A reference to Pliny the Elder or Pliny the Younger, Roman naturalists and writers whose observations shaped Western knowledge of the ancient world.
From the Latin name 'Plinius,' specifically referring to two famous Roman authors from the 1st century CE whose writings were foundational to natural history.
Pliny the Elder died observing Mount Vesuvius during the eruption that buried Pompeii—he was a naturalist so committed to documentation that he literally died chasing the story, making him the original 'too close to the news.'
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