Well then, shouldn't you play with attention? 'I choose to sing.' What stops you from singing with attention? Is there any part of life where attention doesn't matter? Will you do anything worse by paying attention, and better by not paying attention at all? What else in life gets done better by people who don't pay attention? Does a woodworker do better work when he's not paying attention? Does a ship captain steer better when he's not paying attention? Do any of the smaller tasks get done better without attention? Don't you see that once you let your mind wander, you can't pull it back to what's proper, modest, or moderate? You just do whatever pops into your head, following your impulses.
Well then, ought you not to play with attention? I choose to sing. What then hinders you from doing so with attention? Is there any part of life excepted, to which attention does not extend? For will you do it (anything in life) worse by using attention, and better by not attending at all? And what else of the things in life is done better by those who do not use attention? Does he who works in wood work better by not attending to it? Does the captain of a ship manage it better by not attending? and are any of the smaller acts done better by inattention? Do you not see that when you have let your mind loose, it is no longer in your power to recall it, either to propriety, or to modesty, or to moderation; but you do everything that comes into your mind in obedience to your inclinations.