Medieval Sourcebook:
Procopius: The Plague, 542
History of the Wars, II.xxii-xxxiii:
DURING these times there was a pestilence, by which the whole human race came near to
being annihilated. Now in the case of all other scourges sent from heaven some explanation
of a cause might be given by daring men, such as the many theories propounded by those who
are clever in these matters; for they love to conjure up causes which are absolutely
incomprehensible to man, and to fabricate outlandish theories of natural philosophy
knowing well that they are saying nothing sound but considering it sufficient for them, if
they completely deceive by their argument some of those whom they meet and persuade them
to their view. But for this calamity it is quite impossible either to express in words or
to conceive in thought any explanation, except indeed to refer it to God. For it did not
come in a part of the world nor upon certain men, nor did it confine itself to any season
of the year, so that from such circumstances it might be possible to find subtle
explanations of a cause, but it embraced the entire world, and blighted the lives of all
men, though differing from one another in the most marked degree, respecting neither sex
nor age.
For much as men differ with regard to places in which they live, or in the law of their
daily life, or in natural bent, or in active pursuits, or in whatever else man differs
from man, in the case of this disease alone the difference availed naught. And it attacked
some in the summer season, others in the winter, and still others at the other times of
the year. Now let each one express his own judgment concerning the matter, both sophist
and astrologer, but as for me, I shall proceed to tell where this disease originated and
the manner in which it destroyed men.
It started from the Egyptians who dwell in Pelusium. Then it divided and moved in one
direction towards Alexandria and the rest of Egypt, and in the other direction it came to
Palestine on the borders of Egypt; and from there it spread over the whole world, always
moving forward and travelling at times favorable to it. For it seemed to move by fixed
arrangement, and to tarry for a specified time in each country, casting its blight
slightingly upon none, but spreading in either direction right out to the ends of the
world, as if fearing lest some corner of the earth might escape it. For it left neither
island nor cave nor mountain ridge which had human inhabitants; and if it had passed by
any land, either not affecting the men there or touching them in indifferent fashion,
still at a later time it came back; then those who dwelt round about this land, whom
formerly it had afflicted most sorely, it did not touch at all, but it did not remove from
the place in question until it had given up its just and proper tale of dead, so as to
correspond exactly to the number destroyed at the earlier time among those who dwelt round
about. And this disease always took its start from the coast, and from there went up to
the interior.
And in the second year it reached Byzantium in the middle of spring, where it happened
that I was staying at that time. And it came as follows. Apparitions of supernatural
beings in human guise of every description were seen by many persons, and those who
encountered them thought that they were struck by the man they had met in this or that
part of the body, as it havened, and immediately upon seeing this apparition they were
seized also by the disease. Now at first those who met these creatures tried to turn them
aside by uttering the holiest of names and exorcising them in other ways as well as each
one could, but they accomplished absolutely nothing, for even in the sanctuaries where the
most of them fled for refuge they were dying constantly. But later on they were unwilling
even to give heed to their friends when they called to them,and they shut themselves up in
their rooms and pretended that they did not hear, although their doors were being beaten
down, fearing, obviously, that he who was calling was one of those demons. But in the case
of some the pestilence did not come on in this way, but they saw a vision in a dream and
seemed to suffer the very same thing at the hands of the creature who stood over them, or
else to hear a voice foretelling to them that they were written down in the number of
those who were to die. But with the majority it came about that they were seized by the
disease without becoming aware of what was coming either through a waking vision or a
dream. And they were taken in the following manner. They had a sudden fever, some when
just roused from sleep, others while walking about, and others while otherwise engaged,
without any regard to what they were doing. And the body showed no change from its
previous color, nor was it hot as might be expected when attacked by a fever, nor indeed
did any inflammation set in, but the fever was of such a languid sort from its
commencement and up till evening that neither to the sick themselves nor to a physician
who touched them would it afford any suspicion of danger. It was natural, therefore, that
not one of those who had contracted the disease expected to die from it. But on the same
day in some cases, in others on the following day, and in the rest not many days later, a
bubonic swelling developed; and this took place not only in the particular part of the
body which is called boubon, that is, "below the abdomen," but also
inside the armpit, and in some cases also beside the ears, and at different points on the
thighs.
