When you’re finished pondering eternity, its time for a nourishing book (which may prove to be of assistance in future eternity pondering).
A few months ago I purchased "Digest" by Quintus Curtius. It's a hefty tome of 701 pages plus an index.
This book is a collection of Quintus' website essays from 2016 to early 2020.
I like that he curated them and made them available to us in book form. I chose the hardback version for my own MG Library.
I like to purchase hardback books from those authors whose work I respect and that I will re-read and reference in the future.
When the book first arrived I began my reading by jumping around a bit. The essays cover various topics such as morality, history, virtue, and travel.
It is a feast for the mind, and dare I say, spirit? These types of books are like friends to me. They guide and inform.
Now, "Digest", is just such a book and I am reading it every day before I go to sleep. I find it relaxing, rewarding, and, overall, a nourishing evening meditation
I am particularly fond of essay 22 - "On Idle or Trifling Speech". In this one, Quintus writes about, and references, Samuel Johnson and his friend and biographer, James Boswell - "In the short dialogue between himself and his biographer, Johnson (that great man of English Letters) makes the point that it may be well to make idle speech, as long as one does not unduly subscribe to its banalities." As I read this essay, I grew curious about Johnson and Boswell, both names I had heard of, but had not much knowledge. Research lead me to the book called, "The Club - Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age".
See how this works? Reading "Digest" will send you on many a philosophical and literary treasure hunts. That makes this book worth more than what I paid for it.
So, each night I read one essay.
If you want some practical, everyday, gentlemen's philosophy, then adding this to your own Library will prove to be a worthwhile purchase.
Quintus can be found at his website, 'Fortress of the Mind, here - www.qcurtius.com and on Twitter here @QuintusCurtius.
Get reading!
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