Pliny set text

ante lūcem ibat ad Vespasiānum imperātõrem (nam ille quoque noctibus ūtēbātur), deinde ad officium sibi dēlēgātum.

Before dawn he used to go to Emperor Vespasian (For he also used to make use of the night), then to the duty having been assigned to him.

reversus domum reliquum tempus studiis dabat.

Returning home he used to give his remaining time to his studies.

saepe post cibum (qui veterum mõre interdiū levis et facilis erat) aestāte, si quid õtii erat, iacēbat in sõle, liber legēbātur, adnotābat excerpēbatque.

Often after food (which by the customs of the forefathers was light and easy during the day) In summer, if there was anything of leisure, he used to lie in the sun, a book was being read to him, making notes and taking extracts.

nihil enim lēgit quop nõn excerperet; dicere etiam solēbat nūllum librum esse tam malum ut nõn aliquã parte prõdesset.

For he read nothing which he could not make an extract from; he even used to say that there was no book so bad that it could not be of use in some part.

post sõlem plērumque aquã frigidā lavābātur, deinde gustābat dormiēbatque minimum;

After the sun bathing, he usually was washed with cold water after having a small snack and sleeping;

mox quasi aliõ diē studēbat in cēnae tempus. super cēnam liber legēbātur adnotābātur, et quidem cursim.

soon, as if on another day, he was studying into dinner time. Over dinner the book was indeed being read and commented on rapidly.

haec inter mediõs labõrēs urbisque fremitum. in sēcessū sõlumbalinei tempus studiīs eximēbātur

This between the middle of the labours and bustles of the city. Time was taken from study only when he was going away from the city to the baths.

(cum dico 'balineï, dē interiõribus loquor; nam dum dēstringitur tergiturque, audiēbat aliquid aut dictābat).

While I say ‘baths’ to talk about the inner rooms, for while he was scraped and dried, to some he was listening or was talking).

in itinere quasi solūtus cēterīs cūrīs, huic ūnī vacābat:

On a journey, having been freed from the cares of the rest, he was devoting himself to time alone:

ad latus notārius cum librõ et pugillāribus, cuius manūs hieme manicīs mūniēbantur, ut nẽ caeli quidem asperitās üllum studii tempus ēriperet;

By his side a secretary with a book and writing tablets, whose hands they used to secure by sleeves in winter, so that the roughness of the weather may not take away all the time of the study;

quã ex causă Rõmae quoque sellā vehēbātur. repető mē correptum ab eõ, quod ambulārem:

For this reason, he was carried to Rome by chair. I remember being told off by him because I was walking:

'poterăs' inquit ´hās hõrās nõn perdere'; nam perire omne tempus arbitrābătur, quod studiis nõn impenderētur. valē.

‘you cannot’ he said ‘waste these hours’; for he thought all time was wasted that was not devoted to study.

petis ut tibi avunculi mei exitum scrībam, quõ vērius trādere posterīs possīs.

You ask, as one might suspect, about my uncle's death (that) I was writing to you about, in order that you might be able to hand down the truth with posterity.

erat Misēnî classemque imperio praesēns regēbat. nõnum kal. Septembrēs hõrā ferē septimā māter mea indicat eï nūbem mīrābilem appārēre;

There was a fleet at Misenum that he used to rule powerfully in person. On the 24^th of August about 7 my mother indicates to him an extraordinary cloud appearing;

quae vīsa est ei, ut ērudītissimõ virő, magna propiusque nõscenda.

which led to him, that scholarly man, important and to be investigated closer.

iubet liburnicam parārī; mē sĩ venīre ūnā vellem rogat;

He ordered a fast boat to be prepared, he asked me if I would want to come as well,

respondi studēre mē malle, et forte ipse quod scrīberem dederat.

I responded that I prefer to study and by chance he himself had given something which I should be writing.

ēgrediēbātur domõ; accipit cõdicillōs Rēctinae Tascī imminenti perīculő perterritae

He was leaving the house, he receives notes of Rectina, wife of Tactus, terrified by the imminent danger.

(nam villa eius subiacēbat, nec ülla nisi nāvibus fuga): õrābat ut sē tanto discrīminī ēriperet.

(For her villa was lying below Vesuvius and there was no exit except by boat) She was begging that he would rescue her from such great danger.

ertit ille cõnsilium et quod studiõsõ animõ incēperat obit maximõ.

This changed his plan and what he had begun with a studious mind he ends with a heroic mind.

dēdūcit quadrirēmēs, ascendit ipse nõn Rēctīnae modo sed multis (erat enim frequēns amoenitās õrae) lātūrus auxilium.

He launched warships, he himself embarked not only to bring help to Rectina but to many (for that delightful area of coast was densely populated).

festīnat illúc unde alii fugiunt, rēctumque cursum rēcta gubernācula in perīculum tenet adeõ solūtus metū, ut omnēs illius mali mõtūs, omnēs figūrās ut dēprenderat oculis dictāret adnotãretque.

He hurries to that place from which others are fleeing, he holds straight rudders and a straight course into danger so free from fear, that he could dictate and note down every movement of that disaster and every feature that he had observed with his own eyes.

iam nāvibus cinis incidēbat, calidior et dēnsior, quo propius accēderent; iam pūmicēs etiam lapidēsque nigri et ambusti et frācti igne;

Now the ash was falling on the ships, hotter and denser the nearer they were approaching; now even pumices and stones blackened and scorched and broken by flames;

iam vadum subitum et litora ruina montis obstantia. haesitat paulisper an retrő nāvigăret;

Now there was sudden shallows shores, blocked by the ruin of the mountain. For a short time, he is wondering if he should sail back;  

mox gubernātõrī ut ita faceret monenti 'fortēs' inquit 'fortūna adiuvat: Pompõniānum pete!'