Up to this point, then, everything went in about the same way with all who had taken
the disease. But from then on very marked differences developed; and I am unable to say
whether the cause of this diversity of symptoms was to be found in the difference in
bodies, or in the fact that it followed the wish of Him who brought the disease into the
world. For there ensued with some a deep coma, with others a violent delirium, and in
either case they suffered the characteristic symptoms of the disease. For those who were
under the spell of the coma forgot all those who were familiar to them and seemed to lie
sleeping constantly. And if anyone cared for them, they would eat without waking, but some
also were neglected, and these would die directly through lack of sustenance. But those
who were seized with delirium suffered from insomnia and were victims of a distorted
imagination; for they suspected that men were coming upon them to destroy them, and they
would become excited and rush off in flight, crying out at the top of their voices. And
those who were attending them were in a state of constant exhaustion and had a most
difficult time of it throughout. For this reason everybody pitied them no less than the
sufferers, not because they were threatened by the pestilence in going near it (for
neither physicians nor other persons were found to contract this malady through contact
with the sick or with the dead, for many who were constantly engaged either in burying or
in attending those in no way connected with them held out in the performance of this
service beyond all expectation, while with many others the disease came on without warning
and they died straightway); but they pitied them because of the great hardships which they
were undergoing. For when the patients fell from their beds and lay rolling upon the
floor, they kept putting them back in place, and when they were struggling to rush
headlong out of their houses, they would force them back by shoving and pulling against
them. And when water chanced to be near, they wished to fall into it, not so much because
of a desire for drink (for the most of them rushed into the sea), but the cause was to be
found chiefly in the diseased state of their minds. They had also great difficulty in the
matter of eating, for they could not easily take food. And many perished through lack of
any man to care for them, for they were either overcome by hunger, or threw themselves
down from a height. And in those cases where neither coma nor delirium came on, the
bubonic swelling became mortified and the sufferer, no longer able to endure the pain,
died. And one would suppose that in all cases the same thing would have been true, but
since they were not at all in their senses, some were quite unable to feel the pain; for
owing to the troubled condition of their minds they lost all sense of feeling.
Now some of the physicians who were at a loss because the symptoms were not understood,
supposing that the disease centred in the bubonic swellings, decided to investigate the
bodies of the dead. And upon opening some of the swellings, they found a strange sort of
carbuncle that had grown inside them. Death came in some cases immediately, in others
after many days; and with some the body broke out with black pustules about as large as a
lentil and these did not survive even one day, but all succumbed immediately. With many
also a vomiting of blood ensued without visible cause and straightway brought death.
Moreover I am able to declare this, that the most illustrious physicians predicted that
many would die, who unexpectedly escaped entirely from suffering shortly afterwards, and
that they declared that many would be saved, who were destined to be carried off almost
immediately. So it was that in this disease there was no cause which came within the
province of human reasoning; for in all cases the issue tended to be something
unaccountable. For example, while some were helped by batlling, others were harmed in no
less degree. And of those who received no care many died, but others, contrary to reason,
were saved. And again, methods of treatment showed different results with different
patients. Indeed the whole matter may be stated thus, that no device was discovered by man
to save himself, so that either by taking precautions he should not suffer, or that when
the malady had assailed him he should get the better of it; but suffering came without
warning and recovery was due to no external cause. And in the case of women who were
pregnant death could be certainly foreseen if they were taken with the disease. For some
died through miscarriage, but others perished immediately at the time of birth with the
infants they bore. However, they say that three women in confinement survived though their
children perished, and that one woman died at the very time of childbirth but that the
child was born and survived.
Now in those cases where the swelling rose to an unusual size and a discharge of pus
had set in, it came about that they escaped from the disease and survived, for clearly the
acute condition of the carbuncle had found relief in this direction, and this proved to be
in general an indication of returning health; but in cases where the swelling preserved
its former appearance there ensued those troubles which I have just mentioned. And with
some of them it came about that the thigh was withered, in which case, though the swelling
was there, it did not develop the least suppuration. With others who survived the tongue
did not remain unaffected, and they lived on either lisping or speaking incoherently and
with difficulty.
Now the disease in Byzantium ran a course of four months, and its greatest virulence
lasted about three. And at first the deaths were a little more than the normal, then the
mortality rose still higher, and afterwards the tale of dead reached five thousand each
day, and again it even came to ten thousand and still more than that. Now in the beginning
each man attended to the burial of the dead of his own house, and these they threw even
into the tombs of others, either escaping detection or using violence; but afterwards
confusion and disorder everywhere became complete. For slaves remained destitute of
masters, and men who in former times were very prosperous were deprived of the service of
their domestics who were either sick or dead, and many houses became completely destitute
of human inhabitants. For this reason it came about that some of the notable men of the
city because of the universal destitution remained unburied for many days.
