epidemic, plague, pestilence

καὶ ὄντων αὐτῶν οὐ πολλάς πω ἡμέρας ἐν τῇ Ἀττικῇ ἡ νόσος πρῶτον ἤρξατο γενέσθαι τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις, λεγόμενον μὲν καὶ πρότερον πολλαχόσε ἐγκατασκῆψαι καὶ περὶ Λῆμνον καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις χωρίοις, οὐ μέντοι τοσοῦτός γε λοιμὸς οὐδὲ φθορὰ οὕτως ἀνθρώπων οὐδαμοῦ ἐμνημονεύετο γενέσθαι.

[The Peloponnesians] had been in Attica only a few days when the sickness first broke out among the Athenians. It was said to have struck many places before, around Lemnos and elsewhere. But no one could remember a plague so great, or so many people dying, anywhere.

καὶ ἡ ἀπορία τοῦ μὴ ἡσυχάζειν καὶ ἡ ἀγρυπνία ἐπέκειτο διὰ παντός. καὶ τὸ σῶμα, ὅσονπερ χρόνον καὶ ἡ νόσος ἀκμάζοι, οὐκ ἐμαραίνετο, ἀλλ’ ἀντεῖχε παρὰ δόξαν τῇ ταλαιπωρίᾳ, ὥστε ἢ διεφθείροντο οἱ πλεῖστοι ἐναταῖοι καὶ ἑβδομαῖοι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐντὸς καύματος, ἔτι ἔχοντές τι δυνάμεως, ἢ εἰ διαφύγοιεν, ἐπικατιόντος τοῦ νοσήματος ἐς τὴν κοιλίαν καὶ ἑλκώσεώς τε αὐτῇ ἰσχυρᾶς ἐγγιγνομένης καὶ διαρροίας ἅμα ἀκράτου ἐπιπιπτούσης οἱ πολλοὶ ὕστερον δι’ αὐτὴν ἀσθενείᾳ διεφθείροντο.

They could find no rest and could not sleep, and this went on the whole time. As long as the disease was at its height, the body did not waste away but held out against the suffering better than anyone expected. So most people died on the ninth or the seventh day from the burning inside, while they still had some strength left. Or, if they survived that, the disease moved down into the bowels, causing severe ulcers and uncontrollable diarrhea. Most of them died later from the weakness this brought on.

γενόμενον γὰρ κρεῖσσον λόγου τὸ εἶδος τῆς νόσου τά τε ἄλλα χαλεπωτέρως ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν φύσιν προσέπιπτεν ἑκάστῳ καὶ ἐν τῷδε ἐδήλωσε μάλιστα ἄλλο τι ὂν ἢ τῶν ξυντρόφων τι· τὰ γὰρ ὄρνεα καὶ τετράποδα ὅσα ἀνθρώπων ἅπτεται, πολλῶν ἀτάφων γιγνομένων ἢ οὐ προσῄει ἢ γευσάμενα διεφθείρετο.

The nature of the disease was beyond words. In every way it struck each victim more cruelly than human nature can bear. And in one way above all it showed that it was unlike any familiar illness. Though many bodies lay unburied, the birds and animals that feed on human flesh either stayed away or died after tasting them.

ἐν δὲ τῷ κακῷ οἷα εἰκὸς ἀνεμνήσθησαν καὶ τοῦδε τοῦ ἔπους, φάσκοντες οἱ πρεσβύτεροι πάλαι ᾄδεσθαι ‘ἥξει Δωριακὸς πόλεμος καὶ λοιμὸς ἅμ’ αὐτῷ.’

In their misery they naturally remembered an old verse that the older men said had been chanted long ago: "A Dorian war will come, and plague along with it."

ἐγένετο μὲν οὖν ἔρις τοῖς ἀνθρώποις μὴ λοιμὸν ὠνομάσθαι ἐν τῷ ἔπει ὑπὸ τῶν παλαιῶν, ἀλλὰ λιμόν, ἐνίκησε δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος εἰκότως λοιμὸν εἰρῆσθαι· οἱ γὰρ ἄνθρωποι πρὸς ἃ ἔπασχον τὴν μνήμην ἐποιοῦντο. ἢν δέ γε οἶμαί ποτε ἄλλος πόλεμος καταλάβῃ Δωρικὸς τοῦδε ὕστερος καὶ ξυμβῇ γενέσθαι λιμόν, κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς οὕτως ᾄσονται.

