There have been many plagues in human history, the most terrible of which is the medieval plague, which has a more widely known name "Black Death". The Black Death once claimed the lives of tens of millions of people, whether poor or rich, it can be said that "everyone is equal before the plague". The records of these plagues can only make us understand their seriousness, but we can't understand human life under the epidemic. But an epidemic diary of17th century may give us some enlightenment.

As early as the beginning of April, Jane Miller, the author of The New York Times, urged readers to record the COVID-19 epidemic through diaries. She wrote in the article: "Who knows what will happen in the future? Maybe one day your diary may provide some valuable clues for this special period. " In fact, there is a precedent in history for keeping a diary to record the epidemic. Samuel pepys, a British naval officer, did just that in another epidemic in the17th century. Through his diary, he meticulously recorded a serious plague that broke out in London during that time, also known as the Black Death.

After the outbreak, the streets of London changed from 1665 to 1666.

Although such plagues have been plaguing mankind, we seldom know in detail how people once lived under their cover. Although there were no Zoom meetings, drive-in inspections, toolkits and ventilators in London in the17th century, pepys's diary showed that people's responses to the epidemic were strikingly similar.

The residents know nothing about the hidden crisis.

From the end of 1664 to the beginning of 1665, a plague broke out in St. Gilles parish, a slum outside London. However, without the developed internet and media like today, the residents of pepys and London, whose news was closed, did not know that the plague broke out outside the city.

Pepys first realized the existence of the plague on April 30th, 1665. He wrote in his diary: "The plague has brought panic to people in this city. It is said that two or three of them have closed down. May God bless us all. "

Pepys's life was not affected until early June, when he saw the closed house for the first time. The sign of the Red Cross is painted on the door, which reads: "God bless us." Since then, pepys's life has been increasingly plagued by the epidemic.

Soon after, he saw the body to be buried in the street. Many of his acquaintances died, even his own doctor. By mid-August, he had written his will. "If God takes me away in this crisis, I hope to maintain a better mental state." At the end of August, he described the desolation of the street in his diary and claimed that all the pedestrians he met seemed to be preparing to bid farewell to the world.

/kloc-the scene after the outbreak of the Black Death in London in the 0/7th century.

The staff of the London parish printed a "death list", which counted the funerals held every week. However, because these lists record the number of funerals rather than the number of deaths, there is no doubt that the number of deaths is underestimated. Pepys recorded more and more plague victims through his diary.

At the end of August, he found that the weekly death toll on the death list had reached 6 102, but he guessed that the actual death toll might be close to102, because the death toll in slums was not counted. A week later, he noticed that the official death toll per week was 6,978, and he wrote in his diary that "this is a very terrible number".

He is also worried about those who attend the funeral despite the official ban. Pepys complained that although the victims of the plague should be buried at night, all the moral bottom line seems to have disappeared, and the burial of the dead was carried out during the day. The threat of death and panic seem to have made people extremely messy.

All kinds of desperate measures

Of course, an epidemic cannot be allowed to develop, and people are trying to find some reliable treatment schemes. At present, there are few effective treatment schemes for patients with coronavirus pneumonia-19. But for those who suffer from the virus, it is impossible to give up any hope. Wild leek, granite, Ganges water, cow dung and disinfectant are all on the line. As it turns out, they are all ill and rushed to the hospital.

/kloc-what was the plague in the 0/7th century? Although pepys lived in the period of scientific revolution, no one knew that plague was caused by Yersinia pestis carried by fleas. Scientists at that time put forward the theory that the plague was spread by miasma. Simply put, miasma is the rotten smell produced by organic matter decay. Therefore, the most popular measure at that time was to "purify the air" by smoking or putting herbs and spices on the nose.

Tobacco was also the first method used in pepys when the plague broke out. He wrote in his diary: "At the beginning of June, the house that was constantly blocked gave me a bad feeling, and I was forced to buy some cigarettes to smell and chew." Later, in July, a noble lady gave him "a bottle of plague water", which is a potion made of various herbs. But he is not sure whether these methods are effective. So he attended a gathering in a cafe, and the theme of the discussion was "The plague is spreading in the town, how to deal with it". Finally, he found that everyone has his own opinion.

A mask invented by doctors to prevent infection during the Black Death.

During the epidemic, pepys was also very concerned about his mentality. He said that he has been trying to keep a good mental state. This is not only to get rid of the plague, but also out of a medical theory at that time. Theoretically, the imbalance of body fluids such as blood, yellow bile and black bile will lead to diseases.

According to doctors, anxiety caused by excessive black bile may be harmful to human health, so pepys tried to suppress this negative emotion. For example, in September 14, he wrote, "The news of the death of friends and acquaintances plunged me into great sadness. But I try my best to put those sad thoughts behind me. "

How to find a balance between panic and risk?

Humans are social animals, so they can't avoid social life, so during the coronavirus epidemic, many people find it challenging to keep social distance. How close is too close? How to avoid infection and protect the safety of family while maintaining rationality? Someone at home coughs. What should we do?

This kind of panic at a loss is also common during the plague. Pepys found that when he left London for other towns, local residents were obviously nervous about the arrival of tourists. He wrote in mid-July: "Our arrival worried them, which made me very uneasy."

Pepys himself is no exception. In late July, his servant Will suddenly had a headache. Pepys was worried that if a servant caught the plague, his whole house would be blocked, so he mobilized all other servants to send Will out quickly. As a result, Will was not infected with the plague and came back the next day.

In early September, pepys began to restrain his desire to wear a wig, because he bought it in an epidemic area in London. In fact, he also wants to know whether other people are afraid to wear wigs, because those wigs are probably made of the hair of plague patients.

However, he is still willing to risk his health to meet some of his own needs. For example, at the beginning of 10, he went to see his mistress regardless of the danger. He wrote in his diary: "I don't think the raging plague is important, but how to coax Ella is the most important."

The inflection point of the epidemic that needs to be expected urgently

People all over the world usually regard the decline in the death toll as a turning point in the epidemic, and they are eagerly waiting for the turning point, so is pepys. In mid-September, the death toll dropped for the first time, from which pepys saw hope. A week later, he noticed that the death toll dropped 1800. The epidemic finally began to improve, which was perhaps the most gratifying news at that time.

Whether it is the development of the epidemic or the human response to it, we seem to see some familiar scenes from the plague in the17th century. Anyway, like pepys, we will look forward to the dawn of hope until the day when we beat COVID-19.

Heart of the King 2 Click on the demo.