How to run a farm

Est interdum praestare mercaturis rem quaerere, nisi tam periculosum sit, et item fenerari, si tam honestum sit. maiores nostri sic habuerunt et ita in legibus posiverunt, furem dupli condemnari, feneratorem quadrupli. quanto peiorem civem existimarint feneratorem quam furem, hinc licet existimare.

It is sometimes [possible] to be better to seek wealth by trading, if it were not so dangerous, and likewise to lend at interest, if it were so honorable. Our ancestors held so and so placed [it] in the laws, that a thief be condemned to double, a lender at interest to fourfold. How much worse a citizen they judged the lender at interest than the thief, from this one may judge.

It would sometimes pay better to make money in trade, if trade were not so risky, or by lending at interest, if that were as honorable. Our ancestors held this view and wrote it into their laws: a thief was to pay double, but a moneylender fourfold.1 From this you can judge how much worse a citizen they thought a moneylender than a thief.

1. Under Rome’s old laws a thief not caught in the act repaid double. Later laws on interest made lenders who charged more than the legal rate pay four times the loan. Smith’s Dictionary cites this passage for that penalty.

et virum bonum quom laudabant, ita laudabant, bonum agricolam bonumque colonum. amplissime laudari existimabatur qui ita laudabatur.

And when they praised a good man, they praised [him] so: a good farmer and a good tiller. He was thought to be praised most fully who was praised so.

And when they praised a good man, they praised him as “a good farmer and a good tiller of the land.” A man praised in this way was thought to have received the highest praise.

mercatorem autem strenuum studiosumque rei quaerendae existimo, verum, ut supra dixi, periculosum et calamitosum.

The trader, however, I judge energetic and eager for seeking wealth, but, as I said above, dangerous and disaster-prone.

As for the trader, I count him an energetic man, keen to make money. But his trade, as I said, is risky and full of disasters.

at ex agricolis et viri fortissimi et milites strenuissimi gignuntur, maximeque pius quaestus stabilissimusque consequitur minimeque invidiosus, minimeque male cogitantes sunt qui in eo studio occupati sunt. nunc ut ad rem redeam, quod promisi institutum principium hoc erit.

But from farmers both the bravest men and the most vigorous soldiers are born, and the most dutiful [righteous?] gain and the most stable follows, and the least envied, and least ill-thinking are those who are occupied in that pursuit. Now, so that I may return to the matter, this will be the beginning of the undertaking [that] I promised.

Farmers, on the other hand, produce the bravest men and the hardiest soldiers. Their profit is the most honest and the most secure, and it stirs the least envy. Those who work at farming are the least likely to think evil. Now, to return to my subject, here begins the work I promised.

Praedium quom parare cogitabis, sic in animo habeto, uti ne cupide emas neve opera tua parcas visere et ne satis habeas semel circumire. quotiens ibis, totiens magis placebit quod bonum erit. vicini quo pacto niteant, id animum advertito: in bona regione bene nitere oportebit. et uti eo introeas et circumspicias, uti inde exire possis. uti bonum caelum habeat, ne calamitosum siet, solo bono, sua virtute valeat.

When you will think of acquiring a farm, keep it in mind thus: that you do not buy greedily, nor spare your effort in visiting [it], and do not consider it enough to go around it once. As often as you go, so much the more will what is good please [you]. How the neighbors flourish, pay attention to that: in a good region it will be fitting [for them] to flourish well. And [see] that you go in there and look around so that you may be able to get out from there. That it have a good climate, that it not be disaster-prone; with good soil, [that it] be strong by its own quality.

When you are thinking of buying a farm, keep this in mind. Do not buy in haste. Do not spare the effort of visiting it, and do not think it enough to walk around it once. The more often you go, the more a good farm will please you. Notice how the neighbors are doing: in a good district they should look prosperous. When you go in, look all around, so that you can find your way out again.2 The farm should have a good climate and not be prone to disasters. The soil should be good and strong in its own right.

2. The Latin is unclear. It may mean that you should see the place well enough to find your way around it, or that you should look at it so carefully that you could walk away from the purchase.

si poteris, sub radice montis siet, in meridiem spectet, loco salubri, operariorum copia siet, bonumque aquarium, oppidum validum prope siet aut mare aut amnis, qua naves ambulant, aut via bona celebrisque.

