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
knowledge want causes
The most disgraceful cause of the scarcity [of remedies] is that even those who know them do not want to point them out, as if they were going to lose what they pass on to others.
flames sea purple
Made up of the glories of the most precious gems, to describe them is a matter of inexpressible difficulty. For there is amongst them the gentler fire of the ruby, there is the rich purple of the amethyst, there is the sea-green of the emerald, and all shining together in an indescribable union. Others, by an excessive heightening of their hues equal all the colours of the painter, others the flame of burning brimstone, or of a fire quickened by oil.
exercise land mind
As land is improved by sowing it with various seeds, so is the mind by exercising it with different studies.
life men given
Nature has given man no better thing than shortness of life.
sadness wine care
Wine refreshes the stomach, sharpens the appetite, blunts care and sadness, and conduces to slumber.
fall desert building
When a building is about to fall down, all the mice desert it.
matter uncertain certainty
In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain.
wine body culinary
Nothing is more useful than wine for strengthening the body and also more detrimental to our pleasure if moderation be lacking.
courage men class
The agricultural population, says Cato, produces the bravest men, the most valiant soldiers, and a class of citizens the least given of all too evil designs.
equality
Nothing is so unequal as equality.
reputation shameful loses
It is generally much more shameful to lose a good reputation than never to have acquired it.
wine truth-comes-out
Truth comes out in wine.
opportunity men shining
No man's abilities are so remarkably shining as not to stand in need of a proper opportunity.
way secure neighbour
Always act in such a way as to secure the love of your neighbour.