Roman Farm Management: The Treatises of Cato and VarroCato, Marcus Porcius
History
Roman Farm Management: The Treatises of Cato and Varro
Cato, Marcus Porcius
Agriculture -- Early works to 1800; Farm management -- Early works to 1800
"But there are here present those who can discourse on this subject
with more authority than I, for I see C. Licinius Stolo and Cn.
Tremelius Scrofa approaching. It was the ancestor of the first of
these who brought in the law for the regulation of land-holding; for
the law which forbade a Roman citizen to own more than 500 jugera of
land was proposed by that Licinius who acquired the cognomen of Stolo
on account of his diligence in cultivating his land: he is said to
have dug around his trees so thoroughly that there could not be found
on his farm a single one of those suckers which spring up from the
ground at the roots of trees and are called _stolones_. Of the same
family was that other C. Licinius who, when he was tribune of the
people, 365 years after the expulsion of the Kings, first transferred
the Sovereign function of law making from the Comitium to the Forum,
thus as it were constituting that area the 'farm' of the entire
people.[50] The other whom I see come hither is Cn. Tremelius Scrofa,
your colleague on the Committee of Twenty for the division of the
Campanian lands, a man distinguished by all the virtues and considered
to be the Roman most expert in agriculture.[51]
"And justly so," I exclaimed, "for his farms are a more pleasing
spectacle to many on account of their clean cultivation than the
stately palaces of others;[52] when one goes to visit his country
place, one sees granaries and not picture galleries, as at the 'farm'
of Lucullus.[53] Indeed," I added, "the apple market at the head of the
Sacred Way is the very image of Scrofa's fruit house."
As the new comers joined us, Stolo inquired: "Have we arrived after
dinner is over, for we do not see L. Fundilius who invited us."
"Be of good cheer," replied Agrius, "for not only has that egg which
indicates the last lap of the chariot race in the games at the circus
not yet been removed, but we have not even seen that other egg which
is the first course of dinner.[54] And so until the Sacristan returns
and joins us do you discourse to us of the uses or the pleasures of
agriculture, or of both. For now the sceptre of agriculture is in your
hands, which formerly, they say, belonged to Stolo."
"First of all," began Scrofa, "we must have a definition. Are we to be
limited in discussing agriculture to the planting of the land or are
we to touch also on those other occupations which are carried on in
the country, such as feeding sheep and cattle. For I have observed
that those who write on agriculture, whether in Greek or Punic or
Latin, wander widely from their subject."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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