Thursday, October 28, 2010

Pliny and Graffiti


A graffiti on a wall in the Casa della Nave Europa, Pompeii.

"Several villas, attracted by the beauty of this river, stand about on its borders. In short, every surrounding object will afford you entertainment. You may also amuse yourself with numberless inscriptions upon the pillars and walls, by different persons, celebrating the virtues of the fountain, and the divinity that presides over it. Many of them you will admire, while some will make you laugh; hut I must correct myself when I say so; you are too humane, I know, to laugh upon such an occasion. Farewell."

Pliny the younger - Letters VIII 8
Translated by W. Melmoth

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