pliny 2 Flashcards
Magnum propiusque noscendum ut eruditissimo viro visum.
It seemed to such a highly learned man that this great sight must be investigated further
Iubet liburnicam aptari; mihi si venire una vellem facit copiam; respondi studere me malle, et forte ipse quod scriberem dederat.
He orders a light ship to be prepared; he makes the opportunity available to me if I should wish to come along; I responded that I preferred to study, and by chance he himself had gave me something to write.
Egrediebatur domo; accipit codicillos Rectinae Tasci imminenti periculo exterritae (nam villa eius subiacebat, nec ulla nisi navibus fuga): ut se tanto discrimini eriperet orabat.
He was just leaving the house; he receives a letter from Rectina, wife of Tascus, terrified by the impending danger (for her villa was positioned below and there was no escape except by ships): she was pleading that he take her a significant distance away.
Vertit ille consilium et quod studioso animo incohaverat obit maximo.
He changes his plan, and that which he had begun with an attitude of study he takes on with a spirit of courage.
Deducit quadriremes, ascendit ipse non Rectinae modo sed multis (erat enim frequens amoenitas orae) laturus auxilium.
He draws out quadriremes; he himself boarded, ready to bring assistance not only to Rectina, but to many (for the pleasantness of that shore meant that it was crowded).
Properat illuc unde alii fugiunt, rectumque cursum recta gubernacula in periculum tenet adeo solutus metu, ut omnes illius mali motus omnes figuras ut deprenderat oculis dictaret enotaretque.
He hurries to a place from which others flee, he holds a straight course and firm rudder straight into danger, so much absolved of fear that he dictated and marks down, as he had taken them in with his eyes, all the movements and all the shapes of that calamity.
Iam navibus cinis incidebat, quo propius accederent, calidior et densior; iam pumices etiam nigrique et ambusti et fracti igne lapides; iam vadum subitum ruinaque montis litora obstantia.
Now ash was falling on the ships, hotter and heavier the nearer they approached; then pumice-stones, and even stones, blackened, burnt, and broken by fire; then unexpected shallows, and the collapse of the mountain as a blockage upon the shoreline.
Cunctatus paulum an retro flecteret, mox gubernatori ut ita faceret monenti ‘Fortes’ inquit ‘fortuna iuvat: Pomponianum pete.’
Having hesitated a bit about whether he should turn back, he soon said to the helmsman, who was advising that he do just that: “Fortune favors the brave: head for Pomponianus.”
Stabiis erat diremptus sinu medio (nam sensim circumactis curvatisque litoribus mare infunditur); ibi quamquam nondum periculo adpropinquante, conspicuo tamen et cum cresceret proximo, sarcinas contulerat in naves, certus fugae si contrarius ventus resedisset.
He (Pomponianus) was at Stabiae, separated by the middle of the bay (for the sea pours up against a shoreline gradually curving and bent around it); although the danger was not yet drawing near there, nonetheless it caught the eye as close at hand, especially when it strengthened. He (Pomponianus) had loaded luggage onto ships, set on escape once the contrary wind had died back down.
Quo tunc avunculus meus secundissimo invectus, complectitur trepidantem consolatur hortatur, utque timorem eius sua securitate leniret, deferri in balineum iubet; lotus accubat cenat, aut hilaris aut (quod aeque magnum) similis hilari.
By that (same) most favorable wind my uncle was carried in; he embraces the trembling man, comforts him, and encourages him so that he might alleviate the man’s fear through his own confidence; he asks to be brought to the baths; having washed, he lies down at table and dines, either cheerful or (that which is equally as impressive) pretending to be cheerful.
Interim e Vesuvio monte pluribus locis latissimae flammae altaque incendia relucebant, quorum fulgor et claritas tenebris noctis excitabatur.
Meanwhile from Mt. Vesuvius, exceedingly broad flames and tall fires were illuminating many places, and their lightning-white brightness was made sharper by the darkness of the night.
Ille agrestium trepidatione ignes relictos desertasque villas per solitudinem ardere in remedium formidinis dictitabat.
He (Elder Pliny) kept repeating, as a palliative for terror, that they were fires left unattended because of farmers’ consternation, and deserted estates were burning because of that abandonment.
Tum se quieti dedit et quievit verissimo quidem somno; nam meatus animae, qui illi propter amplitudinem corporis gravior et sonantior erat, ab iis qui limini obversabantur audiebatur.
Then he gave himself over to rest and indeed settled down into a deep sleep; for his snoring, which on account of his ample frame was quite heavy and loud, was heard all night by those who stayed perched outside his door.
Sed area ex qua diaeta adibatur ita iam cinere mixtisque pumicibus oppleta surrexerat, ut si longior in cubiculo mora, exitus negaretur.
But the courtyard by which his bedroom was approachable had so mounted up, full of ash with pumice mixed in, that if delay were more protracted in his bedroom, exit would be denied.
Excitatus procedit, seque Pomponiano ceterisque qui pervigilaverant reddit.
Having been roused, he came out, and returned himself to Pomponianus and the others who had kept watch all night.
