“What’s the point of having countless books and libraries, whose titles could hardly be read through in a lifetime. The learner is not taught, but burdened by the sheer volume, and it’s better to plant the seeds of a few authors than to be scattered about by many.”
SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 9.4
Today’s wisdom from The Daily Stoic is rather mundane. Basically, instead of trying to read all the books, be selective and digest slowly only the best books.
A lot of people make it a point of pride (and perhaps are overly proud) about how many books they own, and have read. It’s a form of bragging for some folks to have a big ostentatious library, perhaps with a leather chair or reading couch. They’re hoping that people will be impressed with the amount of books they have. They’ve forgotten that it’s much more important to impress yourself rather than others.
The point that Seneca is making is that it’s very hard to read a huge quantity of books, and that it’s better to focus on the quality of the books you read instead. Be a reading gourmet, he’s telling us. Be discerning and picky, and reserve your precious time for the absolute choicest tomes of knowledge. Read for deep understanding. Otherwise you’ll be “burdened by the sheer volume” and probably not retain much of the wisdom therein.