Soon he was warning to  the helmsman that he should do so, he says ‘fortune helps the strong: Make for Pomponianus!’

Pompõniānus erat Stabiis dirēmptus sinū mediō (nam mare sēnsim circumāctis curvătisque litoribus înfunditur);

Pomponianus was at Stabiae, separated by the intervening bay. (For the sea is being run in gradually by sweeping round and curving the shores);

ibi perīculum, quamquam nõndum appropinquãbat, tamen valdē cõnspicuum erat;

There was danger, though it was not yet approaching, yet it was greatly obvious.

Pompõniānus igitur sarcinās posuerat in nāvēs, certus fugae si contrārius ventus resēdisset.

Pomponianus therefore had luggage placed into ships, he resolved on escape if the contrary winds had subsided.

quo tum secundissimő avunculus meus invectus, amplectitur trepidantem cõnsõlātur hortātur, utque timõrem eius suā sēcūritāte lēnīret, iubet ferrī in balineum.

Then by that very favourable wind directly behind, my uncle sails in Stabia, embraces the trembling Pomponianus, cheers him, encourages him, and that he should calm his fear by his own composure, he orders to be carried into the bath.

lõtus recumbit cēnat, aut hilaris aut (quod est aequë magnum) similis hilarī.

After his baths he will recline and eat dinner, either cheerful or (which is equally brave) seeming to be cheerful.

intereã ē Vesuviõ monte plūribus locīs lātissimae flammae altaque incendia relūcēbant, quõrum fulgor et clāritās tenebrīs noctis excitābātur.

Meanwhile broad sheets of flame and tall fires were blazing out from mountain Vesuvius from many places, whose glare and brightness was being emphasised by the dark night.

ille in remedium formīdinis dictitābat ignës agrestium trepidātiõne relictos dēsertāsque vīllās per sõlitūdinem ardēre.

He was saying in remedy of the terror, that the fires by the panic of the country folk had been abandoned and deserted in the abandoned areas to burn.

tum sẽ quiēti dedit et quiēvit vērissimo quidem somno; nam meātus animae, qui illi propter amplitūdinem corporis gravior et sonantior erat, ab eis qui liminī obversābantur audiēbātur.

Then he gave himself to rest and rested quietly indeed in a most truly sleep; For the passage of breath, for because of the stoutness of his body was heavier and noisier, was heard from him by those near the doorway.

sed ãrea ex quã cubiculum adībātur ita iam cinere mixtisque pūmicibus completa surrēxerat, ut si longior in cubiculo mora esset, exitus negārētur.

But the courtyard from which his bedroom had so risen filled up with a mixture of ash and pumice, that if he was delaying longer in the bedroom, escape would be made impossible. 

excitātus prõcēdit, sēque Pompõniānō cēterisque qui pervigilāverant reddit. inter sẽ cõnsulunt, utrum intrā têcta maneant an in apertō vagentur.

Having been woken up he advances and returns to Pomponius and the others who had stayed up all night. They consult themselves whether they should stay inside the buildings or roam about in the open.

nam crēbrīs ingentibusque tremõribus tēcta nūtābant, et quasi ēmõta sēdibus suis nunc hūcnunc illuc abīre aut referrī vidēbantur.

For the buildings were shaking with frequent and large tremors, and as if being torn away from their foundation they seemed to sway forwards and backwards now this way now that way.

sub diõ rūrsus cāsus pūmicum metuēbātur, quamquam levium exēsõrumque, quod tamen perīculõrum collātiō ēlēgit;

Beneath the sky again the falling of pumices was feared, although they were light and porous, this however a comparison of the danger suggested the latter choice;

et apud illum quidem ratiō ratiõnem, apud aliōs timõrem timor vicit.

and indeed in his case reason conquered reason with the others fear conquered fear.

cervicālia capitibus imposita linteis cõnstringunt; id mūnīmentum contră incidentia fuit.

They tie down pillows having been put on their heads with linen sheets this was a protection against falling things.

iam diēs alibī, illīc nox omnibus noctibus nigrior dēnsiorque; quam tamen facēs multae variaque lūmina solvēbant.

Now it was day elsewhere but there a night blacker and denser than all nights; which however many lamps and various lights was relieving.

placuit ēgredi in litus, et ex proximo adspicere, num mare fugam praebēret; quod adhūc vāstum et adversum manēbat.

They decided to go to the shore and investigate from nearby if the sea would provide their escape, which remains still swollen and adverse.

ibi in abiectō linteō recumbēns semel atque iterum frīgidam aquam poposcit hausitque.

There reclining on a discarded towel he asks again and again for cold water and then drank it.

deinde flammae flammārumque praenūntius odor sulphuris aliõs in fugam vertunt, excitant illum.

Then flames and the smell of sulphur, the warning sign of flames, turns the others to flight and they wake him.

innītēns servīs duõbus surrēxit et statim concidit.

Leaning on two slaves he got up and fell immediately,

spīritus enim, ut ego crēdō, dēnsiõre cālīgine obstrūctus erat, claususque stomachus qui illi nătūrā invalidus et angustus et saepe aestuãns erat.

for his breathing, so I believe, was obstructed by the thicker fumes, and his windpipe closed having been blocked which by nature was weak and narrow and was often inflamed for him.

ubi diēs redditus est (is ab eõ quem novissimē vīderat tertius),

When daylight was returned (this day was the third day from the last which he had seen),

corpus inventum est integrum inlaesum opertumque ut fuerat indūtus: habitus corporis dormienti quam mortuð similior.

his body was found intact uninjured and covered, dressed as he had been: the apperance of his body more similar to sleep than death.