1.
The journeys to which you refer—journeys that shake the laziness out of my system—I hold to be profitable both for my health and for my studies.
You see why they benefit my health: since my passion for literature makes me lazy and careless about my body, I can take exercise by deputy; as for my studies, I shall show you why my journeys help them, for I have not stopped my reading in the slightest degree.
And reading, I hold, is indispensable—primarily, to keep me from being satisfied with myself alone, and besides, after I have learned what others have found out by their studies, to enable me to pass judgment on their discoveries and reflect upon discoveries that remain to be made.
Reading nourishes the mind and refreshes it when it is wearied with study; nevertheless, this refreshment is not obtained without study.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On gathering ideas
Location: Chapter 84, Section 1
Content:
1.
The journeys to which you refer—journeys that shake the laziness out of my system—I hold to be profitable both for my health and for my studies.
You see why they benefit my health: since my passion for literature makes me lazy and careless about my body, I can take exercise by deputy; as for my studies, I shall show you why my journeys help them, for I have not stopped my reading in the slightest degree.
And reading, I hold, is indispensable—primarily, to keep me from being satisfied with myself alone, and besides, after I have learned what others have found out by their studies, to enable me to pass judgment on their discoveries and reflect upon discoveries that remain to be made.
Reading nourishes the mind and refreshes it when it is wearied with study; nevertheless, this refreshment is not obtained without study.