The name of Marcus Ofilius Hilarius does not occur in any other source besides book 7 of Pliny’s encyclopedia. With this in mind, the narrative giving an extensive account of the death of the actor needs further explanation. The present paper takes a look at the narrower and broader context of this detail which lends the story a meaning and a structuring function within the Naturalis Historia. This inquiry enables us to draw certain conclusions not only about book 7, but about the whole encyclopedia as well.