...may tend to make you discursive and unsteady / and in reading of many books is distraction

[ZdenSvk]

Hi,
Thanks to everybody who had a look at my first thread about Seneca's Moral letters. I worked on the second letter. It was pretty straightforward, but two things caught my eye:

Quote #1: "Be careful, however, lest this reading of many authors and books of every sort may tend to make you discursive and unsteady"
Question #1: What is the purpose of the verb "tend"? Is it just a verbose way of saying: "...books of every sort can make you discursive and unsteady", or does it change the meaning, if used? Or does it have something with the conjuction "lest"?
Question #2: Why is "however" used? I don't know how to understand it here. I get the meaning of the sentence: "Don't read many authors; It can make you discursive", but I'd like to know details.

Quote #: "There is nothing so efficacious that it can be helpful while it is being shifted about. And in reading of many books is distraction."
Question: #1: Here I am completely lost. I would understand "and reading of many books is distraction" or "and in reading of many books there is distraction", but this is simply weird. Again I get the meaning (at least I think), but I want to know what it is I am not getting.

I know it is an old translation (1915), but I can understand most of the text clearly, apart from a few odd sentences here and there.
Thank you in advance for any help.

Have a nice day
Zdenko

 

[teechar]

Thanks to everybody who had a look on at my first thread about Seneca's Moral letters.

Question #1: What is the purpose of the verb "tend"? Is it just a verbose way of saying: "...books of every sort can make you discursive and unsteady", or does it change the meaning, if used?

It adds qualification to the claim.
X makes you Y. [Strong claim]
X may make you Y. [Weaker Claim]
X may tend to make you Y. [Claim is even weaker now]

Or does it have something with the conjuction "lest"?

No. It has nothing to do with that.

Question #2: Why is "however" used? I don't know how to understand it here. I get the meaning of the sentence: "Don't read many authors; It can make you discursive", but I'd like to know details.

"However" is a device that introduces a contrasting idea; it just mean "but". I searched on Google and found that the previous sentence is "The primary indication, to my thinking, of a well-ordered mind is a man’s ability to remain in one place and linger in his own company". Thus, the author is saying that even though "remain in one place and linger in ... own company" is good, but you must be careful not to read too many books by a diverse range of authors.

Quote #: "There is nothing so efficacious that it can be helpful while it is being shifted about. And in reading of many books is distraction."
Question: #1: Here I am completely lost. I would understand "and reading of many books is distraction" or "and in reading of many books there is distraction", but this is simply weird. Again I get the meaning (at least I think), but I want to know what it is I am not getting.

You're right about the meaning. There's nothing more to it. It's just an inverted structure.
And (there) is distraction (caused) in (the act of) reading of many books.
And in (the act of) reading of many books (there) is distraction (caused). [inverted]
I added the words in parentheses to clarify the sentences.
Note that the blue "of" is rather literary (almost poetic), and that the sentence would work just fine without it.

I know it is an old translation (1915), but I can understand most of the text clearly, just for apart from a few odd sentences here and there.

This one seems straightforward enough, but I think learners should focus on reading contemporary texts.

Thank you in advance for any help.

You're welcome.

Have a nice day.

You too.

 

[ZdenSvk]

It adds qualification to the claim.
X makes you Y. [Strong claim]
X may make you Y. [Weaker Claim]
X may tend to make you Y. [Claim is even weaker now]


No. It has nothing to do with that.

"However" is a device that introduces a contrasting idea; it just mean "but". I searched on Google and found that the previous sentence is "The primary indication, to my thinking, of a well-ordered mind is a man’s ability to remain in one place and linger in his own company". Thus, the author is saying that even though "remain in one place and linger in ... own company" is good, but you must be careful not to read too many books by a diverse range of authors.


You're right about the meaning. There's nothing more to it. It's just an inverted structure.
And (there) is distraction (caused) in (the act of) reading of many books.
And in (the act of) reading of many books (there) is distraction (caused). [inverted]
I added the words in parentheses to clarify the sentences.
Note that the blue "of" is rather literary (almost poetic), and that the sentence would work just fine without it.

This one seems straightforward enough, but I think learners should focus on reading contemporary texts.

You're welcome.

You too.

Wow, what an incredibly detailed reply. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into it. Everything is as clear as day to me now. I am less of a learner at this point and more of a reader of books in English. Many titles I want to read are either not translated to my mother tongue at all, or they are not digitised and available in e-book formats. So I rely heavily on what is available in English on the Internet. I read plenty of contemporary texts as well; I simply decided to tackle this translation of Seneca's letters, as it is widely available, in the public domain, and it seemed easy enough at first glance.

Thanks for corrections as well.

 

[teechar]

Wow, what an incredibly detailed reply. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into it.

You're welcome. Please note:
1- There is no need to write something to thank a member on the forum. It really suffices to click the Thanks button.
2- It is unnecessary to quote an entire block to reply to a message.

I am less of a learner at this point and more of a reader of books in English. Many titles I want to read are either not translated to my mother tongue at all, or they are not digitised and available in e-book formats. So I rely heavily on what is available in English speaking part of on the Internet. I read plenty of contemporary texts as well; I simply decided to tackle this translation of Seneca's letters, as it is widely available, in the public domain, and it seemed easy enough at first glance.

Very good. I encourage you to keep reading. It's one of the best ways to improve your English (in more ways than you can imagine).

 

[ZdenSvk]

Sorry for quoting the entire block; my mistake. I like to reply and say thanks personally thought, for two reasons: I am not very fond of the impersonal culture of likes, hearts, thanks etc. and I want to practise my writing skills as much as possible. My receptive skills are way more advanced than my productive skills.

 

[teechar]

Sorry for quoting the entire block; my mistake. I like to reply and say thanks personally thought, for two reasons: I am not very fond of the impersonal culture of likes, hearts, thanks etc. and I want to use/apply/practise my writing skills as much as possible. My receptive skills are way more advanced than my productive skills.

I understand, but if you write a post, then we have to read it and possibly respond to it. Also, saying thanks is pretty standard, and repeating it over and over is not likely to improve your writing skills.

 

[Tarheel]

My receptive skills are way more advanced than my productive skills.

Do you mean that you are better at reading than you are at writing?

 

[ZdenSvk]

@Tarheel
Exactly. I am way better at listening or reading, than I am at writing or speaking. It's due to the nature of my interactions with English. Speaking is the weakest of my language skills.