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XXXVII [XLVI]

De aquae ductu Nicomedensium

C. PLINIUS TRAIANO IMPERATORI

I In aquae ductum, domine, Nicomedenses inpenderunt HS. [XXX] CCCXXIX, qui inperfectus adhuc relictus et destructus etiam est: rursus in alium ductum erogata sunt CC. quoque relicto novo inpendio est opus, ut aquam habeant qui

2 XXX CCC XXIX, B. and Ald. tricies pro XXX coni, Perizonius.

§ 1. The citizens of Nicomedeia have spent more than three million sesterces on an aqueduct, which has been abandoned and ultimately destroyed. Another grant of 200,000 sesterces was made for a fresh aqueduct, which was also abandoned, and so fresh expense must be incurred that these wasteful citizens may be supplied with water. § 2. I have myself visited a spring of pure water from which the city could be supplied. The aqueduct must be raised on arches, according to the original plan, in order that the water may be distributed to the higher parts of the city. A few arches still remain others can be constructed of the solid masonry which has been taken from the previous work; some portions might be made of brick, being an easier and cheaper material. §3. First, however, it is necessary that you should send an inspector of aqueducts or an architect to prevent a third fiasco. I will only add that the utility and beauty of the work will be worthy of your reign.

In aquae ductum; cf. Ep. 90, on a projected aqueduct for Sinope, and an interesting inscr. (Wilm. 785) in which Varius Clemens, procurator of Mauretania Caesariensis, writes to Valerius Etruscus, legate of Numidia, asking for a librator to examine a projected aqueduct for the town of Saldae, ad montem me perduxit ubi cuniculum dubii operis flebant, quasi relinquendus habebatur, ideo quot perforatio operis cuniculi longior erat effectu quam montis spatium.

[XXX] CCCXXIX. The Ald. ed. leaves a space after [XXX], and Perizonius followed by Gesner conjectured that

;

Hoc

relictus atque etiam destructus, Ald. emissum et destructus etiam, B.

[XXX] should be tricies. This, however, is quite unnecessary. Mommsen has shown in Hermes, xxii p. 601, that numerals enclosed by two vertical and one horizontal line are multiplied by 100,000, and those by a single horizontal line, by 1000. The sum therefore was 3,329,000 HS. This would be between £26,000 and £27,000, not an extravagantly large sum in comparison with the ten million sesterces spent by the people of Nicaea on an unfinished theatre (Ep. 39). The building of an aqueduct would specially appeal to Trajan, who had done so much himself towards improving the water supply of Rome. The cities of Bithynia seem to have been public-spirited enough in undertakings of this sort, though lamentably deficient in a business-like and scientific execution of them. For similar enterprise and liberality on the part of provincials in Trajan's reign, cf. the bridge of Alcantara, built by the contributions of eleven municipal towns in Lusitania C. I. L. ii, p. 89.

est. '

et destructus etiam est. This is the reading of the Bodleian MS., where the whole clause runs qui imperfectus emissum et destructus etiam Aldus reads 'qui imperfectus relictus ac etiam destructus est,' where relictus may stand as a correction for the corrupt 'emissum,' but 'ac etiam 'is an extremely unusual phrase, and indeed in Suet. Ner. 26, and Aug. 19, it is doubtful whether 'atque etiam' is not right.

CC, i.e. 200 sestertia, as erogata proves, 200,000 sesterces. This was of course only a preliminary grant.

ut aquam habeant. Cf. Ep. 90, 'Sinopenses aqua deficiuntur.'

1

tantam pecuniam male perdiderunt. Ipse perveni ad fontem 2 purissimum, ex quo videtur aqua debere perduci, sicut initio temptatum erat, arcuato opere, ne tantum ad plana civitatis et humilia perveniat. Manent adhuc paucissimi arcus: possunt et erigi quidam lapide quadrato, qui ex superiore opere detractus est: aliqua pars, ut mihi videtur, testaceo opere peragenda erit ; id enim et facilius et vilius. Sed in primis necessarium est 3 mitti a te vel aquilegem vel architectum, ne rursus eveniat quod accidit. Ego illud unum adfirmo, et utilitatem operis et pulchritudinem saeculo tuo esse dignissimam.

6 peragenda, B. agenda, Ald.

§ 2. ad fontem purissimum. The water was collected in a sheltered spot round the spring, and fountain - houses were erected.

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arcuato opere. Aqueducts were either subterranean, in which the water was conducted in pipes (fistulae) of lead or clay, and communicating with the fresh air at intervals by shafts, or they were raised on arches, built either of stone or brick. In this case the water-channels were often of stone lined with the peculiarly hard and water-tight cement called opus signinum.' Among the best preserved of these raised aqueducts are those near Nemausus in Gaul and Segovia and Terragona in Spain. The Anio Nova at Rome extended altogether, partly above, partly under, ground for 62 miles. The height of the arches depended on the nature of the ground. In some cases, as e.g. in crossing a deep valley, they rose to a height of 150 feet.

ne tantum ad plana civitatis et humilia perveniat. This would seem to imply that Pliny was not so well up in hydraulics as his uncle, who knew that water in a closed pipe finds its own level, h. n. xxxi 6, 'subit altitudinem exortus sui.' Prof. Middleton shows (Ancient Rome, p. 452) that the real reason why aqueducts were raised on a long line of arches was because it was the more economical way to bring water from a distance, while the facilities for cleaning the pipes were much greater.

lapide quadrato. This is not to be confused with the architectural term 'opus quadratum,' which signified solid masonry

7 Sed, G. H. Schaeffer. Et, Ald.

of rectangular blocks of stone like the walls of Roma Quadrata or the Servian wall. This kind of masonry was seldom used under the empire except in connection with temple building. Here the words which follow 'qui ex superiore opere detractus est' show that the square blocks of stone were a mere facing to the concrete ground-work of the arch.

testaceo opere, brick-work. This, however, was only used as a facing to a concrete core. Buildings of solid brickwork are never found among Roman remains. The bricks were usually, except at the angles of walls, triangular in shape, and rarely penetrated into the concrete more than five inches (Middleton, p. 32). In a narrower sense, opus testaceum was another name for the opus signinum or water-tight cement mentioned above.

peragenda erit. The Bodleian MS. has 'peragenda' in the margin, and it seems to be a more satisfactory reading than the agenda' of Aldus and later editions.

§3. aquilegem. Cf. Plin. h. n. 26, 16, 6, Silvestris ubi nascitur subesse aquas credunt, et hoc habent signum aquileges.' The aquileges seem to be the same as the circitores of Frontinus, de Aquaed. 117, 'inspectors of the water-works.' architecti were engineers. Other officials mentioned by Frontinus are the libratores, who measured the levels; the aquarii, who laid the pipes; the castellarii, who kept in order the reservoirs, etc.

The

saeculo tuo esse dignissimam. Cf. Ep. 41 ad fin.

I

catur.

XXXVIII [XLVII]

TRAIANUS PLINIO S.

Curandum est ut aqua in Nicomedensem civitatem perduVere credo te ea qua debebis diligentia hoc opus adgressurum. Sed medius, fidius ad eandem diligentiam tuam pertinet inquirere quorum vitio ad hoc tempus tantam pecuniam Nicomedenses perdiderint, ne, dum inter se gratificantur, et inchoaverint aquae ductus et reliquerint. Quid itaque conpereris perfer in notitiam meam.

5 dum, Gronovius.
cum, Ald.

6 inchoaverint, quid itaque comper

But

Nicomedeia must certainly be supplied with water; you will, I know, set about the work with becoming dilgence. you must also inquire whose fault it is that so much money has been wasted. They must not be allowed to play into one another's hands and to commence an aqueduct and abandon it at pleasure. I shall desire to know what you discover.

curandum est ut aqua in N. civitatem perducatur. Cf. Ep. 91, 'neque enim dubitandum puto quin aqua perducenda sit in coloniam Sinopensem.

medius fidius. Cf. Plin. Ep. iv 3, 5, 'non, medius fidius, ipsas Athenas tam Atticas dixerim.' Ovid. Fast. vi 213, 'Quaeretam Nonas Sanco Fidione referrem. Varr. ap. Non. 494, 30, 'qui per deum Fidium iurare vult prodire solet in compluvium,' cited in Lewis and Short.

dum inter se gratificantur, by their mutual complaisance or collusion. Trajan evidently suspects that some sort of job

eris per aquaeductus et reliquerint
fer, B. and Ald.

The reading in the text is that of
Catanaeus.

had been practised between the magistrates and the redemptores who had the contract to build the aqueduct. For this casual use of dum cf. Tac. Ann. xiv 31, 'Nec arduum videbatur exscindere coloniam nullis munimentis saeptam ; quod ducibus nostris parum provisum erat, dum amoenitati prius quam usui consulitur,' also Sall. Iugur. 4; Tac. Ann. ii 88, see above. On this sense of 'gratificor' cf. Tac. Ann. iv 19, ‘odiis Seiani per dedecus suum gratificabatur ' and Sall. Iugur. 3, 4, 'potentiae paucorum decus atque libertatem gratificari.'

suam

ne inchoaverint; ne with perf. subj. because referring to a time already expired.

quid itaque. Itaque never takes the second place in a sentence earlier than the Augustan writers. Cf. Liv. xxxiv 34; Hor. Ep. i 1, 10.

XXXVIIII [XLVIII]

De theatro Nicensium

C. PLINIUS TRAIANO IMPERATORI

Theatrum, domine, Nicaeae maxima iam parte constructum, imperfectum tamen, sestertium, ut audio (neque enim ratio

§ I. A theatre, sire, at Nicaea which is nearly but not quite completed has cost, I believe the accounts will show when

audited, ten million sesterces, and, I fear, in vain. § 2. For immense cracks have shown themselves, due either to the soft

operis excussa est), amplius centies hausit: vereor ne frustra. Ingentibus enim rimis desedit et hiat, sive in causa solum 2 umidum et molle, sive lapis ipse gracilis et putris: dignum est certe deliberatione sitne faciendum an sit relinquendum an etiam destruendum. Nam fulturae ac substructiones quibus subinde suscipitur non tam firmae mihi quam sumptuosae videntur. Huic theatro ex privatorum pollicitationibus multa de- 3

I operis, C. F. W. Müller.

plus, B. and Ald.

penitus, G. F. Schaeffer.

2 desedit, B.

nature of the ground, or the crumbling character of the stone. The question arises whether it should be completed or abandoned, or pulled down. For the buttresses and substructions appear to me to be expensive but worthless. $ 3. Many additions to the theatre, such as basilicae and a colonnade, have been promised by private citizens, but at present everything is at a standstill. § 4. A gymnasium, too, which was burnt down just before my arrival, is being rebuilt on a larger scale, and money has been voted towards the work. But the plan is so confused that this seems not unlikely to be wasted. A rival architect, too, declares that the walls, though twenty-two feet thick, are too weak to support the structure, being constructed of concrete without any facing of brickwork. §5. Further, the people of Claudiopolis are building or rather excavating a bath-house in a depression at the foot of a mountain. This is being paid for by the entrance fees of those senators who were created by your favour. § 6. To prevent, therefore, in the one case a waste of public money, and in the other a misuse of your liberality, I must beg you to send an architect to decide whether these works should be completed according to their present plan, or improved, or transferred to a fresh site, lest by our desire to use what has been already spent, we should be throwing good money after bad. § I. sestertium amplius centies, more than ten million sesterces.

ratio operis excussa est. I have adopted C. F. W. Müller's conjecture for the Aldine reading 'plus,' which is unintelligible. Schaeffer reads 'penitus'; Orelli, prius,' or 'prorsus. cussa' cf. Ep. 17, etc.

On 'ex

§ 2. rimis desedit et hiat. Cf. Juv. iii 195, 'veteris rimae cum texit hiatum ';

descendit, Ald. discedit, Gruter. 4 an sit, Cellarius. aut sit, Ald.

desedit is sinking. We should have expected rimis to go with hiat rather than with desedit, and for this reason Gruter conjectures discedit. I should prefer to alter the order rather than the words. Aldus reads descendit. I have restored desedit from the Bodleian MS.

solum umidum et molle. Cf. Ep. 91, 'locus suspectus et mollis.'

lapis gracilis et putris, inferior and crumbling stone. Cf. Plin. Ep. ix 20, 2, 'vindemiae graciles.'

sitne faciendum. Cf. 8 infra, 'quoquo modo consummare opera.

an sit relinquendum. The Aldine reading is 'aut.' A similar doubt exists about Panegyr. 84, utrum sit efficacius ad recte vivendum bene institui an feliciter nasci,' where only one MS. (the Vat.) has 'an.' Probably, however, in these and the other passages cited by Döring (Cic. in Pis. 10; Phil. ii 38; pro Rosc. Am. 41) textual criticism would establish the reading 'an.'

etiam destruendum. Cf. Ep. 37, 'destructus etiam.'

fulturae ac substructiones. Cf. Colum. 1, 5, 9, 'fundamenta pro fultura et substructione fungentur.' A good idea of the vast substructions of some of the Roman buildings may be gained from those of the palace of Severus on the S.E. of the Palatine.

subinde (cf. French souvent), now and again; Plin. Ep. ii 7, 6, 'erit pergratum mihi hanc effigiem eius subinde intueri, subinde respicere.'

§3. ex privatorum pollicitationibus. The mere pollicitatio in such cases was not obligatory, unless it was made with a view to gaining some public office, and even then not before Trajan made it so ; Digest 50, 12, 14, si quis sui alieni ve honoris causa opus facturum se in aliqua civitate promiserit, ad perficiendum tam

bentur, ut basilicae circa, ut porticus supra caveam. Quae nunc omnia differuntur cessante eo quod ante peragendum est. 4 Iidem Nicaeenses gymnasium incendio amissum ante adventum

ipse quam heres eius ex constitutione divi Traiani obligatus est.'

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basilicae circa. Basilicae, the name of which was derived from the σTоà Bariikh at Athens, were quadrangular buildings flanked by colonnades, with two, three, or five aisles. They were used for commercial purposes, or more commonly for judicial courts, Plin. Ep. vi 23, as e.g. the Basilica Iulia for that of the centumviri. There were no basilicae in Rome before 214 B.C., Livy, xxvi 27. In 184 B. C. the Basilica Portia was built, which was followed by many others; cf. Suet. Aug. 29, etc. Sometimes, however, the name was applied to buildings constructed on this plan, which had no business object at all, but were attached to a theatre, or library, or gymnasium. These were more strictly called porticus,' a name properly applied to the covered colonnade flanking the nave of the basilica, but they are sometimes called basilicae or regiae. Thus the 'porticus Pompeii' at the back of the scena of the theatre of Pompeius is also called by Suetonius a 'regia'; Suet. Aug. 31, Pompeii quoque statuam, contra theatri eius regiam marmoreo Iano supposuit'; cf. Wilmann, 718, Cn. Satrius Cn. fil. Rufus III vir iur. dic. basilicas sublaqueavit trabes tecti ferro suffixit, lapide stravit,' etc.; 729, 'C. Aenilius ob honorem flaminatus tabernas L cum porticibus duplicibus. . pecunia sua fecit'; also, 707 and 710. There was to be a colonnade on each side of the theatre at Nicaea. Their object was protection against the rain, Plin. Ep. ii 17, 4, 'porticus in D litterae similitudinem circumactae Egregium hae adversus tempestates receptaculum,' and Vitruv. 9; cf. also Plin. Ep. ix 39, with reference to a temple of Ceres, 'Nam Idibus Septembribus magnus e regione tota coit populus . . sed nullum in proximo suffugium aut imbris aut solis. Videor ergo munifice simul religioseque facturus, si aedem quam pulcherrimam extruxero, addidero porticus aedi, illam ad usum deae, has ad hominum'; also Ep. v 2; also Orell. 3696, 'respublica populusque Corfiniensis sacellum Lyceium vetustate delapsum adiectis basiliciis sua pecunia restituit.'

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porticus supra caveam. Porticus

here is used in a narrower sense than in

the passages quoted above. The cavea was the interior of the semicircular part of the theatre, the rows of seats (cunei) rising out behind one another from the orchestra at the bottom to the external wall of the theatre at the top. The exterior wall was divided into stories by arcades of pillars or pilasters, like the Colosseum or the theatre of Marcellus at Rome. Between these exterior arcades and the seats of the cavea were corridors with staircases leading to the several praecinctiones. At the top there was often a double row of columns extending all round the cavea, and forming a kind of ambulatory, round which the audience could walk. This is the porticus alluded to in this passage, more nearly resembling the porticus often attached to a private house than the more extensive colonnades like the porticus Pompeii, or Octaviae, or Caii et Lucii, Suet. Aug. 29; cf. Juv. vii 178, 'Balnea sexcentis et pluris porticus, in qua Gestetur dominus, quotiens pluit'; Plin. Ep. v 6, 16.

§ 4. gymnasium. The locus classicus for the arrangement of the gymnasia is Vitruv. v II. There was an open court (TEPLOTUMOV) surrounded by colonnades, adjoining which were halls (exedrae) for the philosophers and rhetoricians. Beyond the southern colonnade, which was double, was the ephebeum, or practising ground for the young men. To the right of this were the coryceum or σφαιριστήplov-the conisterium where the athletes were sprinkled with sand, and the frigidarium; on the left were the elaeothesium where the oil for rubbing was kept, the tepidarium, and the Tupiaτýρlov or sweating bath. These gymnasia were as a rule confined to Greek cities; cf. Ep. 40, 'Gymnasiis indulgent Graeculi '; and Professor Mayor's note on Juv. iii 68. We find them at Smyrna, Ephesus, Tralles, Clazomenae, Sinope, Miletus, Heraclea, as well as in the cities of Hellas proper. Cicero (Verr. ii 4, 53) mentions a gymnasium amplissimum at Syracuse; Nero went to the gymnasium at Naples on the day of his mother's murder, Suet. Ner. 40. This emperor too did much to encourage gymnastic exercises in Rome, and he built a gymnasium there; Suet. Ner. 12, 'instituit et quinquennale certamen

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