Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus, better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
NationalityRoman
ProfessionAuthor
two ears hens
The feasant hens of Colchis, which have two ears as it were consisting of feathers, which they will set up and lay down as they list.
wine kind drink
The best kind of wine is that which is most pleasant to him who drinks it.
men knows
The only thing man knows instinctively is how to weep.
latin lines dies
Nulla dies sine linea - Not a day without a line.
common consideration share
Let not things, because they are common, enjoy for that the less share of our consideration.
men certain pitiful
Among these things, one thing seems certain - that nothing certain exists and that there is nothing more pitiful or more presumptuous than man.
civilization paper depends
Our civilization depends largely on paper.
faults
His only fault is that he has no fault.
blood perception brain
The brain is the highest of the organs in position, and it is protected by the vault of the head; it has no flesh or blood or refuse. It is the citadel of sense-perception.
desire gratification knows
The desire to know a thing is heightened by its gratification being deferred.
war should provoked
War should neither be feared nor provoked.
men novelty charming
We listen with deep interest to what we hear, for to man novelty is ever charming.
writing civilization glory
True glory consists in doing what deserves to be written, and writing what deserves to be read.
compare former acknowledgment
In comparing various authors with one another, I have discovered that some of the gravest and latest writers have transcribed, word for word, from former works, without making acknowledgment.