Seneca declares that folly is its own burden,—omnis stultitia laborat fastidio sui,—a very true saying, with which may be compared the words of Jesus, the son of Sirach, The life of a fool is worse than death. And, as a rule, it will be found that a man is sociable just in the degree in which he is intellectually poor and generally vulgar. For one's choice in this world does not go much beyond solitude on one side and vulgarity on the other.