Ancients and Moderns, subject of a celebrated literary dispute that raged in France and England in the 17th century.
The “Ancients” maintained that Classical literature of Greece and Rome offered the only models for literary excellence;
the “Moderns” challenged the supremacy of the Classical writers.
These matters were seriously and vehemently discussed. Jonathan Swift, defending his patron Temple, satirized the conflict in his Tale of a Tub (1704) and, more importantly, in The Battle of the Books (1704).

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica.