At sixteen I was lucky enough to travel to Italy with my Latin class. The highlight of the trip for me was walking through the ruins of Pompeii. Standing in the shadow of the deadly volcano Mt. Vesuvius, you are keenly aware of the danger staring down at you. We walked to the top and stared into the abyss. It’s not actually that big as far as mountains go, but the horrid smell of sulfur, and the 2000 year old destroyed civilization beneath you is enough to intimidate. The Romans who lived there knew the mountain was dangerous. They called the nearby sulfur pits the “Gates of Hell” and legend...