-Pliny The Younger
Perhaps this thought struck young Pliny as Mt. Vesuvius erupted, freezing time in a single flash. Maybe he loathed the idea, maybe he hated himself for thinking so, but surely he had to accept it. The prolific Pliny's letters were written to the emperors of the world and he carved his name out of marble in the minds of those who knew him well--and those who would come to know him. But in 79 AD, magma had much more to say than Pliny. That's right. Lava always wins.
It's not like I knew Pliny well, nor do I have the means to purchase marble, and if I did, it would not display his likeness, name, or thoughts. Marble has its own message.
I hadn't planned on mentioning Pliny, in fact, I came across his writing while searching for a quote to create a "jump-off" considering Materiality. Sure, I've indulged Russian River Valley Brewing Company's "Pliny the Younger" India Pale Ale, but never have I considered the actual man for social discussion.
For my purposes, he is quite unimportant. Anyone could do. Any quote that appeared after I entered "Material" had a chance. No One truly mattered. I merely needed a brilliant quote to catch my eye, tune my inspiration and most importantly, had a detailed wikipedia page.
It took serious efforts to uncover Pliny's work, countless hours to catalog his letters and about 1.07 seconds on my Blackberry to discover that a single quote could give me enough fruit to juice this first post.
What am I trying to say? How dare you. A whole semester ahead of us and you're already questioning me. Pliny also said "His only fault is that he has no fault."
I agree.
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