Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Younger (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics)
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13. C. PLINIUS URSO SUO S.
1 Umquamne vidisti quemquam tam laboriosum et exercitum quam Varenum meum? cui quod summa contentione impetraverat defendendum et quasi rursus petendum fuit. 2 Bithyni senatus consultum apud consules carpere ac labefactare sunt ausi, atque etiam absenti principi criminari; ab illo ad senatum remissi non destiterunt. Egit Claudius Capito irreverenter magis quam constanter, ut qui senatus consultum apud senatum accusaret. 3 Respondit Catius Fronto graviter et firme. Senatus ipse mirificus; nam illi quoque qui prius negarant Vareno quae petebat, eadem danda postquam erant data censuerunt; 4 singulos enim integra re dissentire fas esse, peracta quod pluribus placuisset cunctis tuendum. 5 Acilius tantum Rufus et cum eo septem an octo, septem immo, in priore sententia perseverarunt. Erant in hac paucitate non nulli, quorum temporaria gravitas vel potius gravitatis imitatio ridebatur. 6 Tu tamen aestima, quantum nos in ipsa pugna certaminis maneat, cuius quasi praelusio atque praecursio has contentiones excitavit. Vale.
13. — TO URSUS.
Have you ever seen any one so troubled and exercised as my friend Varenus? He has had to defend, and as it were make fresh application for, that which he had obtained only after a great struggle. The Bithynians were impudent enough to criticise the decree of the Senate, and even to try and invalidate it, before the Consuls, and actually to incriminate it to the Emperor, who was absent from Rome. On being referred back to the Senate by him, they did not desist from their efforts. Claudius Capito spoke for them, disrespectfully rather than firmly, since he impeached a decree of the Senate in presence of the Senate. Catius Pronto replied with dignity and resolution. The Senate itself was admirable. For even those who had previously been for refusing the application of Varenus were of opinion that, having once been allowed, it should still be allowed, on the ground that though it was permissible for individuals to differ when a matter was undecided, yet when it was fairly settled the vision of the majority should be unanimously upheld.
Only Acilius Rufus and, with him, some seven or eight — seven rather — persisted in their former opinion. In this small number there were some whose temporary fit of severity, or rather affectation of severity, furnished much amusement. You will, however, be able to judge what a struggle awaits us in the fight itself, when the preludes to it and the preliminary skirmishes, so to speak, have aroused such contests.
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14. C. PLINIUS MAURICO SUO S.
1 Sollicitas me in Formianum. Veniam ea condicione, ne quid contra commodum tuum facias; qua pactione invicem mihi caveo. Neque enim mare et litus, sed te otium libertatem sequor: alioqui satius est in urbe remanere. 2 Oportet enim omnia aut ad alienum arbitrium aut ad suum facere. Mei certe stomachi haec natura est, ut nihil nisi totum et merum velit. Vale.
14. — TO MAURICUS.
You invite me to your place near Formiæ. I will accept on one condition, that you do not put yourself out in any way; an arrangement by which I bargain for myself as well. For it is not the sea and the seaside that I am going after, but my own ease, and liberty, and you; otherwise it would be preferable to remain in town. It is best that one’s actions should be entirely dependent on the will of others, or else on one’s own: the nature of my taste is certainly such that it will have nothing but what is complete in itself and free from admixture.
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15. C. PLINIUS ROMANO SUO S.
1 Mirificae rei non interfuisti; ne ego quidem, sed me recens fabula excepit. Passennus Paulus, splendidus eques Romanus et in primis eruditus, scribit elegos. Gentilicium hoc illi: est enim municeps Properti atque etiam inter maiores suos Propertium numerat. 2 Is cum recitaret, ita coepit dicere: ‘Prisce, iubes...’. Ad hoc Iavolenus Priscus — aderat enim ut Paulo amicissimus -: ‘Ego vero non iubeo.’ Cogita qui risus hominum, qui ioci. 3 Est omnino Priscus dubiae sanitatis, interest tamen officiis, adhibetur consiliis atque etiam ius civile publice respondet: quo magis quod tunc fecit et ridiculum et notabile fuit. 4 Interim Paulo aliena deliratio aliquantum frigoris attulit. Tam sollicite recitaturis providendum est, non solum ut sint ipsi sani verum etiam ut sanos adhibeant. Vale.
15. — TO ROMANUS.