And it fell to the lot of the emperor, as was natural, to make provision for the
trouble. He therefore detailed soldiers from the palace and distributed money, commanding
Theodorus to take charge of this work; this man held the position of announcer of imperial
messages, always announcing to the emperor the petitions of his clients, and declaring to
them in turn whatever his wish was. In the Latin tongue the Romans designate this office
by the term Referendarius. So those who had not as yet fallen into complete
destitution in their domestic affairs attended individually to the burial of those
connected with them. But Theodorus, by giving out the emperor=s money and by making
further expenditures from his own purse, kept burying the bodies which were not cared for.
And when it came about that all the tombs which had existed previously were filled with
the dead, then they dug up all the places about the city one after the other, laid the
dead there, each one as he could, and departed; but later on those who were making these
trenches, no longer able to keep up with the number of the dying, mounted the towers of
the fortifications in Sycae [Galata], and tearing off the roofs threw the bodies there in
complete disorder; and they piled them up just as each one happened to fall, and filled
practically all the towers with corpses, and then covered them again with their roofs. As
a result of this an evil stench pervaded the city and distressed the inhabitants still
more, and especially whenever the wind blew fresh from that quarter.
At that time all the customary rites of burial were overlooked. For the dead were not
carried out escorted by a procession in the customary manner, nor were the usual chants
sung overthem, but it was sufficient if one carried on his shoulders the body of one of
the dead to the parts of the city which bordered on the sea and flung him down; and there
the corpses would be thrown upon skiffs in a heap, to be conveyed wherever it might
chance. At that time, too, those of the population who had formerly been members of the
factions laid aside their mutual enmity and in common they attended to the burial rites of
the dead, and they carried with their own hands the bodies of those who were no
connections of theirs and buried them. Nay, more, those who in times past used to take
delight in devoting themselves to pursuits both shameful and base, shook off the
unrighteousness of their daily lives and practiced the duties of religion with diligence,
not so much because they had learned wisdom at last nor because they had become all of a
sudden lovers of virtue, as it were---for when qualities have become fixed in men by
nature or by the training of a long period of time, it is impossible for them to lay them
aside thus lightly, except, indeed, some divine influence for good has breathed upon
them---but then all, so to speak, being thoroughly terrified by the things which were
happening, and supposing that they would die immediately, did, as was natural, learn
respectability for a season by sheer necessity. Therefore as soon as they were rid of the
disease and were saved, and already supposed that they were in security, since the curse
had moved on to other peoples, then they turned sharply about and reverted once more to
their baseness of hearts and now, more than before, they make a display of the
inconsistency of their conduct, altogether surpassing themselves in villainy and in
lawlessness of every sort. For one could insist emphatically without falsehood that this
disease, whether by chance or by some providence, chose out with exactitude the worst men
and let them go free. But these things were displayed to the world in later times.
During that time it seemed no easy thing to see any man in the streets of Byzantium,
but all who had the good fortune to he in health were sitting in their houses, either
attending the sick or mourning the dead. And if one did succeed in meeting a man going
out, he was carrying one of the dead. And work of every description ceased, and all the
trades were abandoned by the artisans, and all other work as well, such as each had in
hand. Indeed in a city which was simply abounding in all good things starvation almost
absolute was running riot. Certainly it seemed a difficult and very notable thing to have
a sufficiency of bread or of anything else; so that with some of the sick it appeared that
the end of life came about sooner than it should have come by reason of the lack of the
necessities of life.
And, to put all in a word, it was not possible to see a single man in Byzantium clad in
the chlamys, and especially when the emperor became ill (for he too had a swelling
of the groin), but in a city which held dominion over the whole Roman empire every man was
wearing clothes befitting private station and remaining quietly at home. Such was the
course of the pestilence in the Roman empire at large as well as in Byzantium. And it fell
also upon the land of the Persians and visited all the other barbarians besides.
Source.
From: Procopius, History of the Wars, 7 Vols., trans. H. B. Dewing, Loeb Library
of the Greek and Roman Classics, (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1914), Vol.
I, pp. 451-473.
Scanned by Jerome S. Arkenberg, Cal. State Fullerton. The text has been modernized by
Prof. Arkenberg.
This text is part of the Internet
Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and
copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright.
Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational
purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No
permission is granted for commercial use.
© Paul Halsall, October 1998
halsall@fordham.edu
The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet
Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at
the Fordham University Center
for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the
Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in
providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not
the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.
© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 15 November 2024 [CV]
|