People argued over whether the old verse had really said "famine" rather than "plague." For the time being, "plague" naturally won, since people shaped their memories to fit what they were suffering. But I suppose that if another Dorian war comes someday, and a famine happens to come with it, they will most likely chant the verse that way.

περὶ μὲν οὖν τοῦ χρηστηρίου τὰ γιγνόμενα ᾔκαζον ὁμοῖα εἶναι· ἐσβεβληκότων δὲ τῶν Πελοποννησίων ἡ νόσος ἤρξατο εὐθύς, καὶ ἐς μὲν Πελοπόννησον οὐκ ἐσῆλθεν, ὅτι καὶ ἄξιον εἰπεῖν, ἐπενείματο δὲ Ἀθήνας μὲν μάλιστα, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων χωρίων τὰ πολυανθρωπότατα. ταῦτα μὲν τὰ κατὰ τὴν νόσον γενόμενα.

People supposed that events were matching the oracle. The sickness broke out just after the Peloponnesians invaded, and it never entered the Peloponnese to any extent worth mentioning. It spread most of all through Athens, and after that through the most crowded of the other places. Such were the events of the sickness.

ὅσον δὲ χρόνον οἵ τε Πελοποννήσιοι ἦσαν ἐν τῇ γῇ τῇ Ἀθηναίων καὶ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐστράτευον ἐπὶ τῶν νεῶν, ἡ νόσος ἔν τε τῇ στρατιᾷ τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἔφθειρε καὶ ἐν τῇ πόλει, ὥστε καὶ ἐλέχθη τοὺς Πελοποννησίους δείσαντας τὸ νόσημα, ὡς ἐπυνθάνοντο τῶν αὐτομόλων ὅτι ἐν τῇ πόλει εἴη καὶ θάπτοντας ἅμα ᾐσθάνοντο, θᾶσσον ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἐξελθεῖν.

The whole time the Peloponnesians were in Athenian territory, and the Athenians were away with their fleet, the sickness kept killing Athenians, both in the army and in the city. It was even said that the Peloponnesians left the country sooner because they feared the disease: deserters told them it was in the city, and they could see the Athenians burying their dead.

μετὰ δὲ τὴν δευτέραν ἐσβολὴν τῶν Πελοποννησίων οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι, ὡς ἥ τε γῆ αὐτῶν ἐτέτμητο τὸ δεύτερον καὶ ἡ νόσος ἐπέκειτο ἅμα καὶ ὁ πόλεμος, ἠλλοίωντο τὰς γνώμας,

After the second Peloponnesian invasion, the Athenians had a change of heart. Their land had now been ravaged twice, and they were suffering from the sickness and the war at once.

δουλοῖ γὰρ φρόνημα τὸ αἰφνίδιον καὶ ἀπροσδόκητον καὶ τὸ πλείστῳ παραλόγῳ ξυμβαῖνον· ὃ ὑμῖν πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις οὐχ ἥκιστα καὶ κατὰ τὴν νόσον γεγένηται.

"Whatever is sudden, unexpected, and beyond all calculation enslaves the spirit, and that is what has happened to you, in many ways and not least with the sickness.

‘ὑμεῖς δὲ μήτε ὑπὸ τῶν τοιῶνδε πολιτῶν παράγεσθε μήτε ἐμὲ δι’ ὀργῆς ἔχετε, ᾧ καὶ αὐτοὶ ξυνδιέγνωτε πολεμεῖν, εἰ καὶ ἐπελθόντες οἱ ἐναντίοι ἔδρασαν ἅπερ εἰκὸς ἦν μὴ ἐθελησάντων ὑμῶν ὑπακούειν, ἐπιγεγένηταί τε πέρα ὧν προσεδεχόμεθα ἡ νόσος ἥδε, πρᾶγμα μόνον δὴ τῶν πάντων ἐλπίδος κρεῖσσον γεγενημένον. καὶ δι’ αὐτὴν οἶδ’ ὅτι μέρος τι μᾶλλον ἔτι μισοῦμαι, οὐ δικαίως, εἰ μὴ καὶ ὅταν παρὰ λόγον τι εὖ πράξητε ἐμοὶ ἀναθήσετε.

"But do not be misled by citizens like these, and do not stay angry with me. You voted for war together with me. The enemy invaded and did just what was to be expected once you refused to obey them. And on top of everything we expected, this sickness came, the one thing of all that has turned out worse than anyone could foresee. I know it is part of the reason you hate me even more. That is unfair, unless you will also give me the credit whenever some unexpected good luck comes your way.

