In one of his philosophical letters (56 C.E.), Seneca, describes what it is like to live over a bathhouse. Although it is doubtful that Seneca himself lived in such a place, and the point of his letter is to prove that the true Stoic scholar has enough self-discipline and self-control to block out the noise, the description offers a powerful view of life in the city.

Here am I in the middle of a roaring babel. My lodgings are right over a bath! Now imagine every sort of outcry that can revolt the ear. When the more athletic bathers take their dumb-bell exercise, I hear grunts as they strain or affect to strain, hissing and raucous gasps as they expel their breath after holding it: when I run against some sedentary soul, who is content with the mere humble...