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 … Read more
Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, as this Roman soldier called himself after ascending the imperial throne, was the most significant Roman statesman of the Late Roman Empire, alongside Caesar and Octavian. In the 2nd century AD, he saved the Empire from collapse and ensured its continued existence through his far-reaching reforms. Although he holds a significant … Read more
Consider this in your hearts: if you strive with difficulty for anything noble, the struggle passes, but the noble deed endures; if you do anything shameful for the sake of pleasure, the pleasure passes, but the shame remains. Although less known today, Gaius Musonius Rufus (circa 30 – circa 100 AD) forms, together with Epictetus, … Read more
