Gaius Plinius Cecilius Secundus

The landscape affords plenty of variety the view in some places being closed in by woods, in others extending over broad meadows, where numerous flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, which the severity of the winter has driven from the mountains, fatten in the spring warmth, and on the rich pasturage.

My villa is of a convenient size without being expensive to keep up. The courtyard in front is plain, but not mean, through which you enter porticoes shaped into the form of the letter D, enclosing a small but cheerful area between. These make a capital retreat for bad weather, not only as they are shut in with windows, but particularly as they are sheltered by a projection of the roof.

From the middle of these porticoes you pass into a bright, pleasant inner court, and out of that into a handsome hall running out towards the sea shore; so that when there is a southwest breeze, it is gently washed with the waves, which spend themselves at its base.

On every side of this hall there are either folding doors or windows equally large, by which means you have a view from the front and the two sides of three different seas, as it were: from the back you see the middle court, the portico, and the area; and from another point you look through the portico into the courtyard, and out upon the woods and distant mountains beyond.

On the left hand of this hall, a little farther from the sea, lies a large drawing room, and beyond that, a second of a smaller size, which has one window to the rising and another to the setting sun: this as well has a view of the sea, but more distant and agreeable.

The angle formed by the projection of the dining room with this drawing room retains and intensifies the warmth of the sun, and this forms our winter quarters and family gymnasium, which is sheltered from all the winds except those which bring on clouds, but the clear sky comes out again before the warmth has gone out of the place.

Adjoining this angle is a room forming the segment of a circle, the windows of which are so arranged as to get the sun all through the day: in the walls are contrived a sort of cases, containing a collection of authors who can never be read too often.

Next to this is a bedroom, connected with it by a raised passage furnished with pipes, which supply, at a wholesome temperature, and distribute to all parts of this room the heat they receive.

The rest of this side of the house is appropriated to the use of my slaves and freedmen; but most of the rooms in it are respectable enough to put my guests into.

In the opposite wing is a most elegant tastefully fitted up bedroom; next to which lies another; which you may call either a large bedroom or a modified dining room; it is very warm and light, not only from the direct rays of the sun, but by their reflection from the sea.

Beyond this is a bedroom with an anteroom the height of which renders it cool in summer, its thick walls warm in winter, for it is sheltered, every way, from the winds.

To this apartment another anteroom is joined by one common wall. From thence you enter into the wide and spacious cooling room belonging to the bath, from the opposite walls of which two curved basins are thrown out, so to speak; which are more than large enough if you consider that the sea is close at hand.

Adjacent to this is the anointing room, then the sweating room, and beyond that the bath heating room: adjoining are two other little bath rooms, elegantly rather than sumptuously fitted up: annexed to them is a warm bath of wonderful construction, in which one can swim and take a view of the sea at the same time.

Not far from this stands the tennis court, which lies open to the warmth of the afternoon sun.

From thence you go up a sort of turret which has two rooms below, with the same number above, besides a dining room commanding a very extensive lookout on to the sea, the coast, and the beautiful villas scattered along the shore line.

At the other end is a second turret, containing a room that gets the rising and setting sun. Behind this is a large store room and granary, and underneath, a spacious dining room, where only the murmur and break of the sea can be heard, even in a storm: it looks out upon the garden, and the path running round the garden.

The path is bordered round with box, and, where that is decayed, with rosemary: for the box, wherever sheltered by the buildings, grows plentifully, but where it lies open and exposed to the weather and spray from the sea, though at some distance from the latter, it quite withers up.

Next the path and running along inside it, is a shady vine-plantation, the path of which is so soft and easy to the tread that you may walk barefoot upon it.

The garden is chiefly planted with fig and mulberry trees, to which this soil is as favorable as it is averse to all others.

Here is a dining room, which, though it stands away from the sea, enjoys the garden view, which is just as pleasant: two apartments run round the back part of it, the windows of which look out upon the entrance of the villa, and into a fine kitchen garden.

From here extends an enclosed portico which, from its great length, you might take for a public one.

It has a range of windows on either side, but more on the side facing the sea, and fewer on the garden side, and these, single windows alternate with the opposite rows.

In calm, clear weather these are all thrown open; but if it blows, those on the weather side are closed, while those away from the wind can remain open without any inconvenience.

Before this enclosed portico lies a terrace fragrant with the scent of violets, and warmed by the reflection of the sun from the portico, which, while it retains therays, keeps away the northeast wind; and it is as warm on this side as it is cool on the side opposite: in the same way it is a protection against the wind from the southwest; and thus, in short, by means of its several sides, breaks the force of the winds, from whatever quarter they may blow.

