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# "What is the point of countless books and libraries."
- URL: https://brilliantcrank.com/what-is-the-point-of-countless-books-and-libraries/
- Published: 2024-05-21T16:37:47.000Z
- Updated: 2024-05-21T22:37:31.000Z
- Author: Greg Storey
- Tags: #observations

Yesterday morning I opened *The Daily Stoic* and came across a gem of a thought written by the philosopher [Seneca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca%5Fthe%5FYounger?ref=brilliantcrank.com). It’s from his book [*De Tranquillitate Animi*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De%5FTranquillitate%5FAnimi?ref=brilliantcrank.com) roughly translated in English, *On Tranquility of Mind.* 

> What’s the point of having countless books and libraries, whose titles could hardly be read through in a lifetime. The learner is not taught, but burdened by the sheer volume, and it’s better to plant the seeds of a few authors than to be scattered about by many.

I guess they had hoarders back in 50 A.D. just like today?

Anyway, building on the thoughts I shared in my last blog post, Seneca’s point makes a direct hit. This isn’t “less is more”, but rather “more doesn’t equal better”. In my head, I can see a guy named MJ, one of the smartest and most well-read design leaders I’ve ever met, slightly smiling in response because two thoughts came to his mind: 1\. It’s nice to have a conversation about philosophy, and 2\. Greg’s interpretation is cute, not entirely wrong, but slightly pedestrian. And I’m okay with this imaginary assessment because he’s always right.

I can tell you from experience that “countless books” is indeed a burden. I have bought and donated hundreds and hundreds of books over the years. Even after I still have hundreds of books in my office and home and even more, thousands, on my Kindle. And I think I’ve written before that if I were to stop buying or borrowing any new books further, it would likely take my estimated remaining time on the planet to consume them all.

So, I take Seneca’s thought to heart. He’s right and I would do well to listen, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to quit buying books completely. That would not feel humane.