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I’d put Cicero in the class of authors that you really should make a point to read before you die. This seems like one of the better collections of his writing, but I’ve only just begun on my fabulous journey with the chickpea man.

The man can sell you philosophy as a discipline and undertaking a broad learning project, let me tell you! I loved the following in particular:

“What a lot of trouble one avoids when one refuses to have anything to do with the common herd! To have no job, to devote one’s time to literature, is the most wonderful thing in the world. And by literature, I mean the works which give us an opportunity to understand the universe and nature in all its infinity, and the world in which we ourselves live, its sky, land, and sea.� P107

Nevertheless, my interpretation of Cicero’s opinion toward philosophy is that philosophy is the most enjoyable, pure, beautiful thing you can spend your time doing, but ultimately it should probably be done to make you a better public servant, or at least only in the time left over after improving your country. This is too responsible for me, ha. Contrast this with my read on Seneca’s vibe, which is more like, “yeah just study all the time, it’s the best�, which more precisely confirms my biases and interests.

Overall, this book was an absolute joy to read.