ἔτυχον μὲν ὢν ἐν τῷ προαστείῳ κατὰ θέρους ἀκμὴν, νόσος δὲ κατέσχε λοιμώδης πάντας σχεδὸν τοὺς προσχώρους.

At the height of summer I was staying at my house outside the city. A plague-like sickness took hold of almost everyone who lived nearby.

πάντα δʼ ἦν μεστὰ ἀθυμίας, οἰμωγῆς, στόνου, δυσκολίας ἁπάσης, ἦσαν δὲ κἀν τῇ πόλει νόσοι δειναί.

The whole place was full of despair, wailing, groaning, and every kind of misery. In the city, too, there were terrible sicknesses.

ταύτης τῆς κόρης Ἑρμείας ἐκεῖνος ἀδελφὸς ἦν, ὃς ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ νόσῳ, ὅτε καὶ ἡ θεὸς ἐφάνη μοι, ἀπέθανε καὶ αὐτὸς σχεδὸν ὡς εἰπεῖν ἀντʼ ἐμοῦ.

This girl's brother was the Hermias who died during the great sickness, when the goddess appeared to me. He too died, one might almost say, in my place.

建安二十二年癘氣流行

In the twenty-second year of the Jian'an era [217], a pestilent qi spread through the land.

或以為疫者鬼神所作

Some people thought the epidemic was the work of ghosts and spirits.

此乃隂陽失位寒暑錯時是故生疫

What happened is this: yin and yang had left their proper places, and cold and heat had come at the wrong times. That is why the epidemic arose.

昔年疾疫親故多罹其災徐陳應劉一時俱逝

Some time ago, when the epidemic came, many of my relatives and old friends were struck by the disaster. Xu, Chen, Ying, and Liu [four writers at the Cao court] all died within a short time.

mouet quosdam quod sit nobis cum ceteris mortalitas ista communis.

Some are troubled that this mortality falls on us and on everyone else alike.

Multi ex nostris in hac mortalitate moriuntur, hoc est multi ex nostris de saeculo liberantur.

Many of our people are dying in this mortality. That is to say, many of our people are being set free from the world.

mortalitas ista Iudaeis et gentibus et Christi hostibus pestis est, Dei seruis salutaris excessus est.

This mortality is a plague to the Jews and the pagans and the enemies of Christ; to the servants of God it is a departure that brings salvation.

pauore mortalitatis et temporis accenduntur trepidi, constringuntur remissi, excitantur ignaui, desertores conpelluntur ut redeant, gentiles coguntur ut credant, uetus fidelium populus ad quietem uocatur, ad aciem recens et copiosus exercitus robore ‖307‖ fortiore colligitur pugnaturus sine metu mortis, cum proelium uenerit, qui ad militiam tempore mortalitatis accedit.

Fear of the mortality and of these times sets the timid on fire, braces the slack, and wakes the lazy. Deserters are compelled to return; pagans are driven to believe. The faithful of long standing are called to their rest, while a fresh and plentiful army gathers for the battle line, stronger than before. Those who enlist during the mortality will go into battle unafraid of death when the fight comes.

Quid deinde illud, fratres dilectissimi, quale est, quam pertinens, quam necessarium, quod pestis ista et lues quae horribilis et feralis uidetur explorat iustitiam singulorum et mentes humani generis examinat, an infirmis seruiant sani, an propinqui cognatos pie diligant, an misereantur seruorum languentium domini, an deprecantes aegros non deserant medici, an feroces uiolentiam suam conprimant, an rapaces auaritiae furentis insatiabilem semper ardorem uel metu mortis extinguant, an ceruicem flectant superbi, an audaciam leniant inprobi, an pereuntibus caris uel sic aliquid diuites largiantur et donent sine herede morituri.

And then, dearest brothers, think what this means: how fitting it is, how necessary. This plague and pestilence, which seems so terrible and deadly, searches out the justice of each person and tests the minds of humankind. It asks whether the healthy serve the sick, whether relatives truly love their own family, and whether masters pity their sick slaves. It asks whether doctors stand by the sick who beg for their help, and whether the fierce hold back their violence. It asks whether the greedy, at least for fear of death, will put out the fire of their raging greed, which nothing ever satisfies. It asks whether the proud will bend their necks and the shameless will tame their boldness. And it asks whether the rich, at least now, as their loved ones die and they face death without heirs, will give something away.

ut nihil aliud mortalitas ista contulerit, hoc christianis et Dei seruis plurimum praestitit quod martyrium coepimus libenter adpetere, dum mortem discimus non timere.

