more from pliny.

man alone of living creatures has been given grief, on him alone has the luxury been bestowed in countless forms and through every single limb -

and likewise ambition, greed and a boundless desire for living, superstition, anxiety about burial and even about what there will be after his life ends.
no creature's life is more fragile; none has a greater lust for everything; none, a more confused sense of fear or a fiercer anger. to sum it up, other creatures spend their days among their own kind. we see them gather together and take their stand against other species; 
fierce lions do not fight among themselves, serpents do not bite serpents - not even sea-monsters and fish act cruelly, except against different species.
but man, i swear, experiences most ills at the hands of his fellow man.
pliny the elder wrote about sea monsters, cyclops, crazy shit. i have to put quotes of his up from time to time. its not my intent to get all introspective and philosophical. rather some of these quotes have something to them i feel aught to be shared.

nature

Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus) {AD 23 - 79} gave hops its botanical name. He was a naturalist of sorts. He died while observing Mt Vesuvius. He wrote a encyclopedia type collection of understandings and observations. I read the below passage this morning.

The nature of living creatures in the world is as important as the study of almost any other field, 
even though the human mind is not able to pursue all aspects of the subject...Pride of place will rightly be given to one for whose benefit NATURE appears to have created everything else...
Her very many gifts, however, are bestowed at a cruel price...
so that we cannot confidently say whether she is a good parent to mankind or a harsh stepmother
isbn # 978-0-14-044413-1

russian river brewery also makes a mean beer in his name sake pliny the elder.