Pliny The Elder Quotes

With man, most of his misfortunes are occasioned by man.

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

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

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

We live by reposing trust in each other.

In time of sickness the soul collects itself anew.

Hope is a working-man's dream.

A dear bargain is always disagreeable, particularly as it is a reflection upon the buyer's judgment.

The only thing man knows instinctively is how to weep.

Amid the sufferings of life on earth, suicide is God's best gift to man.

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

In these matters, the only certainty is that nothing is certain

The best kind of wine is that which is most pleasant to him who drinks it.

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

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

This only is certain, that there is nothing certain.

The desire to know a thing is heightened by its gratification being deferred.

From the end spring new beginnings.

The brain is the citadel of sense perception.

Why do we believe that in all matters the odd numbers are more powerful?

The graceful tear that streams for others' Man is the weeping animal born to govern all the rest.

In the literary as well as military world, most powerful abilities will often be found concealed under a rustic garb.

Nature is to be found in her entirety nowhere more than in her smallest creatures.

In wine, there's truth.

Among these things, one thing seems certain - that nothing certain exists and that there is nothing more pitiful or more presumptuous than man.

The master's eye is the best fertilizer.

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.

Wine takes away reason, engenders insanity, leads to thousands of crimes, and imposes such an enormous expense on nations.

Why is it that we entertain the belief that for every purpose odd numbers are the most effectual?

Human nature is fond of novelty.

Cats too, with what silent stealthiness, with what light steps do they creep up to a bird!

Sure, football is a silly game. But have you seen what else is on television?

Nothing which we can imagine about Nature is incredible.

When a building is about to fall down, all the mice desert it.

Let honor be to us as strong an obligation as necessity is to others.

There is, to be sure, no evil without something good.

In wine there is health (In vino sanitas)

It is ridiculous to suppose that the great head of things, whatever it be, pays any regard to human affairs.

Chance is a second master.

Our civilization depends largely on paper.

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

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

No one is wise at all times.

The lust of avarice as so totally seized upon mankind that their wealth seems rather to possess them than they possess their wealth.

Truth comes out in wine.

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

No book so bad but some part may be of use.

There is always something new out of Africa.

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.

The happier the moment the shorter.

The depth of darkness to which you can descend and still live is an exact measure of the height to which you can aspire to reach.

It has become quite a common proverb that in wine there is truth (In Vino Veritas).

We listen with deep interest to what we hear, for to man novelty is ever charming.

The enjoyments of this life are not equal to its evils.

It [the earth] alone remains immoveable, whilst all things revolve round it.

Let not things, because they are common, enjoy for that the less share of our consideration.

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.

The best plan is to profit by the folly of others.

The most valuable discoveries have found their origin in the most trivial accidents.

True glory consists in doing what deserves to be written, and writing what deserves to be read.

A god cannot procure death for himself, even if he wished it, which, so numerous are the evils of life, has been granted to man as our chief good.

Our youth and manhood are due to our country, but our declining years are due to ourselves.

When collapse is imminent, the little rodents flee.

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

Always act in such a way as to secure the love of your neighbour.

Hope is the pillar that holds up the world. Hope is the dream of a waking man.

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

His only fault is that he has no fault.

No mortal man, moreover is wise at all moments.

It is best not to be born or to die as soon as possible.

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.

Man naturally yearns for novelty.

As for the garden of mint, the very smell of it alone recovers and refreshes our spirits, as the taste stirs up our appetite for meat.

True happiness consists in being considered deserving of it.

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

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

Example is the softest and least invidious way of commanding.

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.

Man alone at the very moment of his birth, cast naked upon the naked earth, does she abandon to cries and lamentations.

War should neither be feared nor provoked.

Nothing is so unequal as equality.

Envy always implies conscious inferiority wherever it resides.

A short death is the sovereign good hap of human life.

Out of Africa, there is always something new.

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

Simple diet is best: for many dishes bring many diseases, and rich sauces are worse than even heaping several meats upon each other.

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