These are some of its winter advantages; they are still more appreciable in the summer time; for at that season it throws a shade upon the terrace during the whole of the forenoon, and upon the adjoining portion of the path and garden in the afternoon, casting a greater or less shade on this side or on that as the day increases or decreases.

The portico itself is coolest just at the time when the sun is at its hottest, that is, when the rays fall directly upon the roof.

By opening the windows you let in the western breezes in a free current, which prevents the place getting oppressive with close and stagnant air.

At the upper end of the terrace and portico stands a detached garden building, which I call my favorite; my favorite indeed, as I put it up myself.

It contains a very warm winter room, one side of which looks down upon the terrace, while the other has a view of the sea, and both lie exposed to the sun.

The bedroom opens on to the covered portico by means of folding doors, while its window looks out upon the sea.

On that side next the sea, and facing the middle wall, is formed a very elegant little recess, which, by means of transparent windows and a curtain drawn to or aside, can be made part of the adjoining room, or separated from it.

It contains a couch and two chairs: as you lie upon this couch, from where your feet are you get a peep of the sea; looking behind, you see the neighboring villas, and from the head you have a view of the woods: these three views may be seen either separately, from so many different windows, or blended together in one.

Adjoining this is a bedroom, which neither the servants' voices, the murmuring of the sea, the glare of lightning, nor day light itself can penetrate, unless you open the windows.

This profound tranquillity and seclusion are occasioned by a passage separating the wall of this room from that of the garden, and thus, by means of this intervening space, every noise is drowned.

Annexed to this is a tiny stove room, which, by opening or shutting a little aperture, lets out or retains the heat from underneath, according as your requirements.

Beyond this lie a bedroom and anteroom, which enjoy the sun, though obliquely indeed, from the time it rises till the afternoon.

When I retire to this garden summer house, I fancy myself a hundred miles away from my villa, and take especial pleasure in it at the feast of the Saturnalia, when, by the license of that festive season, every other part of my house resounds with my servants' mirth: thus I neither interrupt their amusement nor they my studies.

-Gaius Plinius Cecilius Secundus, Pliny the Younger, Roman military tribune, govenor, orator and gentleman of wealth.

back to stacks contents

This web site is not a commercial web site and is presented for educational purposes only.

This website defines a new religious ideology to which its author adheres. The author feels that the falsification of reality outside personal experience has created a populace unable to discern propaganda from reality and that this has been done purposefully by an international corporate cartel through their agents who wish to foist a corrupt version of reality on the human race. Religious intolerance occurs when any group refuses to tolerate religious practices, religious beliefs or persons due to their religious ideology. This web site marks the founding of the religion aptly named The Truth of the Way of Life - a rational religion based on reason which requires no leap of faith, accepts no tithes, has no supreme leader, no church buildings and in which each and every individual is encouraged to develop a personal relation with God through the pursuit of the knowledge of reality in the hope of curing the spiritual corruption that has enveloped the human spirit. The tenets of The Truth of the Way of Life are spelled out in detail on this web site by the author. Violent acts against individuals due to their religious beliefs in America is considered a “hate crime.”

This web site in no way condones violence. To the contrary the intent here is to reduce the violence that is already occurring due to the international corporate cartels desire to control the human race. The international corporate cartel already controls the world central banking system, mass media worldwide, the industrial military complex of America and is responsible for the collapse of morals, the elevation of self-centered behavior and the destruction of global ecosystems. Civilization is based on cooperation. Cooperation does not occur at the point of a gun.

American social mores and values have declined precipitously over the last century as the corrupt international cartel has garnered more and more power. This power rests in the ability to deceive the populace in general through mass media by pressing emotional buttons which have been preprogrammed into the population through prior mass media psychological operations. The results have been the destruction of the family and the destruction of social structures that do not adhere to the corrupt international elites vision of a perfect world. Through distraction and coercion the direction of thought of the bulk of the population has been directed toward solutions proposed by the corrupt international elite that further consolidates their power and which further their purposes.

All views and opinions presented on this web site are the views and opinions of individual human men and women that, through their writings, showed the capacity for intelligent, reasonable, rational, insightful and unpopular thought. All factual information presented on this web site is believed to be true and accurate and is presented as originally presented in print media which may or may not have originally presented the facts truthfully. Opinion and thoughts have been adapted, edited, corrected, redacted, combined, added to, re-edited and re-corrected as nearly all opinion and thought has been throughout time but has been done so in the spirit of the original writer with the intent of making his or her thoughts and opinions clearer and relevant to the reader in the present time.

Fair Use Notice This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of criminal justice, human rights, political, economic, democratic, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the United States Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information see: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.