6.
It makes a great deal of difference whether you approach a subject that has been exhausted, or one where the ground has merely been broken; in the latter case, the topic grows day by day, and what is already discovered does not hinder new discoveries.
Besides, he who writes last has the best of the bargain; he finds already at hand words which, when marshalled in a different way, show a new face.
And he is not pilfering them, as if they belonged to someone else, when he uses them, for they are common property.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On the rewards of scientific discovery
Location: Chapter 79, Section 6
Content:
6.
It makes a great deal of difference whether you approach a subject that has been exhausted, or one where the ground has merely been broken; in the latter case, the topic grows day by day, and what is already discovered does not hinder new discoveries.
Besides, he who writes last has the best of the bargain; he finds already at hand words which, when marshalled in a different way, show a new face.
And he is not pilfering them, as if they belonged to someone else, when he uses them, for they are common property.