--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have spent these several days past, in…" description: "\"“I have spent these several days past, in reading and writing, with the most pleasing tranquility imaginable. You will ask, \"How that can possibly be i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/pliny-the-younger-15981_books_i-have-spent-these-several-days-past-in_1915816.jpg" --- # I have spent these several days past, in reading and… ![“I have spent these several days past, in reading and writing, with the most pleasing tranquility imaginable. You will ask, "How that can possibly be in the midst of Rome?" It was the time of celebrating the Circensian games; an entertainment for which I have not the least taste. They have no…” quote by Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/pliny-the-younger-15981_books_i-have-spent-these-several-days-past-in_1915816.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/pliny-the-younger-15981_books_i-have-spent-these-several-days-past-in_1915816.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/pliny-the-younger-15981_books_i-have-spent-these-several-days-past-in_1915816.jpg) > ““I have spent these several days past, in reading and writing, with the most pleasing tranquility imaginable. You will ask, "How that can possibly be in the midst of Rome?" It was the time of celebrating the Circensian games; an entertainment for which I have not the least taste. They have no novelty, no variety to recommend them, nothing, in short, one would wish to see twice. It does the more surprise me therefore that so many thousand people should be possessed with the childish passion of desiring so often to see a parcel of horses gallop, and men standing upright in their chariots. If, indeed, it were the swiftness of the horses, or the skill of the men that attracted them, there might be some pretence of reason for it. But it is the dress they like; it is the dress that takes their fancy. And if, in the midst of the course and contest, the different parties were to change colours, their different partisans would change sides, and instantly desert the very same men and horses whom just before they were eagerly following with their eyes, as far as they could see, and shouting out their names with all their might. Such mighty charms, such wondrous power reside in the colour of a paltry tunic! And this not only with the common crowd (more contemptible than the dress they espouse), but even with serious-thinking people. When I observe such men thus insatiably fond of so silly, so low, so uninteresting, so common an entertainment, I congratulate myself on my indifference to these pleasures: and am glad to employ the leisure of this season upon my books, which others throw away upon the most idle occupations.”” [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are drawn to spectacle and color more than substance or skill. **In simple terms:** Crowds love flashy appearances over deeper value. Key Takeaway Seek depth over superficial allure. Themes culture spectacle human nature politics Mood cynical observational Type historical commentary When to use this quote - political rallies - advertising campaigns - sports events Key Concepts social psychology media influence public opinion Questions to Reflect On - Why do people favor style over substance? - How can societies promote deeper appreciation? A Different Perspective Superficial appeal can manipulate public opinion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Reading and writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-and-writing/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there must be reverent attention to business, and sincerity; economy in expenditure, and love for men;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/to-rule-a-country-of-a-thousand-chariots-there-must-be-reverent/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [In practical terms the South Pointing Chariot was a simple direction finder. It could have been made to point in any direction - north,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-williams/in-practical-terms-the-south-pointing-chariot-was-a-simple-direction/) [Kit Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-williams/) > [The stifled hum of midnight, when traffic has lain down to rest, and the chariot wheels of Vanity, still rolling here and there through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-stifled-hum-of-midnight-when-traffic-has-lain-down-to-rest-and/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Tyson," I said "We're turning around!" Going the wrong way?" he asked. Always," I grumbled, but I steered the chariot towards the stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/tyson-i-said-we-re-turning-around-going-the-wrong-way-he-asked-always/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Leo: Rainbows. Very macho. Annabeth: Butch is our best equestrian, he gets along great with the pegasi. Leo: Rainbows, ponies... Butch: I'm gonna toss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/leo-rainbows-very-macho-annabeth-butch-is-our-best-equestrian-he-gets/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [If two angels were to receive at the same moment a commission from God, one to go down and rule earth’s grandest empire, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/if-two-angels-were-to-receive-at-the-same-moment-a-commission-from/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The aquilegia sprinkled on the rocks A scarlet rain; the yellow violet Sat in the chariot of its leaves, the phlox Held spikes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/the-aquilegia-sprinkled-on-the-rocks-a-scarlet-rain-the-yellow-violet/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [Genius scorns the power of gold: it is wrong. Gold is the war-scythe on its chariot, which mows down the millions of its foes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ouida/genius-scorns-the-power-of-gold-it-is-wrong-gold-is-the-war-scythe-on/) [Ouida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ouida/) > [The chariot was purchased by a private collector who took it home to New York. I take pleasure in knowing that it was built…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-williams/the-chariot-was-purchased-by-a-private-collector-who-took-it-home-to/) [Kit Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-williams/) > [I started by looking at what others had done before me. You see, over the years there have been attempts by many different people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-williams/i-started-by-looking-at-what-others-had-done-before-me-you-see-over/) [Kit Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-williams/) > [Know thou the self (spirit) as riding in a chariot, The body as the chariot. Know thou the intellect as the chariot-driver, And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/know-thou-the-self-spirit-as-riding-in-a-chariot-the-body-as-the/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [I shall drive my chariot down your street and cry hey it's me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/i-shall-drive-my-chariot-down-your-street-and-cry-hey-it-s-me/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [The organs are the horses, the mind is the rein, the intellect is the charioteer, the soul is the rider, and the body is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-organs-are-the-horses-the-mind-is-the-rein-the-intellect-is-the/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [What honor can there be without humility? What heights can