"Thus from the dawn of recorded history the scourge of God has humbled the proud of heart"

This entry's title is a quote from the beginning of Father Paneloux's first sermon (it starts about a third of the way through the novel, in Part Two). During the course of his sermon, the Father makes reference to several historical plague outbreaks, so I thought I'd see what I could dig up for you. (As always, all sources referenced are available on the shelf at Longview Library, through the library's online databases, or from 'reputable' websites)

*** Paneloux quotes text from the biblical Book of Exodus, and calls this the "first time this scourge appears in history." The relevant passage seems to be Exodus 9: 8-12, which describes the sixth of the ten plagues visited on Egypt to help Moses convince the Pharaoh to free the Israelites: "So they [Moses and his brother Aaron] took soot from the kiln, and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses threw it in the air, and it caused festering boils on humans and animals." (Exod 9:10, NRSV, quoted in The New Interpreter's Bible, vol. 1 (1994))

*** There is ongoing debate over the historical accuracy of the Ten Plagues. But it is interesting to note that the sixth plague is preceded by plagues of biting insects and a pestilence that kills livestock. While not exactly the same, it is similar to the progression of bubonic plague from fleas to rats and other small mammals to humans.

(image of 'The Plague of Boils', from the British Library - http://www.bl.uk/learning/cult/inside/goldhaggadahstories/10plagues/plaguesofegypt.html)

*** According to the Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence (3rd ed.), the first "certain instance of bubonic plague in the Mediterranean world" was an outbreak in Libya in the first century CE. The source of the account mentions that buboes were also common in Egypt and Syria and refers to an earlier source that may indicate the outbreak of bubonic plague as early as the 3rd century BCE. By way of comparison, according to Hebrew tradition, Moses was born sometime in the late 14th century BCE. (From George Childs Kohn's article, "Libyan plague of the first century CE", available in the online database Ancient and Medieval History Online)

*** Father Paneloux also tells of an Italian plague outbreak. His source, the Golden Legend, is a collection of biographies of saints, or 'hagiographies'. It was compiled in the 13th century CE and was actually one of the most popular books of the medieval era. Father Paneloux's story is from the life of Saint Sebastian, a martyr from the 3rd century CE. According to the story, the plague outbreak stopped after an altar with relics of Sebastian's body was built. (From Edward D. English's article "Golden Legend", in the Encyclopedia of the Medieval World, available in Ancient and Medieval History Online).

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(image below, "Suffering from the Plague", is from Ancient and Medieval History Online and shows "a chaotic scene outside a temple in a Roman city".)

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*** Although Father Paneloux mentions the Italian plague outbreak occurred during the reign of King "Umberto", the translation of the Golden Legend I read (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume2.htm) referred to King "Gumbert". In any case, the outbreak he's speaking of may have been the Plague of Cyprian, which ran through the Mediterranean coasts of Africa, the Near East, and Europe, and - at it's height - killed 5,000 people a day in Rome alone. Most scientists now believe the Cyprian Plague was smallpox or measles, not bubonic plague.