6.16

Pliny writes to the senator and historian Tacitus about the heroic death of Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79.

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Based on its inclusion with other datable letters in Book 6, Sherwin-White (pp. 36 and 371) dates this letter to late 106 or early 107 AD, some 27 years after the events described. The structure is as follows:

Preface to Tacitus (1-3); Pliny the Elder observes the pine-tree shaped column of ash and pumice from afar (4-6); he sails boldly in to rescue residents of the coast (7-10); unable to reach Stabiae, he puts in a the villa of his friend Pomponianus and attempts to comfort him in his panic (11-12); Pliny's calm demeanor on the terrifying night of August 24-25 (13-16); his death on August 26 (16-20); a final note to Tacitus (21-22).

Carole Newlands writes: "According to Pliny, Tacitus asked for an account not of the eruption but of the death of Pliny's uncle, Pliny the elder, while on a rescue mission across the bay. Pliny's first letter is an example of a burgeoning genre of imperial times, exitus illustrium virorum, the deaths of famous men who often acted as martyrs either to a political cause, or, as here, to a heroic mission. In 5.5.3 Pliny places this genre “between everyday speech and history,” a classification that might also characterize the epistolary form, which in the ancient world traditionally endorsed a plain style combined with the more elevated quality of literary charm. By focusing moreover on one person, his uncle, rather than the thousands suffocated in volcanic fumes and ash, Pliny reduces the catastrophe to a human dimension." Carole Newlands, “The Eruption of Vesuvius in the Epistles of Statius and Pliny,” in John Miller and Anthony Woodman, eds., Latin Historiography and Poetry in the Early Empire: Generic Interactions (Brill, 2010), p. 108.

(1) ut … scrībam: ind. command, introduced by petis.

trādere posterīs: Tacitus's account of the eruption of Vesuvius and of the elder Pliny's death was probably in one of the lost books in his Histories; cf. the expression of confidence in the immortality of Tacitus's work in 7.33 (Westcott). 

Tacitus was writing the first of his great historical works, Historiae, covering the time from Nero’s death to that of Domitian. Only four books and part of the fifth remain, not including, unfortunately, his account of this catastrophe (Kingery).

quō: relative clause of purpose; “so that” or “in order that,” or just simply “that.”

Grātiās agō: literally, “I give thanks to you,” but more idiomatically, “gladly!”

mortī: dative with propositām.

sī celebrētur ā tē: “if he should be celebrated by you,” pres. subj., in the protasis of a future less vivid condition.

prōpositam: "is in store for" (Westcott); “is set out for” ( + dat.).

(2) Two concessive clauses with perfect subjunctive are followed by a main clause with a confident future indicative: Quamvīs ... occīderit, quamvīs ... condiderit, multum tamen ... addet. Pliny expresses admiration for Tacitus' literary gifts and hopes that being included in Tacitus' work will give his uncle even more literary immortality than his own (the elder Pliny's) writings will provide.

pulcherrimārum … terrārum: the lovely country around the Bay of Naples (Westcott).

clāde: “in the destruction,” take with occiderit, "perished" (LS occido2 II).

ut … ut: correlatives, “as did both … and.” Supply occiderint.

urbēs: Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae (Westcott).

memorābilī cāsū: ablative of cause, “because of the memorable misfortune,” i.e., the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

quasi semper vīctūrus: supply Plinius, referring to Pliny the Elder (Westcott); fut. act. ptc., “as if he will live forever." The implication is that Pliny will go down in history not only due to his own writings, but also due to the manner of his death.

mānsūra: lit., "things about to remain,” i.e., "destined to last" because of their scholarly and literary value. Pliny the Elder's encyclopedic Natural History survives. He also wrote now lost historical works.

condiderit: "composed," LS condo I.A.c.

multum: adverbial, "greatly."

perpetuitātī: "eternal fame," dative with addet.

scrīptōrum tuōrum aeternitās: it is curious that Tacitus's account should have been lost, and that this one should have survived. The historian can hardly have given as detailed a narrative as this (Westcott).

