The phrase "reading is mendicant and sycophantic" suggests that reading can be seen as begging (mendicant) for knowledge or approval, and using flattery (sycophantic) to gain favor. It may imply that seeking knowledge solely for personal gain or to impress others can be insincere or self-serving.
mendicant
The word mendicant is a noun. A mendicant is someone who lives by begging.
Romantic, sycophantic
The mendicant was begging at his doorstep yesterday, or the mendicant was praying in church.
a person who associates with another person or a group in a sycophantic manner or for the purpose of gaining some personal advantage
Mendicant refers to a person who lives by begging for money or food. A sample sentence is: "The mendicant outside the church fell asleep".
The mendicant always asks for money at that particular store.
James Lipton
crazy , psycho , & asylum
Each led the life of a simple mendicant, preaching that individuals should seek their own salvations.
the process of earth and its sycophantic layers. i recommend it for a homework paper
In French, a Mendicant, sometimes Mendiant, is the popular word for a (Bum) a vagrant type of man. Is sometimes applied to a tramp steamer as un Vaisseau Mendicant- which could also, etymologically, be a repair ship or salvage vessel, but is not.