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I'm in the "I want both" camp, and we can have both.
I thoroughly enjoy the occasional foray into language from a century ago, maybe two, but I don't have the time or patience to learn French, Greek, Latin, Middle English etc., so I'm forced to accept translations of anything very much older. The older you go the more it seems common for authors mix other languages into English - some older texts make me feel very badly educated indeed. (I read some John Ruskin recently where I know I missed important details due to a lack of Greek and Latin.)
From what I've read on this forum I know I'm somewhere in the middle between those that will take that extra effort and those that want it predigested. And the thing with predigested (translated) text is that when it has been done well it makes the text much more accessible than a person is likely to get unless they become truly familiar with the language and context of the time. (You can look up the meaning of phrases, but that doesn't always give you the true intention of the source text; only someone well versed in the language and time can give you such context.)
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