(3) beātōs: indirect discourse dependent on putō. Supply esse.

quibus … datum est: "to whom it is given by the gift of the gods." The infinitives facere and scribere are the subjects of datum est.

scrībenda … legenda: "worth writing about … worth reading”; note the assonance. This is also an instance of substantival gerundive (Westcott).

“worth writing,” “worth reading” (Kingery).

beātissimōs vērō: supply putō from the previous clause.

quibus utrumque: supply datum est. Utrumque refers back to facere scribenda … legenda.

Hōrum: viros beātissimōs.

suīs librīs … tuīs: ablative of cause, “(both) because of his own book and because of yours” (Kingery).

Quō: “(this is) why,” “for this reason.” LS quo I.B.2.

libentius: “more willingly.”

dēposcō etiam: almost parenthetical: "I even demand (the task)," rather than simply agreeing to do it (suscipio). There’s an id understood before the quod.

(4) Erat: Plinius.

Mīsēnī: locative; Misenum (mod. Miseno) was the chief station of the Roman navy on the west coast, as Ravenna was the station on the Adriatic, from the time of Augustus. Suetonius, Augustus 49 Classem Miseni et alteram Ravennae ad tutelam Superi et Inferi maris collacavit. Misenum was ten or twelve miles from Neapolis, at the promontory forming the western point of the bay of Baiae. Map of the Roman Monuments of Misenum in 1890.

classemque ... regēbat: “was in control of the fleet.”

imperiō: “with power to command.”

Pliny is using the term loosely here. The prefect did not have the powers of an imperial legate. He needed only enough authority to maintain discipline in a peaceful establishment (S-W).

praesēns: adv., “at hand,” “in person.”

Nōnum kal. Septembrēs: i.e., ante diem nonum, “August 24,” although later scholars often take the date of the eruption to have been in mid-October.

The year, AD 79, is known from Cassius Dio (Xiphilinus) 66.21, who places it in the first year of Titus, and from Eusebius and other chronographers. The hour, counted from sunrise, would be between 2 and 3 p.m. (S-W).

Eī: dative with indicat, which sets up the indirect statement that follows.

inūsitātā et magnitūdine et speciē: ablatives of respect describing the nūbem.

In the account of Xiphilinus, which gives a description of the first phase of a Vesuvianic type of eruption, the catastrophe begins with the preliminary rumblings and a tremendous explosion, the volcano hurling out great rocks followed by torrents of flame and smoke. Pliny’s observation evidently begins at this moment, when the subterranean steam has cleared the vent of the material that was choking it. None of Pliny’s household appears to have heard a noise (S-W).

(5) Ūsus ille sōle: lit, “that one (i.e., Pliny) having used the sun,” "having been out in the sun."

frīgidā: = frīgidā aquā, ablative because of ūsus, “having taken a cold plunge."

gustāverat: "had had a light lunch." OLD gusto 3.

poscit: "asked (a servant) for." Historical present in a vivid narrative (AG 463). Likewise ascendit.

Maximē: "best," "most easily," modifying conspicī.

incertum: supply erat.

procul intuentibus: “to those watching from far off.”

ex quō monte: supply oriēbātur from the next clause.

Vesuvium: the previous eruptions of this mountain had been so long before that there was no record or tradition of them. The volcano was covered in vegetation up to its summit. The present cone of Vesuvius proper did not then exist; what is called Monte Somma was then the highest peak (Wescott).

Strabo (Geography 5.4.8), speaking as an eye-witness, shows that in his own day the top of the mountain was relatively level and that the crater was worn down and filled in. Diodorus (Library 4.21.5), likewise, confirms Strabo’s implication that the mountain was believed to be harmless. According to Livy (8.9.1), the mountain had played a historic part in the early wars. And according to Appian (Civil Wars 1.116), the mountain had been the base camp of Spartacus and his cohorts (S-W).

nōn alia … quam pīnus: “no other tree (more) than the pine.” The Mediterranean pine (Pinus pinea) is shaped like an umbrella. Note the interlocked word order.

