Vergerio, de ingenuis moribus et liberalibus adulescentiae studiis, XXXIV:
“Scipio used to say of himself that he was never less alone or at rest than when he appeared to be at rest or alone. This is not the case with everyone; it only happens to those great minds, endowed with excellent virtue. I think that man is in no way inferior to Scipio, who is able to maintain his solitude even amidst the mob, and a sense of peaceful tranquility even in the midst of business. It is written of Cato that he was in the habit of reading books in the senate house, even when the assembly was in session. It is no wonder that he was always ready to give the most salutary counsel to his country on any occasion!”
Nam quod Scipio dicere de se solebat, numquam minus solum aut otiosum esse quam cum otiosus aut solus videretur, non facile cuivis potest contingere, sed solis magnis ingeniis atque excellenti virtute praeditis. Tametsi nihilo mihi videtur minor qui contra et in turba solitudinem servare potest et in negotio quietem, quod de Catone quidem scriptum est, qui interea dum senatus cogeretur, lectitare in curia libros frequens solebat. Unde nimirum et in rem praesentem et in omne tempus saluberrima patriae consilia dabat.
