Lead is the most sequacious metal.
I’ll prove it. What metal is quite ductile, and yet not too costly? Easily lead. What metal can be melted readily and formed into whatever model is required? Easily lead. What metal will behave as you want without oxidizing excessively or otherwise reacting and altering? Easily lead. And what is a good definition of sequacious? ‘Easily led’.
You see how neatly it follows? As well it should. An argument that is sequacious follows neatly, with tidy reasoning tending in a single direction like a smooth sales pitch. Music that is sequacious has notes that follow neatly in entirely regular order. A person who is sequacious is one who follows neatly – one who is credulous and will adhere without second thought to the dictates of their leader. And a thing or object that is sequacious is ductile, yielding, and easy to shape. …Well, sequacious is not commonly used in that last sense anymore, but, then, it’s not very commonly used at all – though there are many occasions where we could use it.
I won’t say that sequacious is itself a sequacious word in form – it does have all the vowels, but not in exact order, and the u repeats; it also ends as it starts, with s. But its etymology follows neatly enough. It starts with Latin sequor ‘I follow’, which gains -ax ‘inclined to’ to make sequax ‘follower’ (sounds like ducks in a row, doesn’t it?); that has a combining form sequac-, which mixes with -ious and there you have it, a nice tidy sequence.
Tidiness is appealing, and can be a good thing. However, a certain amount of resistance, complication, and thought can also be valuable. Being easily led is great for myrmidons and myrmecoids, and perhaps for dogs and ducks and ductile metals, and it’s true that being excessively reactive or unstable is often undesirable – though there will always be elements that are, such as potassium and cesium – but persons of a sequacious mettle will never be able to get the lead out, steel their resolve, and brass their way through to iron out difficulties. And while lead’s sequacious properties may seem a useful model, when looking at the public sphere, we should extend the analogy even farther: What metal is known to be damaging to the healthy functioning of the brain? Easily lead. And what metal is famously of low value? Easily lead.
Sesquiotica 