If you can, let it be at the foot of a mountain, let it face south, in a healthy place; let there be a supply of laborers, and a good water supply; let a strong town be near, or the sea or a river where ships go, or a good and busy road.

If you can, it should lie at the foot of a mountain and face south, in a healthy spot. There should be plenty of laborers3 and a good water supply. A thriving town should be near, or the sea, or a river that ships travel on, or a good, busy road.

3. Hired workers, many of them free, though some may have been neighbors’ slaves hired out. The farm’s regular work was done by its own enslaved people.

siet in his agris, qui non saepe dominos mutant: qui in his agris praedia vendiderint, eos pigeat vendidisse. uti bene aedificatum siet. caveto alienam disciplinam temere contemnas. de domino bono colono bonoque aedificatore melius emetur. ad villam cum venies, videto, vasa torcula et dolia multane sient: ubi non erunt, scito pro ratione fructum esse. instrumenti ne magni siet, loco bono siet. videto, quam minimi instrumenti sumptuosusque ager ne siet.

Let it be among those lands that do not often change owners; those who have sold farms in these lands, let them regret having sold. That it be well built. Beware of rashly scorning another's method. From a good owner, [good] cultivator and good builder it will be bought better. When you come to the farmhouse, see whether the press equipment and storage jars are many: where they are not, know that the yield is in proportion. Let it not be [a farm] of great equipment; let it be in a good place. See that the land be of as little equipment as possible and not costly.

It should be in a district where land does not often change owners, where people who have sold their farms are sorry they sold. It should have good buildings. Do not be quick to scorn another man’s way of farming. It is better to buy from an owner who farms well and builds well. When you come to the farmhouse, see whether there is plenty of pressing gear and plenty of storage jars. Where there is not, you can be sure the harvest is small to match. The farm should not need much equipment, and it should be well placed. See that it needs as little equipment as possible and does not cost too much to run.

scito idem agrum quod hominem, quamvis quaestuosus siet, si sumptuosus erit, relinqui non multum. praedium quod primum siet, si me rogabis, sic dicam: de omnibus agris optimoque loco iugera agri centum, vinea est prima, si vino bono et multo est, secundo loco hortus inriguus, tertio salictum, quarto oletum, quinto pratum, sexto campus frumentarius, septimo silva caedua, octavo arbustum, nono glandaria silva.

Know that a farm is the same as a man: however profitable it may be, if it is costly, not much is left. If you will ask me what farm should be first, I will say thus: of all lands and in the best place, a hundred iugera of land; the vineyard is first, if it is [rich] in good and abundant wine; in second place an irrigated garden, third a willow plantation, fourth an olive orchard, fifth a meadow, sixth a grain field, seventh a wood for cutting, eighth a tree planting [for vines], ninth an acorn wood.

Remember that a farm is like a man. However much it earns, if it spends a lot, little is left over. If you ask me what kind of farm is best, I will say this: a hundred iugera4 with every kind of land, in the best location. First comes a vineyard, if it gives good wine and plenty of it. Second comes a watered garden, third a willow bed, fourth an olive grove, fifth a meadow, sixth grain land, seventh a wood for cutting, eighth a planting of trees to carry vines, and ninth an oak wood for acorns.

4. A iugerum was a little less than two-thirds of an acre, so the farm was roughly 60 acres.

Pater familias ubi ad villam venit, ubi larem familiarem salutavit, fundum eodem die, si potest, circumeat; si non eodem die, at postridie. ubi cognovit, quo modo fundus cultus siet operaque quae facta infectaque sient, postridie eius diei vilicum vocet, roget, quid operis siet factum, quid restet, satisne temperi opera sient confecta, possitne quae reliqua sient conficere, et quid factum vini, frumenti aliarumque rerum omnium.

The head of the household, when he has come to the farmhouse, when he has greeted the household Lar, let him go around the farm the same day, if he can; if not the same day, then the next day. When he has learned in what way the farm has been cultivated and which works have been done and not done, on the day after that day let him call the overseer, let him ask what of the work has been done, what remains, whether the works have been finished in good time, whether he can finish what remains, and what has been made of wine, grain and all other things.