Even if this mortality had done nothing else, it has done Christians and servants of God this great service: we have begun to seek martyrdom gladly, while we are learning not to fear death.

Sed fortasse aliquis opponat et dicat: ‘hoc me ergo in praesenti mortalitate contristat quod qui paratus ad confessionem fueram et ad tolerantiam passionis toto me corde et plena uirtute deuoueram martyrio meo priuor, dum morte praeuenior’.

But perhaps someone will object: "This is what grieves me in the present mortality. I was ready to make my confession. I had given myself with my whole heart and all my courage to enduring a martyr's suffering. Now death has come first, and I am robbed of my martyrdom."

Ὑπὸ δὲ τοὺς χρόνους τούτους λοιμὸς γέγονεν, ἐξ οὗ δὴ ἅπαντα ὀλίγου ἐδέησε τὰ ἀνθρώπεια ἐξίτηλα εἶναι. ἅπασι μὲν οὖν τοῖς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἐπισκήπτουσιν ἴσως ἂν καὶ λέγοιτό τις ὑπ’ ἀνδρῶν τολμητῶν αἰτίου λόγος, οἷα πολλὰ φιλοῦσιν οἱ ταῦτα δεινοὶ αἰτίας τερατεύεσθαι οὐδαμῆ ἀνθρώπῳ καταληπτὰς οὔσας, φυσιολογίας τε ἀναπλάσσειν ὑπερορίους, ἐξεπιστάμενοι μὲν ὡς λέγουσιν οὐδὲν ὑγιές, ἀποχρῆν δὲ ἡγούμενοι σφίσιν, ἤν γε τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων τινὰς τῷ λόγῳ ἐξαπατήσαντες πείσωσι.

Around this time a plague broke out that came close to wiping out the whole human race. Now, for every disaster sent from heaven, bold men may perhaps offer some account of its cause. People who are clever at such things love to dream up causes that no human being could ever grasp, and to invent far-fetched theories about nature. They know perfectly well that nothing they say is sound. But they think it is enough if they can fool a few of the people they meet and win them over with their arguments.

εἴτε γὰρ χωρίων ἐνοικήσει εἴτε νόμῳ διαίτης, ἢ φύσεως τρόπῳ, ἢ ἐπιτηδεύμασιν, ἢ ἄλλῳ ὅτῳ ἀνθρώπων ἄνθρωποι διαφέρουσιν, ἐν ταύτῃ δὴ μόνῃ τῇ νόσῳ τὸ διαλλάσσον οὐδὲν ὤνησεν.

People differ from one another in where they live, in their way of life, in temperament, in their occupations, and in every other way that one person can differ from another. But in this disease alone, none of those differences did anyone any good.

ἐπέσκηψε δὲ τοῖς μὲν ὥρᾳ θέρους, τοῖς δὲ χειμῶνι, τοῖς δὲ κατὰ τοὺς ἄλλους καιρούς. λεγέτω μὲν οὖν ὥς πη ἕκαστος περὶ αὐτῶν γινώσκει καὶ σοφιστὴς καὶ μετεωρολόγος, ἐγὼ δὲ ὅθεν τε ἤρξατο ἡ νόσος ἥδε καὶ τρόπῳ δὴ ὅτῳ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους διέφθειρεν ἐρῶν ἔρχομαι.

It attacked some people in summer, some in winter, and others in the other seasons. So let every sophist and every student of the heavens give his own opinion on these matters. I will go on to tell where this disease began and how it destroyed people.

ἀρξαμένη δὲ ἀεὶ ἐκ τῆς παραλίας ἡ νόσος ἥδε, οὕτω δὴ ἐς τὴν μεσόγειον ἀνέβαινε χώραν. δευτέρῳ δὲ ἔτει ἐς Βυζάντιον μεσοῦντος τοῦ ἦρος ἀφίκετο,

The disease always started on the coast and moved from there up into the inland country. It reached Byzantium in the second year, in the middle of spring,

τισὶ δὲ οὐχ οὕτως ὁ λοιμὸς ἐπεγίνετο, ἀλλ’ ὄψιν ὀνείρου ἰδόντες ταὐτὸ τοῦτο πρὸς τοῦ ἐπιστάντος πάσχειν ἐδόκουν, ἢ λόγου ἀκούειν προλέγοντος σφίσιν ὅτι δὴ ἐς τῶν τεθνηξομένων τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἀνάγραπτοι εἶεν.

