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<title>The Internet Vagabond :: Seneca's Letter to Lucilius, Letter 2</title>
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<span class="first">T</span>he
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<span class="first">I</span>nternet
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<span class="first">V</span>agabond
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<h1>Letter 2: On Discursiveness in Reading</h1>
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<h2>Original Text</h2>
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<p>1. Judging by what you write me, and by what I hear, I am forming a good
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opinion regarding your future. You do not run hither and thither and distract
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yourself by changing your abode; for such restlessness is the sign of a
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disordered spirit. The primary indication, to my thinking, of a well-ordered
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mind is a man's ability to remain in one place and linger in his own company.
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2. Be careful, however, lest this reading of many authors and books of every
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sort may tend to make you discursive and unsteady. You must linger among a
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limited number of master thinkers, and digest their works, if you would derive
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ideas which shall win firm hold in your mind. Everywhere means nowhere. When a
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person spends all his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many
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acquaintances, but no friends. And the same thing must hold true of men who
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seek intimate acquaintance with no single author, but visit them all in a hasty
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and hurried manner. 3. Food does no good and is not assimilated into the body
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if it leaves the stomach as soon as it is eaten; nothing hinders a cure so much
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as frequent change of medicine; no wound will heal when one salve is tried
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after another; a plant which is often moved can never grow strong. There is
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nothing so efficacious that it can be helpful while it is being shifted about.
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And in reading of many books is distraction.</p>
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<p>Accordingly, since you cannot read all the books which you may possess, it is
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enough to possess only as many books as you can read. 4. "But," you reply, "I
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wish to dip first into one book and then into another." I tell you that it is
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the sign of an overnice appetite to toy with many dishes; for when they are
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manifold and varied, they cloy but do not nourish. So you should always read
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standard authors; and when you crave a change, fall back upon those whom you
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read before. Each day acquire something that will fortify you against poverty,
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against death, indeed against other misfortunes as well; and after you have run
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over many thoughts, select one to be thoroughly digested that day. 5. This is
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my own custom; from the many things which I have read, I claim some one part
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for myself.</p>
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<p>The thought for today is one which I discovered in Epicurus; for I am wont
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to cross over even into the enemy's camp, – not as a deserter, but as a scout.
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6. He says: "Contented poverty is an honourable estate." Indeed, if it be
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contented, it is not poverty at all. It is not the man who has too little, but
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the man who craves more, that is poor. What does it matter how much a man has
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laid up in his safe, or in his warehouse, how large are his flocks and how fat
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his dividends, if he covets his neighbour's property, and reckons, not his past
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gains, but his hopes of gains to come? Do you ask what is the proper limit to
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wealth? It is, first, to have what is necessary, and, second, to have what is
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enough. Farewell.</p>
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<h2>Response</h2>
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<p>I'm not sure who named the letters, but I think they should always read "On
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Whatever I Intend to Write About, oh and this generally unrelated quote
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probably from Epicurus." Which isn't to complain, I just find it amusing.
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And, to be fair, this letter and quote combination do fit together.</p>
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<p>The gist of this letter is the importance of focus. Seneca posits having too
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broad a focus with regard to authors or topics will make Lucilius
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"discursive and unsteady." A jack-of-all-trades is a master of none. His
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comparisons with travel, food, medicine, and agriculture are all apt, though
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a tad misleading, as each topic necessitates a differing degree of focus,
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not to mention each may pursue different ends; the pursuit of reading or
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travel may be ephemeral, whereas the pursuit of medicine or treatment may be
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more lasting. Considering the theme of the letter, though, I don't want to
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argue these particulars, since I like the metaphors.</p>
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<p>The secondary theme of the letter deals with possessions. Both Seneca, and
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the surprisingly on-topic quote from Epicurus encourage only owning enough
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to cover what is needed, not necessarily what is desired. "It is, first, to
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have what is necessary, and, second, to have what is enough." As an aspiring
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minimalist, I couldn't agree more.</p>
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<h3>Source</h3>
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<p><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_2">
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Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 2 on Wikisource
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</a></p>
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Bill Niblock
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2018-01-15
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<p>
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My name is <span class="p-name">Bill Niblock</span>. <span
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class="p-note">I'm a computer scientist by education, a technologist
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by trade, a gamer by hobby, and a philosopher by accident. I
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live in <span class="p-locality">Buffalo</span>, <span class="p-region">
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New York</span>, <span class="p-country-name">USA</span>.<br />
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<br />
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My PGP Key is <span class="u-key" id="key">CCE7 3682 331B 5614 9FAB
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7383 7359 80B2 6381 C91E</span>.
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