You were not present at a very curious occurrence, nor was I either; but the story reached me soon after the event. Passennus Paulus, a distinguished Roman knight, and among the first for learning, writes elegiac verse. This runs in his family; he is a townsman of Propertius, and even numbers Propertius among his ancestors. As this Paulus was reciting, he commenced with these words —
“Priscus, thou bids’t me.”
Upon which Javolenus Priscus (who was present in his character of a particular friend of Paulus) cried out, “I don’t bid you, however” You may imagine how the people laughed and jested. To be sure, Priscus is of doubtful sanity, yet he takes part in ceremonial occasions, sits as assessor to the magistrates, and even gives legal opinions publicly, which makes this action of his all the more ridiculous and remarkable. Meanwhile Paulus, through another’s folly, found his audience somewhat chilled. Such particular care should people take beforehand, when they are going to recite, not only to be sane themselves, but also to invite none but sane hearers. —
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16. C. PLINIUS TACITO SUO S. (Mount Vesuvius Eruption Account I)
1 Petis ut tibi avunculi mei exitum scribam, quo verius tradere posteris possis. Gratias ago; nam video morti eius si celebretur a te immortalem gloriam esse propositam. 2 Quamvis enim pulcherrimarum clade terrarum, ut populi ut urbes memorabili casu, quasi semper victurus occiderit, quamvis ipse plurima opera et mansura condiderit, multum tamen perpetuitati eius scriptorum tuorum aeternitas addet. 3 Equidem beatos puto, quibus deorum munere datum est aut facere scribenda aut scribere legenda, beatissimos vero quibus utrumque. Horum in numero avunculus meus et suis libris et tuis erit. Quo libentius suscipio, deposco etiam quod iniungis.
4 Erat Miseni classemque imperio praesens regebat. Nonum Kal. Septembres hora fere septima mater mea indicat ei apparere nubem inusitata et magnitudine et specie. 5 Usus ille sole, mox frigida, gustaverat iacens studebatque; poscit soleas, ascendit locum ex quo maxime miraculum illud conspici poterat. Nubes — incertum procul intuentibus ex quo monte; Vesuvium fuisse postea cognitum est — oriebatur, cuius similitudinem et formam non alia magis arbor quam pinus expresserit. 6 Nam longissimo velut trunco elata in altum quibusdam ramis diffundebatur, credo quia recenti spiritu evecta, dein senescente eo destituta aut etiam pondere suo victa in latitudinem vanescebat, candida interdum, interdum sordida et maculosa prout terram cineremve sustulerat. 7 Magnum propiusque noscendum ut eruditissimo viro visum. Iubet liburnicam aptari; mihi si venire una vellem facit copiam; respondi studere me malle, et forte ipse quod scriberem dederat. 8 Egrediebatur domo; accipit codicillos Rectinae Tasci imminenti periculo exterritae — nam villa eius subiacebat, nec ulla nisi navibus fuga -: ut se tanto discrimini eriperet orabat. 9 Vertit ille consilium et quod studioso animo incohaverat obit maximo. Deducit quadriremes, ascendit ipse non Rectinae modo sed multis — erat enim frequens amoenitas orae — laturus auxilium. 10 Properat illuc unde alii fugiunt, rectumque cursum recta gubernacula in periculum tenet adeo solutus metu, ut omnes illius mali motus omnes figuras ut deprenderat oculis dictaret enotaretque.