For some, though, the plague did not come this way. Instead, they had a dream in which they seemed to suffer this same thing from a figure standing over them. Or in the dream they seemed to hear a voice telling them ahead of time that their names had been written down among those who were going to die.

διὸ δὴ ἅπαντες αὐτοὺς οὐχ ἧσσον ἢ τοὺς πονουμένους ᾠκτίζοντο, οὐχ ὅτι τῷ λοιμῷ ἐπιέζοντο ἐκ τοῦ προσιέναι (οὔτε γὰρ ἰατρῷ οὔτε ἰδιώτῃ μεταλαχεῖν τοῦ κακοῦ τοῦδε τῶν νοσούντων ἢ τῶν τετελευτηκότων ἁπτομένῳ ξυνέβη, ἐπεὶ πολλοὶ μὲν ἀεὶ καὶ τοὺς οὐδὲν σφίσι προσήκοντας ἢ θάπτοντες ἢ θεραπεύοντες ταύτῃ δὴ τῇ ὑπουργίᾳ παρὰ δόξαν ἀντεῖχον, πολλοὶ δὲ τῆς νόσου ἀπροφασίστως αὐτοῖς ἐπιπεσούσης εὐθὺς ἔθνησκον), ἀλλ’ ὅτι ταλαιπωρίᾳ πολλῇ εἴχοντο.

So everyone pitied the nurses as much as the sick. It was not that the nurses caught the plague by coming near the sick. (No doctor or anyone else caught this disease by touching the sick or the dead. Many people who kept burying or nursing even strangers held out in that work against all expectation. Meanwhile, many others fell sick for no visible reason and died at once.) People pitied the nurses because of the great hardship they endured.

Ἡ μὲν οὖν νόσος ἐν Βυζαντίῳ ἐς τέσσαρας διῆλθε μῆνας, ἤκμασε δὲ ἐν τρισὶ μάλιστα.

In Byzantium the disease lasted four months, and it was at its height for about three.

τὰ μὲν οὖν ἀμφὶ τῷ λοιμῷ ἔν τε τῇ ἄλλῃ Ῥωμαίων γῇ καὶ ἐν Βυζαντίῳ ταύτῃ πη ἔσχεν. ἐπέσκηψε δὲ καὶ ἐς τὴν Περσῶν γῆν καὶ ἐς βαρβάρους τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας.

That, roughly, is how things went with the plague in the rest of the Roman land and in Byzantium. But it also struck the Persians' land, and all the other barbarians.

○乙未。勅曰。如聞。此日、太宰府疫死者多。思欲救療疫気、以済民命。是以。奉幣彼部神祇。為民祷祈焉。又府大寺及別国諸寺。読金剛般若経。仍遣使賑給疫民。并加湯薬。又其長門以還諸国守、若介。専斎。或道饗祭祀。

Eighth month, twelfth day. The emperor gave an order: “I hear that many people in the Dazaifu have lately died of the epidemic. I wish to heal those struck by the epidemic qi and so save the people’s lives. Let offerings be made to the kami of that region, with prayers on the people’s behalf. Let the great temple of the Dazaifu and the temples of its other provinces read the Diamond Sutra. Send envoys to give relief to the sick, and give them medicines as well. And let the governors of the provinces from Nagato on toward the capital, or their assistants, keep themselves strictly pure by fasting, or else perform the road-feast rites.”

○丙午。太宰府言。管内諸国、疫瘡大発。百姓悉臥。今年之間、欲停貢調。許之。

Twenty-third day. The Dazaifu reported: “Epidemic sores have broken out widely in the provinces under us, and the common people are all sick in bed. For this year we ask to stop sending tax goods to the capital.” The request was granted.

