Pliny the Elder lived in the first century AD (23 – 79). He wrote a massive work, Historia Naturalis, in 37 volumes. This work represents the first known Western encyclopedia.
From the preface dedicated to the future emperor Titus, we learn that he used two thousand books in his work, from which he derived 20,000 relevant pieces of information. He supplemented them with notes and details, supported by personal experience.
A passionate collector of data, Pliny also died as he had lived: in pursuit of them, in exploration and study of reality. During the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, Pliny attempted to help a friend who lived at the foot of the volcano. In this attempt, he perished himself. But he perished as a scholar: recording his observations of the catastrophe.
They found him two days later. His body remained unharmed, petrified.
A tale from ancient Rome
Vesna Krmpotić, Virtues of Truth