3 The spirit of a hero

CHAPTER III The spirit of a hero Not everyone was so concerned for their safety. Across the bay from Pompeii, Pliny the Elder- scholar and admiral of the fleet at Misenum- stood at the window of his house. He pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders. In the distance he could see a column of smoke emerging from Mount Vesuvius, high above sea level.

三英雄的精神并不是每个人都这么关心自己的安全。 在庞贝的海湾对面，老普林尼——学者和米塞嫩舰队的海军上将——站在他家的窗前。 他把披风紧紧地裹在肩上。 在远处，他可以看到维苏威火山冒出一缕烟雾，海拔很高。

With each passing hour, the plume of smoke streaming out of the volcano had become larger and more ominous. This hadn't prevented him from keeping to his usual routine: a cold bath followed by a light lunch of bread, figs, and olives, sitting beneath the mural of Venus of the Shell on the dining room wall. Even his nephew, Pliny the Younger, seemed happy to continue calmly with his studies.

随着时间的流逝，火山喷出的烟羽变得越来越大，越来越不祥。 这并没有妨碍他照例做：洗个冷水澡，然后吃点面包、无花果和橄榄，坐在餐厅墙上的贝壳维纳斯壁画下。 就连他的侄子小普林尼似乎也乐于继续平静地学习。

Eventually, a slave came into the room to clear away the lunch things. Without turning from the window, Pliny gave him an order: "Get a ship ready for me. Right away, please." He continued gazing at the smoke that was now hanging over the town like a coud. "Out into the bay. I want to get a closer look." The slave hesitated, wondering if he was brave enough to question his master. "Are you sure?" he asked. Pliny turned from the window. With the light behind him, it was impossible for the slave to make out the expression on his master's face. He could not see the animated glint in the old man's eye that indicated neither fear nor dread. Pliny only felt excitement. "Of course I'm sure."

最后，一个奴隶走进房间来清理午餐的东西。 普林尼没有转身离开窗口，向他下了命令：“为我准备一艘船。 请马上来。”他继续凝视着像云层一样笼罩在城镇上空的烟雾。 “到海湾里去。我想仔细看看。” 奴隶犹豫了一下，不知道他是否有足够的勇气去质问他的主人。 “你确定吗？”普林尼从窗口转过身来。 在灯光的照耀下，奴隶不可能看清主人脸上的表情。 他看不见老人眼中那既不表示恐惧也不表示恐惧的活泼的光芒。 普林尼只感到兴奋。 “当然，我敢肯定。”

Pliny emerged from the house, followed by a small group. Suddenly his sister ran out of the house and broke through the crowd to bar his way. "Don't try to stop me," he said gently. "No, no. This came for you," she panted. thrusting a rolled up papyrus message into his hand. Looking at his sister suspiciously, Pliny the Elder unfurled the papyrus and carefully read its contents: Help! Send a boat for me! Can you see it? Vesuvius is exploding and pumice stones are raining down on us. I need to get away! Your friend Rectina.

普林尼从房子里出来，后面跟着一小群人。 突然，他妹妹从房子里跑出来，冲破人群挡住了他的路。 “别阻止我，”他温柔地说。 “不,不。这是给你的。”她喘着气说。 把卷起来的莎草纸信息塞到他手里。 老普林尼怀疑地看着妹妹，展开纸莎草纸，仔细地读着上面的内容：救命！派艘船来接我！你能看到吗？ 维苏威火山正在爆发，浮石像雨点般落在我们身上。 我要离开这里！你的朋友瑞蒂娜。

"A change of plan," muttered Pliny, still studying the note. His sister let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you've come to your senses, I was so worried about you." But he ignored his sister and looked up at the captain who had been waiting patiently for his orders. "Fortune befriends the brave: we'll set sail right away." Only Pliny could see the nervous twitch that had started up in the captain's eye. "Where are we going?" asked the captain. "To Pompeii, of course!" No one dared suggest Pliny abandon his plan. No one wanted to look like a coward. It was time for action.

“计划有变。”普林尼嘟囔着，仍然在研究那张纸条。 他妹妹松了一口气。 “谢天谢地，你恢复了理智，我好担心你。” 但他没有理睬妹妹，而是抬头看着一直耐心等待他的命令的船长。 “天佑勇者，我们马上启航。” 只有普林尼能看到船长的眼睛里突然出现的紧张的抽搐。 “我们要去哪儿？”船长问。 “当然是去庞贝了！”没有人敢建议普林尼放弃他的计划。 没人想让自己看起来像个懦夫。 是时候采取行动了。

Led by Pliny the Elder, a group of men walked purposefully towards the jetty where the ships were waiting to take them right into the shadow of Vesuvius. As they climbed aboard, trying not to look down at the water below them, only a few of the men noticed the unusually choppy sea. Pliny the Younger and his mother stood at the edge of the jetty, holding on to each other and waving as Pliny the Elder set sail towards danger. They did not know that they would never see him again.

在老普林尼的带领下，一群人有目的地走向码头，那里的船只正等着把他们带到维苏威火山的阴影里。 当他们爬上船时，尽量不去看下面的水，只有几个人注意到海面异常波涛汹涌。 小普林尼和他的母亲站在防波堤的边缘，互相拉着对方，挥手示意老普林尼驶向危险。 他们不知道他们再也见不到他了。