When the master arrives at the farmhouse, he should first greet the god of the household.5 Then he should walk around the farm that same day if he can, or if not, the next day. Once he has seen how the farm has been worked and which jobs have and have not been done, he should call in the overseer6 on the following day. He should ask what work is done and what is left, whether the jobs were finished on time, and whether the rest can be finished. He should ask how much wine, grain, and everything else has been produced.

5. The Lar of the household was a guardian god kept at the hearth. Romans believed the Lares protected the house and family, and greeted them with prayer and offerings.
6. The vilicus, who ran the farm for an absent owner. He was usually enslaved himself.

ubi ea cognovit, rationem inire oportet operarum, dierum. si ei opus non apparet, dicit vilicus sedulo se fecisse, servos non valuisse, tempestates malas fuisse, servos aufugisse, opus publicum effecisse, ubi eas aliasque causas multas dixit, ad rationem operum operarumque vilicum revoca.

When he has learned these things, it is necessary to enter into a reckoning of the work [of laborers] and of the days. If the work does not appear to him [enough], the overseer says that he has acted diligently, the slaves have not been well, the weather has been bad, the slaves have run away, he has done public work; when he has stated these and many other excuses, call the overseer back to the reckoning of the works and the laborers.

Once he knows this, he must work out the accounts of work and days. If he does not see enough work done, the overseer will say that he did his best. The slaves were sick, the weather was bad, slaves ran away, he had to do public work. When the overseer has given these and many other excuses, bring him back to the accounts of the work done and the labor used.

cum tempestates pluviae fuerint, quae opera per imbrem fieri potuerint, dolia lavari picari, villam purgari, frumentum transferri, stercus foras efferri, stercilinum fieri, semen purgari, funes sarciri, novos fieri; centones, cuculiones familiam oportuisse sibi sarcire. per ferias potuisse fossas veteres tergeri, viam publicam muniri, vepres recidi, hortum fodiri, pratum purgari, virgas vinciri, spinas runcari, expinsi far, munditias fieri. cum servi aegrotarint, cibaria tanta dari non oportuisse.

When there has been rainy weather, [remind him] which works could have been done in the rain: the storage jars washed, pitched, the farmhouse cleaned, the grain moved, the manure carried out, a manure heap made, the seed cleaned, ropes mended, new ones made; the household ought to have mended patchwork cloaks [and] hoods for themselves. On holidays old ditches could have been cleaned, the public road repaired, brambles cut back, the garden dug, the meadow cleared, rods bound, thorns weeded out, spelt ground, cleaning done. When the slaves were sick, so much food ought not to have been given.

When the weather was rainy, there was work that could have been done in the rain. The storage jars could have been washed and coated with pitch, the farmhouse cleaned, the grain moved, the manure carried out and a manure heap made, the seed cleaned, and the ropes mended or new ones made. The slaves7 should have mended their own patchwork cloaks and hoods. On holidays8 the old ditches could have been cleared, the public road repaired, the brambles cut back, the garden dug, the meadow cleared, rods tied in bundles, thorns grubbed up, spelt ground, and the place cleaned. When the slaves were sick, they should not have been given full rations.

7. Familia, here the whole body of enslaved workers on the farm, not the owner’s wife and children.
8. Religious festival days, on which slaves were in principle given rest from labor. Cato lists the jobs he held could still be done.

pecus consideret. auctionem uti faciat: vendat oleum, si pretium habeat, vinum, frumentum quod supersit vendat: boves vetulos, armenta delicula, oves deliculas, lanam, pelles, plostrum vetus, ferramenta vetera, servum senem, servum morbosum, et siquid aliut supersit, vendat. patrem familias vendacem, non emacem esse oportet.

Let him look over the livestock. Let him hold a sale: let him sell the oil, if it has a price, [and] the wine [and] grain that is left over let him sell; aging oxen, blemished cattle, blemished sheep, wool, hides, an old wagon, old iron tools, an old slave, a sickly slave, and if anything else is left over, let him sell [it]. The head of the household should be a seller, not a buyer.

He should look over the livestock and hold a sale. He should sell the oil if the price is good, and sell whatever wine and grain is left over. He should sell aging oxen, blemished cattle and sheep, wool, hides, an old wagon, old tools, an old slave, a sick slave, and anything else left over.9 The master should be fond of selling, not of buying.

