The Grammarian is a type of the early scholars who gave to Europe the
treasures of Greek thought by translating the manuscripts recovered
after the fall of Constantinople. The time is therefore the
Renaissance, the latter part of the fifteenth century, and the place
probably Italy. The Grammarian was a scholar and thinker, not a mere
student of grammar in the modern sense.
23. =Our low life=. Lacking the learning and high endeavor of their
master.
45-46. =the world bent on escaping=. That is, the world of the past.