be reached without being low? The pieces of a chariot are useless unless the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-honor-can-there-be-without-humility-what-heights-can-be-reached/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The rabbit is significant in that the handle on the original South Pointing Chariot was carved in the form of a rabbit. Because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-williams/the-rabbit-is-significant-in-that-the-handle-on-the-original-south/) [Kit Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-williams/) ## More by Pliny the Younger > [It is difficult to retain what you may have learned unless you should practice it. -Difficile est tenere quae acceperis nisi exerceas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/it-is-difficult-to-retain-what-you-may-have-learned-unless-you-should/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [Perhaps you will ask whether I can raise these three millions without difficulty. Well, nearly all my capital is invested in land, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/perhaps-you-will-ask-whether-i-can-raise-these-three-millions-without/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [Too much polishing weakens rather than improves a work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/too-much-polishing-weakens-rather-than-improves-a-work/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [Never do a thing concerning the rectitude of which you are in doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/never-do-a-thing-concerning-the-rectitude-of-which-you-are-in-doubt/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [They enhance the value of their favors by the words with which they are accompanied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/they-enhance-the-value-of-their-favors-by-the-words-with-which-they/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [Everyone must be given something he can grasp and recognize as his own idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/everyone-must-be-given-something-he-can-grasp-and-recognize-as-his/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [There is no book so bad that it is not profitable in some part. -Nullus est liber tam malus ut non aliqua parte prosit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/there-is-no-book-so-bad-that-it-is-not-profitable-in-some-part-nullus/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [Objects which are usually the motives of our travels by land and by sea are often overlooked and neglected if they lie under our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/objects-which-are-usually-the-motives-of-our-travels-by-land-and-by/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [ “\[Pliny the Elder\] used to say that “no book was so bad but some good might be got out of it.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/pliny-the-elder-used-to-say-that-no-book-was-so-bad-but-some-good/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [Literature is both my joy and my comfort: it can add to every happiness and there is no sorrow it cannot console.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/literature-is-both-my-joy-and-my-comfort-it-can-add-to-every/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [“nulla dies sine linea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/nulla-dies-sine-linea/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [Let us strive the more earnestly therefore to lengthen out our span of life-- life that is poured out like water and falls as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/let-us-strive-the-more-earnestly-therefore-to-lengthen-out-our-span/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [“The smallest evil if neglected, will reach the greatest proportions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/the-smallest-evil-if-neglected-will-reach-the-greatest-proportions/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [“Glory ought to be the consequence, not the motive, of our actions; and although it happen not to attend the worthy deed, yet it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/glory-ought-to-be-the-consequence-not-the-motive-of-our-actions-and/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [The highest of characters is his who is as ready to pardon the moral errors of mankind as if he were every day guilty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/the-highest-of-characters-is-his-who-is-as-ready-to-pardon-the-moral/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) [Explore all 40 Pliny the Younger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have spent these several days past, in reading and writing, with the most pleasing tranquility imaginable. You will ask, \"How that can possibly be in the midst of Rome?\" It was the time of celebrating the Circensian games; an entertainment for which I have not the least taste. They have no novelty, no variety to recommend them, nothing, in short, one would wish to see twice. It does the more surprise me therefore that so many thousand people should be possessed with the childish passion of desiring so often to see a parcel of horses gallop, and men standing upright in their chariots. If, indeed, it were the swiftness of the horses, or the skill of the men that attracted them, there might be some pretence of reason for it. But it is the dress they like; it is the dress that takes their fancy. And if, in the midst of the course and contest, the different parties were to change colours, their different partisans would change sides, and instantly desert the very same men and horses whom just before they were eagerly following with their eyes, as far as they could see, and shouting out their names with all their might. Such mighty charms, such wondrous power reside in the colour of a paltry tunic! And this not only with the common crowd (more contemptible than the dress they espouse), but even with serious-thinking people. When I observe such men thus insatiably fond of so silly, so low, so uninteresting, so common an entertainment, I congratulate myself on my indifference to these pleasures: and am glad to employ the leisure of this season upon my books, which others throw away upon the most idle occupations.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pliny the Younger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/i-have-spent-these-several-days-past-in-reading-and-writing-with-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/i-have-spent-these-several-days-past-in-reading-and-writing-with-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/pliny-the-younger-15981_books_i-have-spent-these-several-days-past-in_1915816.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/pliny-the-younger-15981_books_i-have-spent-these-several-days-past-in_1915816.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/pliny-the-younger-15981_books_i-have-spent-these-several-days-past-in_1915816.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have spent these several days past, in reading and writing, with the most pleasing tranquility imaginable…” — Pliny the Younger", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Pliny the Younger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I have spent these several days...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/i-have-spent-these-several-days-past-in-reading-and-writing-with-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/i-have-spent-these-several-days-past-in-reading-and-writing-with-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```