I’ve been spending a lot of time with Seneca’s Moral Letters.
I have a bad habit of racing through books—flitting between many, and not leaving enough time for the ideas to settle.
As Seneca himself writes, “Everywhere means nowhere. When a person spends all his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many acquaintances, but no friends. Food does no good and is not assimilated into the body if it leaves the stomach as soon as it is eaten; nothing hinders a cure so much as frequent change of medicine; a plant which is often moved can never grow strong. And the same thing must hold true of men who seek intimate acquaintance with no single author, but visit them all in a hasty and hurried manner.“
Instead of racing through all 72 and moving on to the next book, I’ve chosen a handful and have been re-listening to them over and over again.
Letter 2: On Discursiveness in Reading
Letter 13: On Groundless Fears
Letter 18: On Festivals and Fasting
Given the time I’m spending with Seneca, I may end up blogging in greater depth on him and his letter. There is so much to learn and unpack in a single letter, and I’m sure if you look, you’ll find words that challenge, embolden, inspire, and educate you too.