11 Iam navibus cinis incidebat, quo propius accederent, calidior et densior; iam pumices etiam nigrique et ambusti et fracti igne lapides; iam vadum subitum ruinaque montis litora obstantia. Cunctatus paulum an retro flecteret, mox gubernatori ut ita faceret monenti ‘Fortes’ inquit ‘fortuna iuvat: Pomponianum pete.’ 12 Stabiis erat diremptus sinu medio — nam sensim circumactis curvatisque litoribus mare infunditur -; ibi quamquam nondum periculo appropinquante, conspicuo tamen et cum cresceret proximo, sarcinas contulerat in naves, certus fugae si contrarius ventus resedisset. Quo tunc avunculus meus secundissimo invectus, complectitur trepidantem consolatur hortatur
, utque timorem eius sua securitate leniret, deferri in balineum iubet; lotus accubat cenat, aut hilaris aut — quod aeque magnum — similis hilari. 13 Interim e Vesuvio monte pluribus locis latissimae flammae altaque incendia relucebant, quorum fulgor et claritas tenebris noctis excitabatur. Ille agrestium trepidatione ignes relictos desertasque villas per solitudinem ardere in remedium formidinis dictitabat. Tum se quieti dedit et quievit verissimo quidem somno; nam meatus animae, qui illi propter amplitudinem corporis gravior et sonantior erat, ab iis qui limini obversabantur audiebatur. 14 Sed area ex qua diaeta adibatur ita iam cinere mixtisque pumicibus oppleta surrexerat, ut si longior in cubiculo mora, exitus negaretur. Excitatus procedit, seque Pomponiano ceterisque qui pervigilaverant reddit. 15 In commune consultant, intra tecta subsistant an in aperto vagentur. Nam crebris vastisque tremoribus tecta nutabant, et quasi emota sedibus suis nunc huc nunc illuc abire aut referri videbantur. 16 Sub dio rursus quamquam levium exesorumque pumicum casus metuebatur, quod tamen periculorum collatio elegit; et apud illum quidem ratio rationem, apud alios timorem timor vicit. Cervicalia capitibus imposita linteis constringunt; id munimentum adversus incidentia fuit. 17 Iam dies alibi, illic nox omnibus noctibus nigrior densiorque; quam tamen faces multae variaque lumina solvebant. Placuit egredi in litus, et ex proximo adspicere, ecquid iam mare admitteret; quod adhuc vastum et adversum permanebat. 18 Ibi super abiectum linteum recubans semel atque iterum frigidam aquam poposcit hausitque. Deinde flammae flammarumque praenuntius odor sulpuris alios in fugam vertunt, excitant illum. 19 Innitens servolis duobus assurrexit et statim concidit, ut ego colligo, crassiore caligine spiritu obstructo, clausoque stomacho qui illi natura invalidus et angustus et frequenter aestuans erat. 20 Ubi dies redditus — is ab eo quem novissime viderat tertius -, corpus inventum integrum illaesum opertumque ut fuerat indutus: habitus corporis quiescenti quam defuncto similior.
21 Interim Miseni ego et mater — sed nihil ad historiam, nec tu aliud quam de exitu eius scire voluisti. Finem ergo faciam. 22 Unum adiciam, omnia me quibus interfueram quaeque statim, cum maxime vera memorantur, audieram, persecutum. Tu potissima excerpes; aliud est enim epistulam aliud historiam, aliud amico aliud omnibus scribere. Vale.
16. — TO TACITUS. (Mount Vesuvius Eruption Account I)
You ask me to write you an account of my uncle’s end, in order that you may be able the more faithfully to transmit it to posterity. I thank you, as I see that his death, if commemorated by you, has an imperishable renown offered it. For though he fell amid the destruction of such fair regions, and seems destined to live for ever — like so many peoples and cities — through the memorable character of the disaster; though he himself was the author of many and enduring works; yet the immortality of your writings will add greatly to the uninterrupted continuance of his fame. For my part I deem those blessed to whom, by favour of the gods, it has been granted either to do what is worth writing of, or to write what is worth reading; above measure blessed those on whom both gifts have been conferred. In the latter number will be my uncle, by virtue of his own and of your compositions. Hence, I the more readily undertake, and even lay claim to perform what you request.
He was at Misenum, in personal command of the fleet. The ninth day before the Kalends of September, at about the seventh hour, my mother indicated to him the appearance of a cloud of unusual size and shape. He had sunned himself, and next gone into his cold bath; and after a light meal, which he took reposing, was engaged in study. He called for his sandals, and ascended to a spot from which this portent could best be seen. A cloud was rising — from what mountain was a matter of uncertainty to those who looked at it from a distance: afterwards it was known to be Vesuvius — whose appearance and form would be represented by a pine better than any other tree. For, after towering upwards to a great height with an extremely lofty stem, so to speak, it spread out into a number of branches; because, as I imagine, having been lifted up by a recent breeze, and having lost the support of this as it grew feebler, or merely in consequence of yielding to its own weight, it was passing away laterally. It was at one time white, at another dingy and spotted, according as it carried earth or ashes. To a man of my uncle’s attainments, it seemed a remarkable phenomenon, and one to be observed from a nearer point of view. He ordered his fast-sailing cutter to be got ready, and, in case I wished to accompany him, gave me leave to do so. I replied that I — preferred to go on with my studies, and it so happened that he had himself given me something to write out.
