(79 A.D.)
Your request that I would send you an account of my uncle's[140]
death, in order to transmit a more exact relation of it to posterity,
deserves my acknowledgments; for, if this accident shall be celebrated
by your pen, the glory of it, I am well assured, will be rendered
forever illustrious. And notwithstanding he perished by a misfortune,
which, as it involved at the same time a most beautiful country in
ruins, and destroyed so many populous cities, seems to promise him an
everlasting remembrance; notwithstanding he has himself composed many
and lasting works; yet I am persuaded the mentioning of him in your
immortal writings will greatly contribute to render his name immortal.
He was at that time with the fleet under his command at Misenum.[141]
On the 24th of August, about one in the afternoon, my mother desired
him to observe a cloud which appeared of a very unusual size and
shape. He had just taken a turn in the sun, and, after bathing
himself in cold water, and making a light luncheon, gone back to his
books: he immediately arose and went out upon a rising ground from
whence he might get a better sight of this very uncommon appearance. A
cloud, from which mountain was uncertain, at this distance (but it was
found afterward to come from Mount Vesuvius),[142] was ascending, the
appearance of which I can not give you a more exact description of
than by likening it to that of a pine-tree, for it shot up to a great
height in the form of a very tall trunk, which spread itself out at
the top into a sort of branches; occasioned, I imagine, either by a
sudden gust of air that impelled it, the force of which decreased as
it advanced upward, or the cloud itself being prest back again by its
own weight, expanded in the manner I have mentioned; it appeared
sometimes bright and sometimes dark and spotted according as it was
either more or less impregnated with earth and cinders. This
phenomenon seemed to a man of such learning and research as my uncle
extraordinary and worth further looking into. He ordered a light
vessel to be got ready, and gave me leave, if I liked, to accompany
him. I said I had rather go on with my work; and it so happened he had
himself given me something to write out.
As he was coming out of the house, he received a note from Rectina,
the wife of Bassus, who was in the utmost alarm at the imminent danger
which threatened her; for her villa lying at the foot of Mount
Vesuvius, there was no way of escape but by sea; she earnestly
entreated him therefore to come to her assistance. He accordingly
changed his first intention and what he had begun from a
philosophical, he now carries out in a noble and generous spirit. He
ordered the galleys to put to sea and went himself on board with an
intention of assisting not only Rectina but the several other towns
which lay thickly strewn along that beautiful coast. Hastening then to
the place from whence others fled with the utmost terror, he steered
his course direct to the point of danger, and with so much calmness
and presence of mind as to be able to make and dictate his
observations upon the motion and all the phenomena of that dreadful
scene. He was now so close to the mountain that the cinders, which
grew thicker and hotter the nearer he approached, fell into the ships,
together with pumice stones, and black pieces of burning rock: they
were in danger too not only of being aground by the sudden retreat of
the sea, but also from the vast fragments which rolled down from the
mountains, and obstructed all the shore. Here he stopt to consider
whether he should turn back again; to which the pilot advising him,
"Fortune," said he, "favors the brave; steer to where Pomponianus is."
Pomponianus was then at Stabiae,[143] separated by a bay, which the
sea, after several insensible windings, forms with the shore. He had
already sent his baggage on board; for tho he was not at that time in
actual danger, yet being within sight of it, and indeed extremely
near, if it should in the least increase, he was determined to put to
sea as soon as the wind, which was blowing dead in-shore, should go
down.
It was favorable, however, for carrying my uncle to Pomponianus, whom
he found in the greatest consternation: he embraced him tenderly,
encouraging and urging him to keep up his spirits, and the more
effectually to soothe his fears by seeming unconcerned himself,
ordered a bath to be got ready, and then, after having bathed, sat
down to supper with great cheerfulness, or at least (what is just as
heroic) with every appearance of it. Meanwhile broad flames shone out
in several places from Mount Vesuvius, which the darkness of the night
contributed to render still brighter and clearer. But my uncle, in
order to soothe the apprehensions of his friend, assured him it was
only the burning of the villages, which the country people had
abandoned to the flames: after this he retired to rest, and it is most
certain he was so little disquieted as to fall into a sound sleep: for
his breathing, which, on account of his corpulence, was rather heavy
and sonorous, was heard by the attendants outside. The court which led
to his apartment being now almost filled with stones and ashes, if he
had continued there any time longer, it would have been impossible for
him to have made his way out. So he was awoke and got up, and went to
Pomponianus and the rest of his company, who were feeling too anxious
to think of going to bed. They consulted together whether it would be
most prudent to trust to the houses, which now rocked from side to
side with frequent and violent concussions as tho shaken from their
very foundations; or fly to the open fields, where the calcined stones
and cinders, tho light indeed yet fell in large showers, and
threatened destruction. In this choice of dangers they resolved for
the fields: a resolution which, while the rest of the company were
hurried into by their fears, my uncle embraced upon cool and
deliberate consideration. They went out then, having pillows tied upon
their heads with napkins; and this was their whole defense against the
storm of stones that fell round them.
It was now day everywhere else, but there a deeper darkness prevailed
than in the thickest night; which however was in some degree
alleviated by torches and other lights of various kinds. They thought
proper to go farther down upon the shore to see if they might safely
put out to sea, but found the waves still running extremely high, and
boisterous. There my uncle, laying himself down upon a sail-cloth,
which was spread for him, called twice for some cold water, which he
drank, when immediately the flames, preceded by a strong whiff of
sulfur, dispersed the rest of the party, and obliged him to rise. He
raised himself up with the assistance of two of his servants, and
instantly fell down dead; suffocated, as I conjecture, by some gross
and noxious vapor, having always had a weak throat, which was often
inflamed. As soon as it was light again, which was not till the third
day after this melancholy accident, his body was found entire, and
without any marks of violence upon it, in the dress in which he fell,
and looking more like a man asleep than dead....
