De Incantationibus

...[lest] the mind grow weary. On the contrary: the more things it has attained through the sharpness of the mind by meditating, the more it should strive to attain still more. Truly, the mind is nourished by MEDITATION|The Latin meditatio here refers to deep, focused contemplation or study and exercise; it grows sluggish through leisure and laziness, degenerates from its own nature, and is utterly broken.

Therefore, since the sequence of those things that escape our grasp is inestimable, and since the solid perception of the SCIENCES|scientiarum refers to branches of systematic knowledge or learning is as long as it is also extremely difficult, I believe that one must PHILOSOPHIZE|philosophandum—the act of pursuing wisdom and understanding the nature of reality—not just in a few matters, as Ennius (c. 239–169 BCE) was an early Roman poet. In his play Achilles, the character Neoptolemus famously says one should philosophize only "in a few things" (moderately), because too much study is impractical. Gratarolo explicitly disagrees here. Neoptolemus does in Ennius—but indeed in many; that is, throughout almost the entire course of life. This is necessary for the man who wishes to grasp divine things and GOVERN|gubernare, literally to steer a ship, used here for the administration of human affairs and government human affairs (which, according to Plato (c. 427–347 BCE). The "duty of the philosopher" to govern is a core theme of his Republic, where he argues that only those who understand the Truth are fit to lead. Plato, is the duty of the philosopher), and not however flee—

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