LIEE AJ^TD WEITI]S"aS OE PLII^Y. ix 
ing this, lie called for his shoes, and ascended a spot from 
which he could more easily observe this remarkable phse- 
nomenon. The cloud was to be seen gradually rising up- 
wards ; though, from the great distance, it was uncertain 
from which of the mountains it arose ; it was afterwards, 
however, ascertained to be Vesuvius. In appearance and 
shape it strongly resembled a tree ; perhaps it was more like 
a pine than anything else, with a stem of enormous length 
reaching upwards to the heavens, and then spreading out in 
a number of branches in every direction. I have little doubt 
that either it had been carried upwards by a violent gust of 
wind, and that the wind dying away, it had lost its com- 
pactness, or else, that being overcome by its own weight, it 
had decreased in density and become extended over a large 
surface : at one moment it was white, at another dingy and 
spotted, just as it was more or less charged with earth or 
with ashes. 
" To a man so eager as he was in the pursuit of knowledge, 
this appeared to be a most singular phsenomenon, and one that 
deserved to be viewed more closely; accordingly he gave 
orders for a light Liburnian vessel to be got ready, and left 
it at my option to accompany him. To this however I made 
answer, that I should prefer continuing my studies ; and as 
it so happened, he himself had just given me something to 
write. Taking his tablets with him, he left the house. The 
sailors stationed at Eetina, alarmed at the imminence of the 
danger — for the village lay at the foot of the mountain, 
and the sole escape was by sea — sent to entreat his assist- 
ance in rescuing them from this frightful peril. Upon this 
he instantly changed his plans, and what he had already 
begun from a desire for knowledge, he determined to carry 
out as a matter of duty. He had the gallies put to sea at once, 
and went on board himself, with the intention of rendering as- 
sistance, not only to E^etina, but to many other places as well ; 
for the whole of this charming coast was thickly populated. 
Accordingly he made all possible haste towards the spot, 
from which others were %ing, and steered straight onwards 
into the very midst of the danger : so far indeed was he 
from every sensation of fear, that he remarked and had 
noted down every movement and every change that was to 
be observed in the appearance of this ominous eruption. 
