N. A. Nekrasov in his poem “Sovremenniki” addresses the reader about the sons of his age
I took a book, risen from my sleep, And read in it: "There have been worse times, But none more base"
I flung the book far from me.
Can it be that you and I
Are sons of such an age,
O friend and reader mine?..
Literal translation
From N.A. Nekrasov's poem "Contemporaries"