In yesterday's reading from Seneca, he said that we can't trust what is most approved by "the vulgar". Today we find out who he means. "By 'the vulgar' I mean both those who wear woollen cloaks and those who wear crowns; for I do not regard the color of the clothes with which they are covered: I do not trust my eyes to tell me what a man is: I have a better and more trustworthy light by which I can distinguish what is true from what is false: let the mind find out what is good for the mind."
So we see that he means "vulgar" in its literal, dictionary sense. Not the way we use it today - to mean coarse and ugly and rude. He just means, like the definition above says, "pertaining to the mass of people". Common, in other words. He just means we can't trust the masses to teach us how to find happiness.
He goes on to say that we can't disparage someone's views based on their "color", and he means the color of their garments, though we should apply that to skin color, too. The thing we SHOULD consider, he says, is whether the person we're thinking of listening to has stopped and THOUGHT about these things. "Let the mind find out what is good for the mind." Sounds like a tautology, but it's actually profound. Think about thinking, so you'll think better.
How often have you failed to take this valuable advice?
See you tomorrow!
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