(6) Pliny explains the shape of the cloud, then describes its color. The structure is Nam ... ēlāta ... diffundēbātur, crēdō quia ... ēvecta, dein ... dēstitūta aut ... vīcta ... vānēscēbat; candida (erat) interdum, interdum sordida et maculōsa, prout ... sustulerat.

longissimō velut truncō: “in a sort of very long trunk." Ablative with ēlāta. Note the series of five ablatives followed by a verb or participle.

in altum: “into the air,” “on high.”

quibusdam rāmīs: "into branches," abl. with diffundēbātur.

crēdō quia: “I imagine (it behaved this way) because....”

recentī spīritū ēvecta: “thrust upwards by the first blast” (Radice).

Pliny shows himself to be a true pupil of his uncle. His speculation is as careful as his observation, despite his refusal to seek field experience. His account contains none of the nonsense about giant specters imported into the story by Dio (S-W).

senēscente eō dēstitūta: "abandoned as it (the first blast) became exhausted," (LS senesco II.B.2), “left unsupported as the pressure subsided” (Radice).

etiam pondere suō vīcta: “even having been conquered by its own weight.” Pondere suō is an ablative of means. The nūbēs continues to be subject of all of these parallel perfect participles.

in lātitūdinem vānēscēbat: vanescebat = evanescebat; “was disappearing into its width,” "it spread out and gradually dispersed" (Radice). This is the main clause after all those perfect participles.

interdum, interdum: (adv.) “sometimes…other times….”

prout: “in accordance with.”

sustulerat: > tollō, "lift up."

(7) The narrative become swift and vivid, with short clauses and verbs primarily in the historical present.

Magnum ... vīsum: supply est, "it seemed an important thing." LS video II.B.7.c.

ut: "as is natural (for)," "since he (was)." LS ut I.B.4.c.

ērudītissimō vīrō: dative of person with vīsum (est), as normal.

liburnicam: a light, swift galley, named from those of the Liburnian pirates of Dalmatia.

ūnā: (adv.) “together with (him),” "along." Supply sēcum.

facit cōpiam: "gave the opportunity” + dative, mihi, which is emphatic by position. Historical present.

respondī: + indirect statement. Perfect tense.

quod scrīberem: “(a thing) which I was to write,” relative clause of purpose (AG 531.2). Pliny the Elder had given Pliny the Younger an assignment.

dederat: supply mihi. 

(8) accipit cōdicillōs: “he received a note.”

RectīnaeTascī: "from Rectina (wife) of Tascius." Rectīnae is genitive with codicillos. Since Roman women typically had only one name, it was normal to identify them by their husband's name in the genitive. Cp. Clodia Metellī.

imminentī perīculō: ablative of cause with exterritae, “frightened because of the imminent danger.” Exterritae modifies Rectīnae.

subiacēbat: supply sub monte.

nisi nāvibus: ablative of means, “except by ship(s).”

ut sē tantō discrīminī ēriperet ōrābat: order: orabat ut se eriperet tanto discrimini. Orabat introduces an indirect command.

tantō discrīminī: dative with ēriperet, “from such great danger.”

(9) Vertit ille cōnsilium: “he changed his plan.” Historical present.

quod: "(an enterprise) which."

obit maximō: supply animō. "He took on with a very great spirit," "he completed as a hero" (Radice). See OLD obeo 5.a, "to go (voluntarily) into, accept, take on (situations, tasks, etc.)."

quadrirēmēs: the main fleet, which Pliny the Elder oversaw. A type of galley with four men per oar, much bigger ships than the Liburnica.

nōn Rectīnae modo sed multīs: “not only to Rectina but to many (people).” Datives with auxilium.

erat enim frequēns amoenitās ōrae: “for the pleasantness of the shore was crowded.” One might expect ōrae to be nominative with amoenitās in the ablative, but this unexpected combination foregrounds the beauty of the place. The shore is crowded because it is pleasant.

lātūrus auxilium: “intending to bring help.” Future participle used to express purpose, AG 499.2.

(10) illūc unde: “to the place from which.”

rēctumque cursum rēcta gubernācula: direct objects of tenet. Anaphora and asyndeton indicative of high emotion. 