○戊戌。詔。以災変数見。疫癘不已。大赦天下。[...]高年百歳以上賜穀三石。九十以上穀二石。八十以上穀一石。孝子・順孫。義夫・節婦、表其門閭。終身勿事。鰥寡惸独、篤疾之徒、不能自存者。所在官司、量加賑恤。

Intercalary eleventh month, seventeenth day. The emperor decreed: “Disasters and strange signs keep appearing, and the pestilence does not end. So I declare a general amnesty throughout the realm. To the old who are one hundred or more, give three koku [large measures] of grain; to those ninety or more, two koku; to those eighty or more, one koku. For dutiful sons and obedient grandsons, devoted husbands and faithful wives, honor the gates of their homes and villages, and free them from labor duty for life. As for widowers and widows, orphans and the childless old, and the gravely ill who cannot support themselves, let the local officials give them relief as they see fit.”

是歳。年頗不稔。自夏至冬。天下患豌豆瘡〈　俗曰裳瘡。　〉夭死者多。

This year the harvest was very poor. From summer to winter, people throughout the realm suffered from pea sores (commonly called mogasa), and many died before their time.

○戊辰。詔曰、如聞。比年、太宰所管諸国。公事稍繁。労役不少。加以。去冬疫瘡。男女惣困。農事有廃。五穀不饒。宜免今年田租、令続民命。

Tenth month, twenty-second day. The emperor said: “I hear that in recent years public business has grown heavy in the provinces under the Dazaifu, and the people have had much labor to do. On top of that, the epidemic sores of last winter left men and women alike in distress. Farm work was neglected, and the five grains did not grow well. Let this year’s rice-field tax be waived, so that the people can go on living.”

○癸亥。太宰管内諸国。疫瘡時行。百姓多死。詔、奉幣於部内諸社以祈祷焉。又賑恤貧疫之家。并給湯薬療之。

Nineteenth day. In the provinces under the Dazaifu the epidemic sores were spreading, and many of the common people died. The emperor ordered offerings to be made at the shrines of the region, with prayers. Relief was also given to poor households struck by the sickness, along with medicines to treat them.

○壬辰。詔曰。四月以来。疫旱並行、田苗燋萎。由是。祈祷山川。奠祭神祇。未得効験。至今猶苦。朕以不徳、実致茲災。思布寛仁、以救民患。宜令国郡審録寃獄。掩骼埋胔。禁酒断屠。高年之徒。鰥寡惸独。及京内僧尼男女。臥疾不能自存者。量加賑給。又普賜文武職事以上物。大赦天下。[...]

Nineteenth day. The emperor said: “Since the fourth month, epidemic and drought have come together, and the rice seedlings in the fields have scorched and withered. So we have prayed to the mountains and rivers and made offerings to the kami. But we have seen no result, and even now the people are suffering. Truly it is my lack of virtue that has brought this disaster. I wish to spread kindness and mercy, to save the people from their troubles. Let the provinces and districts review the cases of people wrongly imprisoned. Let them cover exposed bones and bury the rotting dead. Let wine be forbidden and the slaughter of animals stopped. As for the aged, widowers and widows, orphans and the childless old, and the monks, nuns, men, and women of the capital who lie sick and cannot support themselves, give them relief as each one needs. Let gifts also be given to all civil and military officials who hold posts. I declare a general amnesty throughout the realm.”

○六月甲辰朔。廃朝。以百官官人患疫也。

Sixth month, first day. Court was suspended, because the officials of all the government offices were sick with the epidemic.

○秋七月丁丑。賑給大倭。伊豆。若狭三国飢疫百姓。」散位従四位下大野王卒。

Autumn, seventh month, fifth day. Relief was given to the common people suffering from famine and epidemic in three provinces: Yamato, Izu, and Wakasa. Prince Ōno, who held rank but no post, died.

○壬午。賑給伊賀。駿河。長門三国疫飢之民。

Tenth day. Relief was given to the people suffering from epidemic and famine in three provinces: Iga, Suruga, and Nagato.

○乙未。大赦天下。詔曰。比来。縁有疫気多発。祈祭神祇。猶未得可。而今右大臣。身体有労。寝膳不穏。朕以惻隠。可大赦天下、救此病苦。[...]

Twenty-third day. A general amnesty was declared throughout the realm. The emperor said: “Lately the epidemic qi has been breaking out widely. We have prayed and made offerings to the kami, but we have still found no relief. And now the Minister of the Right is ill, and he cannot sleep or eat in peace. Out of pity for him, I declare a general amnesty throughout the realm to save him from this suffering.”

是年春。疫瘡大発。初自筑紫来。経夏渉秋。公卿以下天下百姓。相継没死不可勝計。近代以来、未之有也。

In the spring of this year the epidemic sores broke out on a great scale. They came first from Tsukushi [Kyushu]. Through the summer and on into autumn, from the high nobles down to the common people of the realm, people died one after another, more than could be counted. Nothing like it had happened in recent times.

