Books are recreation, not work. I never read as I work, think, write. But, if you are going to read, read the French. Your suffering is your greatest asset. That, and your insufficiencies and incapacities.
Ability is only facility.
That they are the same, multiple masks organized across the dominating sureness of noble instinct . . . Above all, have the breeding to be well-mannered. I have the same affability for everyone, and I even treat with special respect those who are lowliest. I have no arrogance or secret contempt. Instinctively, out of an abundance of good health, I choose my path.