"...In antiquity the classic account of the eruption, and of a small part of its devastation, occurs in a pair of letters written by Pliny the Younger (61 ADÑc.112 AD) to his friend the historian Tacitus. In them he relates how his uncleÑin command of the Roman fleet in that part of the Bay of NaplesÑsailed into harmÕs way, both to acquire a better idea of the scope of this natural disaster and to reassure the populace under its shadow.

As it happens, that intrepid seaman was also called Pliny and is remembered today as an author rather than an admiral. The Elder PlinyÕs Natural History is one of the greatest books of ancient times, a massive compendium of scientific knowledge, travellerÕs tales, zoological observation and ÒBelieve it or NotÓ anecdote. (This genial encyclopedia takes up ten compact volumes in the Loeb Library, with Latin and English on facing pages, and still makes excellent bedside reading.) According to his nephew, the senior Pliny had Òa keen intelligence, astonishing concentration, and little need for sleep.. . . He used to say that there was no book so bad that it was not useful at some point. . . . He believed that any time not devoted to study was wasted.Ó

On the day of the eruption, the younger Pliny writes, Òmy uncle was at Misenum, where he held command of the fleet in person. Just after midday on 24 August [79 CE] my mother pointed out to him the appearance of a cloud of unusual size and appearance. He had relaxed in the sun, had then taken a cold dip, had lunched lying down, and was at his books. He asked for his sandals, and mounted to the place from which that remarkable phenomenon could best be observed. A cloud was issuing up from some mountain which spectators from a distance could not identify; it was later established to have been Vesuvius.Ó...

Full story on Pliny the Younger at all can be found on this page.


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