01c. 51 ADWhy is it that we entertain the belief that for every purpose odd numbers are the most effectual?Pliny The Elder / quote ↗
02c. 51 ADIt was a custom with Apelles, to which he most tenaciously adhered, never to let any day pass, however busy he might be, without exercising himself by tracing some outline or other,—a practice which has now passed into a proverb. It was also a practice with him, when he had completed a work, to exhibit it to the view of the passers-by in his studio, while he himself, concealed behind the picture, would listen to the criticisms. . . . Under these circumstances, they say that he was censured by a shoemaker for having represented the shoes with one latchet too few. The next day, the shoemaker, quite proud at seeing the former error corrected, thanks to his advice, began to criticise the leg; upon which Apelles, full of indignation, popped his head out and reminded him that a shoemaker should give no opinion beyond the shoes,—a piece of advice which has equally passed into a proverbial saying.Pliny The Elder / quote ↗
05UndatedThe 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.Pliny The Elder / quote ↗
09UndatedHope is the pillar that holds up the world. Hope is the dream of a waking man.Pliny The Elder / quote ↗
11UndatedHardly can it be judged whether it be better for mankind to believe that the gods have regard of us, or that they have none, considering that some men have no respect and reverence for the gods, and others so much that their superstition is a shame to them.Pliny The Elder / quote ↗
12UndatedSuch is the audacity of man, that he hath learned to counterfeit Nature, yea, and is so bold as to challenge her in her work.Pliny The Elder / quote ↗
13UndatedGrief has limits, whereas apprehension has none. For we grieve only for what we know has happened, but we fear all that possibly may happen.Pliny The Elder / quote ↗
Edsverb reading card◎MeditationsMarcus AureliusFree edition · US public domainMeric Casaubon translation (1634), later edited editionRelated reading on mind; this is an editorial connection, not the source of the saying.About this book ↗
Edsverb reading cardΠThe RepublicPlatoFree edition · US public domainBenjamin Jowett translationRelated reading on knowledge; this is an editorial connection, not the source of the saying.About this book ↗
Edsverb reading card道Tao Te ChingLaozi (traditional attribution)Free edition · US public domainJames Legge translation; publication year not supplied in the linked digitized textRelated reading on nature; this is an editorial connection, not the source of the saying.About this book ↗