secret to?

the whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well (Horace Walpole). i think what he's saying is somewhere between variety is the spice of life and we can't be great at everything.

i was always glad i choose to go to a liberal arts college. it seems very important to be passionate about one or two things but to be able to hold your own in a conversation about just about anything else. so many people can only talk about one thing (usually either their kids or work). but does horace mean that this is the secret to having a happy life? a contented life? a successful life? the secret to just surviving life? i think this advice is just for having an interesting life, a life not terribly dull or overly stressful. but the advice does not discuss any type of relationship with people or the divine, so i can't believe that it will result in a happy or contented life.