9. Cato lists people with animals and tools. Plutarch, in his Life of Cato, condemns the practice of selling slaves when they grew old.

Haec erunt vilici officia. disciplina bona utatur. feriae serventur. alieno manum abstineat, sua servet diligenter. litibus familia supersedeat: siquis quid deliquerit, pro noxa bono modo vindicet.

These will be the duties of the overseer. Let him use good discipline. Let the holidays be kept. Let him keep [his] hand off what is another's, let him guard his own carefully. Let the household refrain from quarrels; if anyone has done wrong in anything, let him punish in good measure for the offense.

These are the overseer’s duties. He must keep good order. The holidays must be kept. He must keep his hands off other people’s property and take good care of his own. The slaves must keep out of quarrels. If anyone does wrong, the overseer must punish him in fair measure for the offense.

familiae male ne sit, ne algeat, ne esuriat: opere bene exerceat, facilius malo et alieno prohibebit. vilicus si nolet male facere, non faciet. si passus erit, dominus inpune ne sinat esse. pro beneficio gratiam referat, ut aliis recte facere libeat. vilicus ne sit ambulator, sobrius siet semper, ad cenam nequo eat. familiam exerceat, consideret, quae dominus imperaverit fiant. ne plus censeat sapere se quam dominum.

Let it not go badly for the household, let it not be cold, let it not be hungry. Let him keep [them] well busy with work; he will more easily keep [them] from wrongdoing and from what is another's. If the overseer will not want to do wrong, he will not do it. If he has allowed [it], let the master not allow [him] to be unpunished. Let him return thanks for a kindness, so that it may please others to act rightly. Let the overseer not be a stroller, let him be sober always, let him not go anywhere to dinner. Let him keep the household busy, let him see to it that what the master has ordered be done. Let him not think that he knows more than the master.

The slaves must not be badly off. They must not be cold or hungry. The overseer must keep them busy with work; then he will find it easier to keep them from wrongdoing and from other people’s property. If the overseer does not want to do wrong, he will not do it. If he allows wrongdoing, the master must not let him go unpunished. He must reward good service, so that others will want to do right. The overseer must not wander about. He must always be sober and must not go out to dinner anywhere. He must keep the slaves at work and see that the master’s orders are carried out. He must not think he knows more than the master.

rationem cum domino crebro putet. operarium, mercennarium, politorem diutius eundem ne habeat die. nequid emisse velit insciente domino, neu quid dominum celavisse velit. parasitum nequem habeat. haruspicem, augurem, hariolum, Chaldaeum nequem consuluisse velit. segetem ne defrudet: nam id infelix est. opus rusticum omne curet uti sciat facere, et id faciat saepe, dum ne lassus fiat:

Let him reckon accounts with the master often. Let him not keep the same laborer, hired man, [or] cultivator longer than a day. Let him not want to have bought anything without the master knowing, nor want to have hidden anything from the master. Let him not have any hanger-on. Let him not want to have consulted any haruspex, augur, soothsayer, Chaldean. Let him not cheat the crop: for that is unlucky [unfruitful?]. Let him take care that he knows how to do all farm work, and let him do it often, provided he does not become exhausted;

He must go over the accounts with the master often. He must not keep the same day laborer, hired hand, or cultivator for more than a day. He must not buy anything without the master’s knowledge, or hide anything from the master. He must not keep any hangers-on. He must not consult any diviner, augur, fortune-teller, or astrologer.10 He must not cheat the crop [of seed or care], for that brings bad luck. He must make sure he knows how to do every kind of farm work, and he must do it often, but not so much that he wears himself out.

10. A diviner (haruspex) read the will of the gods in the organs of sacrificed animals; an augur read it in the flight of birds; “Chaldeans” were astrologers.

si fecerit, scibit in mente familiae quid sit, et illi animo aequiore facient. si hoc faciet, minus libebit ambulare et valebit rectius et dormibit libentius. primus cubitu surgat, postremus cubitum eat. prius villam videat clausa uti siet, et uti suo quisque loco cubet et uti iumenta pabulum habeant.

if he has done [so], he will know what is in the mind of the household, and they will work with a more contented spirit. If he does this, it will please [him] less to stroll about, and he will be in better health and will sleep more gladly. Let him rise first from bed, go to bed last. First let him see that the farmhouse is shut, and that each sleeps in his own place, and that the work animals have fodder.