He was in the act of leaving the house, when a note was handed him from Rectina. Cæsius Bassus, frightened, together with the people there, at the imminence of the peril (for his villa lay under the mountain, and there was no escape for him except by taking ship), begged my uncle to rescue him from so critical a situation. Upon this he changed his plan, and, having started on his enterprise as a student, proceeded to carry it out in the spirit of a hero. He launched his four-ranked galleys, and embarked in person, in order to carry assistance, not to Rectina only, but to many others, for the charms of the coast caused it to be much peopled. He hastened in the direction whence every one else was flying, holding a direct course, and keeping his helm set straight for the peril, so free from fear that he dictated and caused to be noted down, as fast as he seized them with his eyes, all the shiftings and shapes of the dreadful prodigy. Ashes were already falling on the ships, hotter and thicker the nearer they approached; and even pumice and other stones, black, and scorched, and cracked by the fire. There had been a sudden retreat of the sea, and the debris from the mountain made the shore unapproachable. Having hesitated for a moment whether to turn back, he shortly called out to the helmsman (who was urging him to do so), “Fortune favours the brave! Make in the direction of Pomponianus.” The latter was at Stabiæ, separated from him by the whole width of the bay, for the sea flows in by shores gradually winding and curving inwards. There, in view of the danger which, though it had not yet approached, was nevertheless manifest, and must be upon them as soon as it extended itself, he had got his effects together on board ship, resolved to fly, if only the wind left off blowing from the opposite quarter. My uncle, brought to shore by this same wind, which precisely favoured him, embraced his trembling friend, consoling and exhorting him, and, in order to calm his fears by his own sang froid, bade them conduct him to the bath. After bathing, he took his place at table, and dined gaily, or (which was equally heroic) with an air of gaiety.
Meanwhile, from many points of Mount Vesuvius, vast sheets of flame and tall columns of fire were blazing, the flashes and brightness of which were heightened by the darkness of night. My uncle, to soothe the terrors of those about him, kept telling them that these were fires which the frightened country people had left to burn, and that the deserted houses were blazing away all by them selves. Then he gave himself up to repose, and slept a perfectly genuine sleep, for his snoring (which in consequence of his full habit was heavy and loud) was heard by those in attendance about his door.
However, the courtyard from which this suite of rooms was approached was already so full of ashes mixed with pumice-stones that its surface was rising, and a longer stay in the bedchamber would have cut off all egress. On being aroused, he came forth and rejoined Pomponianus and the others who had kept watching. They consulted together whether to remain under cover or wander about in the open; for the walls nodded under the repeated and tremendous shocks, and seemed, as though dislodged from their foundations, to be swaying to and fro, first in one direction and then in another. On the other hand, in the open air, there was the fall of the pumice-stones (though they were light and burnt out) to be apprehended. However, a comparison of dangers led to the choice of the latter course. With my uncle indeed it was a case of one reason getting the better of another; while in the case of others fear overcame fear. They covered their heads with pillows tied round with cloths: this was their way of protecting themselves against the shower. By this time it was day elsewhere, but there it was night, the blackest and thickest of all nights,
which, however, numerous torches and lights of various kinds served to alleviate. It was decided to make for the shore, in order to learn from the nearest point whether the sea was by this time at all available. A huge and angry sea still continued running. Here, reclining on a cloth which had been thrown on the ground, my uncle more than once called for a draught of cold water and swallowed it. Upon this, an outbreak of flame and smell of sulphur, premonitory of further flames, put some to flight and roused him. With the help of two slave-boys he rose from the ground, immediately fell back, owing (as I gather) to the dense vapour obstructing his breath and stopping up the access to his gullet, which with him was weak and narrow and frequently subject to wind. When day returned (the third from that which he had looked upon for the last time ) his body was found whole and uninjured, in the dress he wore; its appearance was that of one asleep rather than dead.
Meanwhile my mother and I at Misenum — however, this has nothing to do with history, nor did you wish to learn anything except what related to his death. So I will make an end. This alone I will add, that everything related by me has been either matter of personal observation or else what I heard on the spot, the time of all others when the truth is told. Do you select what you choose. For a letter is a different matter from a history; it is one thing to write to a friend and another to write for the world.
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