Seneca · c. 4 BCE – 65 CE
On Benefits 6.1 — Seneca
Translation by Aubrey Stewart (1887)
Seneca, On Benefits 6.1
There are some things, my most excellent Liberalis, which lie completely outside of our actual life, and which we only inquire into in order to exercise our intellects, while others both give us pleasure while we are discovering them, and are of use when discovered. I will place all these in your hands; you, at your own discretion, may order them either to be investigated thoroughly, or to be reserved, and be used as agreeable interludes. Something will be gained even by those which you dismiss at once, for it is advantageous even to know what subjects are not worth learning. I shall be guided, therefore, by your face: according to its expression, I shall deal with some questions at greater length, and drive others out of court, and put an end to them at once.
Cite this passage
Seneca, On Benefits 6.1, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-benefits/6.1
Seneca, Dialogues, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887–1889). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesA short note at the start of Book 6 saying that some topics are only mental exercise while others are both enjoyable and useful. The reader may decide how far to pursue each, and it is helpful even to learn which subjects are not worth studying.
Older wording
- “interludes”
- — short breaks between main parts
Themes and situations
- Learning and progress
- Judgements and impressions
Quote cards
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