Sketch of Bay of Naples in 79AD showing the approximate route taken by Pliny the Elder.

adeō ... ut ... dictāret ēnotāretque: result clause.

ut … dēprēnderat: "as he had observed them." LS deprehendo II.B. Note the indicative mood.

illīus malī: “of that evil,” i.e., the eruption.

omnēs ... mōtūs, omnēs figūrās: anaphora and asyndeton indicative of high drama.

(11) quō propius accēderent: “the nearer they approached,” working with calidior et densior. Quō is ablative of degree of difference, common with a comparative. AG 414.a.

frāctī igne: “broken by fire.” Nigrī, ambustī, and frāctī all modify lapidēs.

The dust and stones predominate in this account. The main products of a Vesuvian type of eruption are ‘steam, dust, and stones, sometimes accompanied by lava.’ In 79, Campania was spared the streams of lava that spread through the area in 1943-44 (Sherwin-White).

vadum subitum: supply est, “suddenly they were in shallow water" (Radice).

In 6.20.9 the rising of the sea-bed is more accurately attributed to terrestrial movement. Either way this is the reason for Pliny’s change of course (Sherwin-White).

lītora obstantia: “shores standing in the way,” i.e. "shores blocked by" ( + abl.). The anaphora (Iam ... iam ... iam) and omission of verbs indicate breathless drama.

paulum an: adv., “a little bit about whether.”

gubernātōrī ut ita faceret monentī: dative with inquit, “he says to the helmsman advising him to do this.” Monenti sets up the indirect command. The ut ita faceret refers to the fact that the helmsman is advising Pliny to turn around.

Pomponiānum pete: Pomponiānum = Pomponianus’s house. He decides to change course, since he cannot get to Rectina.

(12) Stabiīs erat dirēmptus sinū mediō: the subject is Pliny the Elder, “he was separated from Stabiae by the intervening bay.” OLD medius 3. Pliny the Younger makes it clear that Pliny the Elder could not make it to Rectina. Stabiīs is an ablative of separation. Sinū mediō is ablative of means.

Sketch of Bay of Naples in 79AD showing the approximate route taken by Pliny the Elder.

The width of the inner bay of Stabiae separated Pliny, who was somewhere in the neighborhood of Herculaneum at the time, from Stabiae. The Sarno delta has advanced the ancient shoreline some two miles westward from Pompeii (Sherwin-White). 

Geological and structural sketch of the Campania region.

sēnsim circumāctīs curvātīsque lītoribus mare īnfunditur: "the sea flows into shores (that are) gradually bent round and curved," i.e. "the shore gradually curves round a basin filled by the sea" (Radice). 

ibi: at Pomponianus's villa.

cōnspicuō tamen et (cum crēsceret) proximō: "though it was evident, and (would be) very close, when it grew," or "since it was growing." 

The danger would be immediate as soon as the shower of ashes, etc., from the mountain should extend itself. For the time being this was prevented by the wind blowing on shore (Wescott).

contulerat: the implied subject here is Pomponianus or a member of his household.

certus fugae: like Vergil, Pliny uses certus + gen. meaning, “determined on flight,” or more generally, “determined to flee.”

sī contrārius ventus resēdisset: “if the contrary wind (had) settled down.”

Cooler air pouring into the hot centre from seaward makes a great sea rise too strong for Pomponianus’ crews or the quadriremes. Hence the many failed attempts to flee by sea. This adverse wind kept the worst of the dust and stones away from Misenum (Sherwin-White).

A strong northwest wind had now arisen, and kept Pomponianus wind-bound, while it brought Pliny with the ashes. The prevalence of this wind shows why Naples escaped (Holbrooke).

Quō ... secundissimō: supply ventō. 

trepidantem: supply Pomponianum.

ut ... lēnīret: purpose clause.

quod: “a thing which.”

similis hilarī: “like a cheerful person,” “pretending to be cheerful.” Hilarī is dative after similis as normal, though the genitive is also used (AG 385.c.2).

(13) tenebrīs noctis excitābātur: “was intensified by the darkness of the night.”

agrestium trepidātiōne: “because of the fear of the peasants.” Pliny blames the fires on peasants leaving bonfires burning when they abandoned their homes.

per sōlitūdinem: “through the wilderness,” or "because they had been abandoned."

vērissimō quidem somnō: “in a very deep sleep indeed.”

meātus animae: “the movement of his breath,” i.e., his snores. This is how we know he was sleeping very deeply.

quī līminī obversābantur: “those who were minding the door,” OLD observo 2.c, LS limen I.B.1. The accusative would be more normal with this verb.

