For nothing is so productive of elevation of mind as to be able to examine methodically and truly every object which is presented to thee in life. Marcus Aurelius. Meditations. Book 3.
This quote made me think of Pliny the Elder whose passion to examine things around him seemed boundless, so much so that it eventually cost him his life during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.
Image: One of the Xanten Horse-Phalerae located in the British Museum with the inscription formed from punched dots: PLINIO PRAEF EQ; i.e. Plinio praefecto equitum, "Pliny prefect of cavalry". It may have been issued to every man in Pliny's unit. The figure is the bust of the emperor courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Telemon.
