Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus sends greetings to his friend Tacitus.

Please accept my congratulations on the betrothal of your niece. Besides being a friend of mine, Minicius Acilianus is a fine young man - diligent, kind-natured, and rich in good judgment and dignity. As he has already served as quaestor and tribune, he has spared your family the expense of campaigning for him. In addition, my wife tells me that a young girl such as your niece would likely consider him handsome, and I admit that he is possessed of a certain senatorial elegance, so it is certain your niece will be pleased. It pains me that I can not attend a wedding that will unite two great families in this way, but such is the fate of an exile. 

I suppose I ought to finish telling you the tale of how my uncle got us into this unfortunate situation. As you know, it is his nature to study every occurrence which interests him, and the eruption of the volcano fascinated him, not least because he felt that he ought to have been able to do more to help the many victims, and that is what has led us to our current predicament.

My uncle decided that the numerous earthquakes and other disturbances which plagued Campania in the years before the eruption were a warning. He tells me that the case of the sheep killed by poison gasses should itself have been warning enough that the volcano was not truly extinct, and would, one day, awaken. He also decided that, with sufficient planning, it might have been possible for many more people to escape the volcano. Over the past ten years, my uncle has developed a complicated plan – rules for buildings, to ensure that they will not collapse in earthquakes. Plans for new roads – wide, straight and leading to a variety of overland routes away from the mountain. Plans to improve harbours, to enlarge the fleet in the Bay of Naples, to build sea walls to protect the little fishing towns. Grandiose plans that would bankrupt the treasury if they were put into effect.

If Vespasian were still emperor, the problem would never have advanced so far, but Vespasian has been dead for almost as long as my uncle was developing the plan that resulted in our disgrace. Even Vespasian’s older son, Titus, to whom my uncle has dedicated his book, would have understood my uncle’s peculiarities. But Domitian is not so patient.

Even more unfortunately, the most vociferous of my uncle’s requests coincided with the scandal involving Cornelia (1).  Having to order the execution of the chief  vestal did not leave Domitian in a generous mood. And then my uncle made a rash comment to the effect that a man who did not protect his people had no right to lead them. Rather than humour my uncle, or simply ignore him, Domitian had him prosecuted. Thus, we find ourselves here on Ilva. We ought to count ourselves fortunate; men have been executed for less.

On a happier note, my uncle is continuing to work on his latest theory. He has now surmised that not only animals and plants, but even we humans were designed by nature through a series of small changes, over time (2). He is very excited by this idea, and spends hours in his study working on his book. He promises that you are to have one of the first copies when it is completed. As for me, I still hope that you will be able to visit us, and soon.

If you are well, I am well. (3)

Farewell.

NON. IVL.

(1)   Put to death in 90 A.D. Further discussion may be found in Pliny’s letter to Cornelius Minicianus, not reproduced in this volume.

(2)   This section of the Historia Naturalis was quoted at length by Aquinas in his Summa Theologica Part 1 of Part 2: Question 91: Article 1

(3)   Si vales, valeo