163 Quotes by Pliny the Elder

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

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.

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

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

There is always something new out of Africa.

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

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

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 leading distinction of magnets is sex... The kind that is found in Troas is black, and of the female sex, and consequently destitute of attractive power.