太政官符。東海東山北陸山陰山陽南海等道諸國司。合臥疫之日治身及禁食物等事柒條。

Order of the Council of State to the governors of the provinces of the Tōkaidō, Tōsandō, Hokurikudō, San’indō, San’yōdō, and Nankaidō circuits. Seven articles in all, on caring for the body and on foods to avoid while lying sick with the epidemic.

一凡是疫病名赤斑瘡。初發之時。既似瘧疾。未出前。臥床之苦。或三四日。或五六日。瘡出之間。亦經三四日。支體府藏。大熱如燒。當是之時。欲飲冷水。固忍莫飲。瘡入欲愈。熱氣漸息。痢患更發。早不療治。遂成血痢。〈痢發之間。或前或後。無有定時。〉其共發之病。亦有四種。或咳嗽〈志波不岐〉。或嘔逆〈多麻比〉。或吐血。或鼻血。此等之中。痢是最急。宜知此意。能勤救治。

This epidemic disease is called red spot sores. When it first appears, it looks like an intermittent fever. Before the sores come out, the sick lie suffering in bed for three or four days, or five or six. The sores then take another three or four days to come out. The limbs and inner organs burn with fever as if on fire. At this point the sick want to drink cold water, but they must hold back firmly and not drink. As the sores go down and begin to heal, the fever slowly eases, and then diarrhea breaks out. If it is not treated early, it turns into bloody diarrhea. (The diarrhea may come earlier or later; there is no fixed time.) Four other illnesses also come with it: coughing (in Japanese, shiwabuki), retching (tamahi), vomiting blood, and nosebleeds. Of all these, the diarrhea is the most urgent. Understand this, and work hard to save and treat the sick.

以前四月已來。京及畿內。悉臥疫病。多有死亡。明知諸國佰姓。亦遭此患。仍條件狀。國傳送之。至宜寫取。即差郡司主帳已上一人。宛使早達前所。無有留滯。其國司巡行部內。告示百姓。若無粥饘等料者。國量宜賑給官物。具狀申送。今便以官印印之。符到奉行。

Since the fourth month, everyone in the capital and the home provinces has fallen sick with the epidemic, and many have died. Clearly the common people of the provinces are suffering from it too. That is why the articles above have been written out. Each province is to pass this order on. When it arrives, have it copied. Then at once send one official of the district, a clerk or higher, as messenger to carry it quickly to the next province, without delay. The governors are to travel through their provinces and announce it to the common people. If any have nothing to make gruel with, the province is to judge what is fitting, give them relief from government stores, and send a full report. This order now bears the Council’s seal. When it arrives, carry it out.

Eodem anno pestis antea inaudita in Angliâ desaeviebat.

That same year a plague never heard of before raged through England.

In hac pestilentiâ plures Capellani & stipendiarii Curati noluerunt sine excessivo salario deservire. Hos Episcopus Roffensis dato ad Archidiaconum Roff. mandato anno MCCCXLIX. die xxvii. Junii, sub poenâ suspensionis & interdicti jussit eisdem stipendiis deservire.

During this pestilence many chaplains and hired parish priests refused to serve unless they were paid far too much. On June 27, 1349, the Bishop of Rochester sent an order to the Archdeacon of Rochester. It commanded these priests to serve for the same pay as before, on pain of suspension and interdict.

Plures etiam Clerici beneficiati, numero Parochianorum per pestem adeò diminuto, ut de reliquis oblationibus vivere non possent, beneficia sua deserverunt. Hos Episcopus mandavit Parochias suas repetere; & Rectoribus seu Vicariis Beneficiorum exilium, quorum proventus annui ad verum valorem x. marcarum se non extendunt, licentiam dedit annuatim unum Annuale vel alium Missarum numerum, pro quibus aequalia debeantur stipendia, à suis Parochianis vel alienis undequaque recipere, hujusmodi exilitate proventuum durante.

Many clergy who held parishes also abandoned them. The plague had cut the number of parishioners so far that the priests could not live on the offerings of those who were left. The bishop ordered them back to their parishes. Some parishes were so poor that their yearly income was truly worth less than ten marks. To their rectors and vicars he gave permission to take on one annual each year, or some other set of Masses paid at the same rate. They could accept these from their own parishioners or from anyone else, for as long as their income stayed so small.