120. esse propositam: has been promised.
121. mansura: here the fut. partic. has the meaning of destined to….
condiderit: here, composed.
123. facere scribenda: to do things to be recorded, worth recording; the phrase is subj. of datum est, it has been granted.
124. utrumque: i.e., et facere et scribere.
6.16 (excerpts)
Pliny provides his friend Tacitus, for use in his Histories, an account of the death of his uncle, Pliny the Elder, during the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, August 24, A.D. 79; written ca. A.D. 106–107.
C. Plinius Tacito Suo S.
Pliny is pleased to give Tacitus the information he has requested, as it will perpetuate the memory of his uncle’s accomplishments.
Petis ut tibi avunculi mei exitum scribam, quo verius tradere posteris possis. Gratias ago; nam video morti eius, si celebretur 120 a te, immortalem gloriam esse propositam. Quamvis ipse plurima opera et mansura condiderit, multum tamen perpetuitati eius scriptorum tuorum aeternitas addet. Equidem beatos puto, quibus deorum munere datum est aut facere scribenda aut scribere legenda; beatissimos vero, quibus utrumque. Horum in 125 numero avunculus meus et suis libris et tuis erit.
Bacchus and Vesuvius Roman wall painting 1st century A.D. Museo Archeologico Nazionale Naples, Italy
Scala/Art Resource, NY.
126. Miseni: Misenum, a promontory town and the principal naval base on Italy’s west coast, commanding the Bay of Naples.
classem: classis,fleet.
imperio: i.e., with full authority as prefect of the fleet, a command assigned to members of the equestrian class.
praesens:present in person; i.e., he was not simply at his desk in Rome.
nonum…Septembres (127): the full form of the date would be ante diem nonum Kalendas Septembres, the 9th day before the Kalends (the first day of any month) of September = August 24. The Greek historian Dio identifies the year as the first of the emperor Titus’ reign (A.D. 79–81).
127. hora: = 1/12 of the day or of the night; the hora septima, reckoned from dawn = roughly 1:00 p.m.
mater mea: we know little of Pliny’s mother, whose name was presumably
Plinia: Pliny was himself 18 years old at the time of the eruption, and he and his mother were residing with his uncle.
ei: depends on indicat.
128. inusitata: unusual.
specie: species,appearance, kind.
129. frigida: sc. aqua; the elder Pliny’s routine for relaxing included sunbathing, a cool bath, a snack, and reading.
poscit: poscere,to request, demand.
soleas: solea,sandal.
131. incertum…ex quo monte: sc. fuit. Vesuvius, though an ancient volcano, had no crater, had never erupted within the memory of the Romans, and was ca. 18 miles away, with other mountains in the background—hence the uncertainty.
procul: adv., far off, at a distance.
intuentibus: intueri,to look at, contemplate, consider.
132. cuius…expresserit (133): a rather involved way of saying “whose shape looked more like that of a pine than anything else” REL. CL. OF CHARACTERISTIC. Pliny has in mind the Italian umbrella pine, whose branchless lower trunk culminates in a large flattish crown of branches and foliage that flares out around the top; today we might compare the mushroom cloud of a nuclear blast.
134. velut: conj., as, just as, as if.
135. maculosa: spotted.
prout: conj., as, just as, according as.
137. magnum: sc. fuit, it was an important event.
propius: prope, adv., nearly, closely.
ut…visum: sc. est, as it seemed (to).
138. Liburnicam: sc. navem, a swift galley modeled on those of the Liburnian pirates of the Adriatic.
aptari: aptare,to prepare, make ready.
una: adv., along, together.
