Pliny the Elder Quotes

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.

Suicide is a privilege of man which deity does not possess.

Nature makes us buy her presents at the price of so many sufferings that it is doubtful whether she deserves most the name of parent or stepmother.

Nulla dies sine linea - Not a day without a line.

War should neither be feared nor provoked.

The javelin-snake amphiptere hurls itself from the branches of trees.

God has no power over the past except to cover it with oblivion.

Grief has limits, whereas apprehension has none. For we grieve only for what we know has happened, but we fear all that possibly may happen.

The perverted ingenuity of man has given to water the power of intoxicating where wine is not procured. Western nations intoxicate themselves by moistened grain.

Wine refreshes the stomach, sharpens the appetite, blunts care and sadness, and conduces to slumber.

Such is the audacity of man, that he hath learned to counterfeit Nature, yea, and is so bold as to challenge her in her work.

As land is improved by sowing it with various seeds, so is the mind by exercising it with different studies.

The ancients had little doubt about the true shape of the earth: "It's [the world's] shape has the rounded appearance of a perfect sphere. This is shown first of all by the name of 'orb' which is bestowed upon it by the general consent of mankind. ...Our eyesight also confirms this belief, because the firmament presents the aspect of a concave hemisphere equidistant in every direction, which would be impossible in the case of any other figure."

Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught. He can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and in short he can do nothing at the prompting of nature only, but weep.

We neglect those things which are under our very eyes, and heedless of things within our grasp, pursue those which are afar off.

We ought to be guarded against every appearance of envy, as a passion that always implies inferiority wherever it resides.

The happier the moment the shorter.

How many things... are looked upon as quite impossible until they have been actually effected?

There is no book so bad that some good can not be got out of it.

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.

In time of sickness the soul collects itself anew.

It is generally much more shameful to lose a good reputation than never to have acquired it.

No man's abilities are so remarkably shining as not to stand in need of a proper opportunity.

On a farm the best fertilizer is the master's eye.

No mortal man, moreover is wise at all moments.

Nature has given man no better thing than shortness of life.

Now, that the sovereign power and deity, whatsoever it is, should have regard of mankind, is a toy and vanity worthy to be laughed at.

Better do nothing than do ill.

The largest land animal is the elephant, and it is the nearest to man in intelligence: it understands the language of its country and obeys orders, remembers duties that it has been taught, is pleased by affection and by marks of honour, nay more it possesses virtues rare even in man, honesty, wisdom, justice, also respect for the stars and reverence for the sun and moon.

Nothing is more useful than wine for strengthening the body and also more detrimental to our pleasure if moderation be lacking.

Our civilization depends largely on paper.

Man naturally yearns for novelty.

There is in them a softer fire than the ruby, there is the brilliant purple of the amethyst, and the sea green of the emerald - all shining together in incredible union. Some by their splendor rival the colors of the painters, others the flame of burning sulphur or of fire quickened by oil.

Most men are afraid of a bad name, but few fear their consciences.

There is always something new out of Africa.

I would have a man generous to his country, his neighbors, his kindred, his friends, and most of all his poor friends. Not like some who are most lavish with those who are able to give most of them.

Home is where the heart is.

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.

Let that which is wanting in income be supplied by economy.

Example is the softest and least invidious way of commanding.

Chance is a second master.

From the end spring new beginnings.

Their best and most wholesome feeding is upon one dish and no more and the same plaine and simple: for surely this hudling of many meats one upon another of divers tastes is pestiferous. But sundrie sauces are more dangerous than that.

Envy always implies conscious inferiority wherever it resides.

Wine maketh the band quivering, the eye watery, the night unquiet, lewd dreams, a stinking breath in the morning, and an utter forgetfulness of all things.

This only is certain, that there is nothing certain.

Compassion and shame come over one who considers how precarious is the origin of the proudest of living beings: often the smell of a lately extinguished lamp is enough to cause a miscarriage. And to think that from such a frail beginning a tyrant or butcher may be born! You who trust in your physical strength, who embrace the gifts of fortune and consider yourself not their ward but their son, you who have a domineering spirit, you who consider yourself a god as soon as success swells your breast, think how little could have destroyed you!

Contact with [menstrual blood] turns new wine sour, crops touched by it become barren, grafts die, seed in gardens are dried up, the fruit of trees fall off, the edge of steel and the gleam of ivory are dulled, hives of bees die, even bronze and iron are at once seized by rust, and a horrible smell fills the air; to taste it drives dogs mad and infects their bites with an incurable poison.