My uncle having left us,[144] I spent such time as was left on my
studies (it was on their account indeed that I had stopt behind), till
it was time for my bath. After which I went to supper, and then fell
into a short and uneasy sleep. There had been noticed for many days
before a trembling of the earth, which did not alarm us much, as this
is quite an ordinary occurrence in Campania; but it was so
particularly violent that night that it not only shook but actually
overturned, as it would seem, everything about us. My mother rushed
into my chamber, where she found me rising, in order to awaken her. We
sat down in the open court of the house, which occupied a small space
between the buildings and the sea. As I was at that time but eighteen
years of age, I know not whether I should call my behavior, in this
dangerous juncture, courage or folly; but I took up Livy, and amused
myself with turning over that author, and even making extracts from
him, as if I had been perfectly at my leisure. Just then, a friend of
my uncle's, who had lately come to him from Spain, joined us, and
observing me sitting by my mother with a book in my hand, reproved her
for her calmness, and me at the same time for my careless security:
nevertheless I went on with my author.
Tho it was now morning, the light was still exceedingly faint and
doubtful; the buildings all around us tottered, and tho we stood upon
open ground, yet as the place was narrow and confined, there was no
remaining without imminent danger: we therefore resolved to quit the
town.
A panic-stricken crowd followed us, and (as to a mind distracted with
terror every suggestion seems more prudent than its own) prest on us
in dense array to drive us forward as we came out. Being at a
convenient distance from the houses, we stood still, in the midst of a
most dangerous and dreadful scene. The chariots which we had ordered
to be drawn out, were so agitated backward and forward, tho upon the
most level ground, that we could not keep them steady, even by
supporting them with large stones. The sea seemed to roll back upon
itself, and to be driven from its banks by the convulsive motion of
the earth; it is certain at least the shore was considerably enlarged,
and several sea animals were left upon it. On the other side, a black
and dreadful cloud, broken with rapid, zigzag flashes, revealed behind
it variously shaped masses of flame: these last were like
sheet-lightning, but much larger. Upon this our Spanish friend, whom I
mentioned above, addressing himself to my mother and me with great
energy and urgency: "If your brother," he said, "if your uncle be
safe, he certainly wishes you may be so too; but if he perished, it
was his desire, no doubt, that you might both survive him: why
therefore do you delay your escape a moment?" We could never think of
our own safety, we said, while we were uncertain of his. Upon this our
friend left us, and withdrew from the danger with the utmost
precipitation. Soon afterward, the cloud began to descend, and cover
the sea. It had already surrounded and concealed the island of
Capreae.[145]
My mother now besought, urged, even commanded me to make my escape at
any rate, which, as I was young, I might easily do; as for herself,
she said, her age and corpulency rendered all attempts of that sort
impossible; however she would willingly meet death if she could have
the satisfaction of seeing that she was not the occasion of mine. But
I absolutely refused to leave her, and, taking her by the hand,
compelled her to go with me. She complied with great reluctance, and
not without many reproaches to herself for retarding my flight. The
ashes now began to fall upon us, tho in no great quantity. I looked
back; a dense dark mist seemed to be following us, spreading itself
over the country like a cloud. "Let us turn out of the high-road," I
said, "while we can still see, for fear that, should we fall in the
road, we should be prest to death in the dark, by the crowds that are
following us." We had scarcely sat down when night came upon us, not
such as we have when the sky is cloudy, or when there is no moon, but
that of a room when it is shut up, and all the lights put out. You
might hear the shrieks of women, the screams of children, and the
shouts of men; some calling for their children, others for their
parents, others for their husbands, and seeking to recognize each
other by the voices that replied; one lamenting his own fate, another
that of his family; some wishing to die, from the very fear of dying;
some lifting their hands to the gods; but the greater part convinced
that there were now no gods at all, and that the final endless night
of which we have heard had come upon the world. Among these there
were some who augmented the real terrors by others imaginary or
wilfully invented. I remember some who declared that one part of
Misenum had fallen, that another was on fire; it was false, but they
found people to believe them. It now grew rather lighter, which we
imagined to be rather the forerunner of an approaching burst of flames
(as in truth it was) than the return of day: however, the fire fell at
a distance from us: then again we were immersed in thick darkness, and
a heavy shower of ashes rained upon us, which we were obliged every
now and then to stand up to shake off, otherwise we should have been
crusht and buried in the heap.
I might boast that, during all this scene of horror, not a sigh, or
expression of fear, escaped me, had not my support been grounded in
that miserable, tho mighty, consolation, that all mankind were
involved in the same calamity and that I was perishing with the world
itself. At last this dreadful darkness was dissipated by degrees, like
a cloud or smoke; the real day returned, and even the sun shone out,
tho with a lurid light, like when an eclipse is coming on. Every
object that presented itself to our eyes (which were extremely
weakened) seemed changed, being covered deep with ashes as if with
snow. My mother and I, notwithstanding the danger we had passed, and
that which still threatened us, had no thoughts of leaving the place,
till we could receive some news of my uncle.