Natural Questions (The Complete Works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca) by Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Author:Lucius Annaeus Seneca [Seneca, Lucius Annaeus]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2010-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

(2) You can see whole regions torn up from their foundations and what had been next door lying across the sea; you can see cities and nations rent apart when one section of nature is stirred up and violently displaces sea, fire, or breath. The power is amazing since it comes from the whole universe: even if it rages only in part, it rages with the power of the world. (3) Thus the sea also severed the Spanish provinces from their union with Africa;52 thus Sicily was wrenched away from Italy in that inundation celebrated by the greatest poets. Forces that come from deep down have considerably more power, for struggling through constrictions makes things more violent.

(4) Enough has been said about the powerful effects and the amazing sights produced by these earthquakes. So why is anyone astonished that the bronze of a single statue, which is not even solid, but hollow and thin, was split apart? Perhaps breath that was looking for a way out became shut up in it? Also, as everybody knows, we have seen buildings whose corners had been pulled apart get shaken and put back together again. Some buildings that had rather inadequate foundations, and had been put up in a rather careless and slapdash way by the builders, have had their structure strengthened by repeated shaking in the earthquake! (5) Now if it cracks whole walls and whole houses and fractures the sides of great towers, however solid they are, and shatters supporting piers, why should anyone think it worthy of notice that a statue was evenly cut into two sections from head to foot?

(31.1) Why did the earthquake last several days? Campania did not stop experiencing constant tremors, which were gentler, but still very destructive, because they were shaking things that had already been shaken, things that were standing precariously and did not need a push, but only a vibration, to make them fall. Clearly not all the breath had yet escaped, and though most had emerged, some was still milling around. Among the arguments proving that the cause of earthquakes is breath, you should not hesitate to include this as well: (2) when there has been a very powerful earthquake in which cities and regions have been savaged, there cannot immediately be another one equal to it; instead, after the very powerful one there are weak tremors, because the more violent force has already created an exit for the struggling winds. The residue of the remaining breath is not as powerful, and does not need to fight, since it has already found a route and is following where the first, most powerful force escaped.

(3) I think the following also deserves to be recorded, something experienced by a very learned and very distinguished man, who happened to be in the bath when it occurred: he declares that he saw the pieces of mosaic covering the floor in the bathroom move apart from each other and come together again, and the water one moment

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