Bob,
Further followup:  the adverse position taken by the speaker with respect to
the "pagan classics" is analogous to the position taken by the medieval
church during the so-called dark ages.  The works of pagan writers were to
be kept from the multitudes who might be led to perdition by them. And when
the educated few, the clerics, did read them and interpret them, their
interpretations must be "moralized" in conformity with the teachings of the
Church.
Tim Romano