blessed are they, who did not see or believe" [Ioh. 20, 29.]. Or differently: thus you ought to live so that the days that you live in are always better than those passed, lest you begin to decrease little by little, it should then be said to you, "you did run well, who hindered you that you should not have obeyed the truth?" [Gal. 5. 7.]; and again: "you who began in spirit are now consumed by flesh" [Gal. 3. 3.]. Or another meaning of this: do not say that the times of old are better than now, those of Moses better than Christ, that they were more lawful than full of grace. For if you were to ask this, you would do it unwisely, not seeing how much the Gospel differs from the Old Testament. — Commentary on Ecclesiastes