Pliny the Elder Quotes
Wine refreshes the stomach, sharpens the appetite, blunts care and sadness, and conduces to slumber.
Pliny the Elder. The Natural History. Translated by John Bostock and H. T. Riley, vol. 4, H. G. Bohn, 1856, p. 473.
In 1864 Mariani combined Bordeaux wine with cocaine and sold the mixture throughout the world. For over 50 years it was a leading consumer product in Europe and the United States. President William McKinley was a user and praised the product. Two popes conferred the title of "Benefactor of Humanity" upon Mariani for his invention.
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 – 79), called Pliny the Elder (/ˈplɪni/), was a Roman author, a naturalist and natural philosopher, a naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic Naturalis Historia (Natural History), which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. He spent most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field.