John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
8732 Pliny the Elder AD 23-AD 79 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 8732 |
| AUTHOR: | Pliny the Elder (A.D. c. 23–A.D. 79) |
| QUOTATION: | When a building is about to fall down, all the mice desert it. 1 |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Natural History. Book viii. Sect. 103. |
| Note 1. This is alluded to by Cicero in his letters to Atticus, and is mentioned by Ælian (Animated Nature, book vi. chap. 41). It is like our proverb, “Rats leave a sinking ship.” [back] |