"Because it is easily shaped, melted and molded, lead was widely used by the Romans for plumbing, stapling masonry together, casting statues and manufacturing many kinds of utensils. All these uses presumably contributed to the chronic poisoning of Rome's peoples. " Is there any evidence for this idea in surviving Roman writings?
I wish I knew that. There is a vaguely conspiratorial theory of Rome's fall which hinges on lead poisoning. Of course, they would not have been remotely aware of it as it happened. My guess -- based solely on the assumption that since I have studied a lot of the notable Roman writers, I would have encountered a case of their writings (Cicero e.g.) rapidly declining in quality as they aged if it existed -- is no. Hie thee to r/askhistorians, perhaps. Might be hard to separate the symptoms from those of other root causes. You seem new, so here's another entry in the hubski canon regarding unknown illnesses with obvious causes.