(14) ārea: "courtyard." 

ex quā diaeta adībātur: "giving access to his room" (Radice). diaeta = cubiculum.

cinere mixtīsque pūmicibus opplēta surrēxerat: Pliny is lucky he got out when he did, because this is exactly how many in Pompeii died.

These circumstances account for the bodies found in the excavations, of those that failed to escape (Sherwin-White).

exitus negārētur: supply eī.

(15) In commūne: adverbial.

an: = utrum … an.

nūtābant: “kept shaking.”

nunc hūc nunc illūc: “now this way, now that way,” "to and fro."

(16) Sub dīō: “outside.”

quod tamen perīculōrum collātiō ēlēgit: “however, a comparison of the risks chose this,” i.e., being outside with the pumice stones and ash. LS collatio II E.

apud illum: “in his case,” giving Pliny’s motivation.

apud aliōs: “in their case(s),” giving everyone else’s motivation.

incīdentia: neut. pl., “falling (things).”

(17) Iam diēs alibī: “now it was day elsewhere.” This is a description of the second day of the eruption, August 25th, according to Pliny.

omnibus noctibus: ablative of comparison with nigrior dēnsiorque.

lūmina: "lamps."

solvēbant: "broke up." OLD solvo 12.

ecquid iam mare admitteret: indirect question after adspicere, “whether the sea would now permit access.”

(18) excitant illum: "roused him to stand up" (Radice). Vivid historical present.

(19) ut ego colligō: “as I gather.” Pliny the Younger learned this secondhand from survivors who were there.

stomachō: “windpipe,” “esophagus.”

He was perhaps asthmatical, whence the heavy snores of section 13, and died the more quickly, like the victims of London “smog.” There was nothing mysterious about the cause of death, even if Pliny's diagnosis is not medically sound in detail. The lungs, not the windpipe, were troubled (Sherwin-White).

frequenter aestuāns: “frequently inflamed.”

(20) Ubi diēs redditus: this is the morning of the 26th of August, according to Pliny’s account.

is ab eō quem novissimē vīderat tertius: “and it was the third day from the last (day) which he had seen.” Pliny the Younger here is making a play on the concept of the novissimus dies being the last day a man would see, but for Pliny the Elder this is not strictly true, since there was no daylight on his final day on earth.

Corpus inventum integrum inlaesum opertumque: note the assonance of inventum integrum inlaesum. The state of Pliny’s body implies that he likely died from inhaling noxious gasses from the eruption.

ut fuerat indūtus: “as he had been dressed.”

quiēscentī quam dēfūnctō: datives with similior, “more similar to (someone) sleeping than (someone) dead.”

(21) Mīsēnī: locative, “at Misenum.” In 6.20, Pliny the Younger will give an account of what he and his mother experienced at Misenum.

nihil ad historiam: “not of any historic interest" (Radice), i.e., would not be included in Tacitus's Histories, which focuses on major public figures and political events.

nec aliud quam: the nec negates the aliud quam, “and…nothing other than.”

(22) Ūnum adiciam: sets up the indirect statement that follows.

omnia mē, quibus interfueram, quaeque statim, cum maximē vēra memorantur, audieram, persecūtum: order: mē persecūtum (esse) omnia, quibus interfueram, quaequae statim audi(v)eram, cum maximē vēra memorantur. Omnia and statim are emphatic. He has not left anything out, and it is all based on reports given immediately after the events.

persecūtum: supply esse, "have recounted." OLD persequor 8.

Pliny received immediate news at Misenum of his uncle’s death from Pomponianus and the slaves, a factual element that underlies the much adorned historical and biographical products of this age. Pliny must have questioned his informants very carefully to secure the details given (Sherwin-White).

potissima: n. pl. acc., “the most important points,” LS potis III.

aliud … aliud: “one thing … another thing.” Note the lovely parallel structure here, and how economical Pliny is with his words.