If he does, he will know what the slaves are thinking, and they will work more willingly. If he does this, he will want to wander about less, he will be healthier, and he will sleep better. He must be the first out of bed and the last to bed. Before he goes to bed, he must see that the farmhouse is shut, that everyone is sleeping in his own place, and that the animals have their fodder.

Libum hoc modo facito. casei P. II bene disterat in mortario. ubi bene distriverit, farinae siligineae libram aut, si voles tenerius esse, selibram similaginis eodem indito permiscetoque cum caseo bene. ovum unum addito et una permisceto bene. inde panem facito, folia subdito, in foco caldo sub testu coquito leniter.

Make libum in this way. Let [one] crush 2 pounds of cheese well in a mortar. When he has crushed it well, put in the same [place] a pound of siligo flour or, if you will want it to be softer, half a pound of fine flour, and mix [it] well with the cheese. Add one egg and mix together well. Then make a loaf, put leaves under [it], bake slowly on a hot hearth under a baking cover.

How to make libum.11 Crush 2 pounds12 of cheese thoroughly in a mortar. When it is well crushed, add a pound of wheat flour, or half a pound of the finest flour if you want the cake softer, and mix it well with the cheese. Add one egg and mix well again. Shape it into a loaf, set it on leaves, and bake it slowly on a hot hearth under a clay cover.13

11. Libum was a cake of cheese and flour, often offered to the gods.
12. The Roman pound (libra) weighed about three-quarters of a modern pound, or about 325 grams.
13. Testu, an earthenware lid set over food on the hearth and covered with hot coals: a small oven.

Placentam sic facito. farinae siligineae L. II, unde solum facias, in tracta farinae L. IIII et alicae primae L. II. alicam in aquam infundito. ubi bene mollis erit, in mortarium purum indito siccatoque bene. deinde manibus depsito. ubi bene subactum erit, farinae L. IIII paulatim addito. id utrumque tracta facito. in qualo, ubi arescant, conponito.

Make placenta thus: 2 pounds of siligo flour, from which you may make the base; for the tracta 4 pounds of flour and 2 pounds of best alica. Pour the alica into water. When it is quite soft, put [it] into a clean mortar and dry [it] well. Then knead with the hands. When it has been well worked, add the 4 pounds of flour little by little. From both make tracta. Arrange [them] in a basket, where they may dry.

How to make a placenta.14 Take 2 pounds of wheat flour for the base. For the pastry sheets, take 4 pounds of flour and 2 pounds of the best spelt groats.15 Soak the groats in water. When they are quite soft, put them in a clean mortar and drain them well. Then knead them by hand. When the dough is well worked, add the 4 pounds of flour a little at a time. Make the whole into pastry sheets and lay them out in a basket to dry.

14. A large layered cake of pastry, sheep’s cheese and honey. The name comes from the Greek plakous, a flat cake.
15. Alica, coarse-ground spelt, an old kind of wheat.

tracta singula in totum solum primum ponito, deinde de mortario tracta linito, tracta addito singulatim, item linito usque adeo, donec omne caseum cum melle abusus eris. in summum tracta singula indito, postea solum contrahito ornatoque focum † de ve primo temperatoque, tunc placentam inponito, testo caldo operito, pruna insuper et circum operito. videto ut bene et otiose percoquas. aperito, dum inspicias, bis aut ter. ubi cocta erit, eximito et melle unguito. haec erit placenta semodialis.

First put single tracta over the whole base, then smear the tracta from the mortar, add tracta one by one, smear likewise until you have used up all the cheese with the honey. On the top put single tracta, afterwards draw the base together and prepare the hearth † de ve primo [corrupt] and regulate [the heat], then put the placenta on, cover with a hot cover, cover with coals above and around. See that you bake [it] through well and slowly. Open [it], to inspect, two or three times. When it is baked, take [it] out and spread with honey. This will be a placenta of half a modius.

First lay pastry sheets one by one over the whole base. Then spread them with the cheese mixture from the mortar. Add more sheets one at a time, spreading each layer the same way, until you have used up all the cheese and honey. Lay single sheets on top. Then draw up the edges of the base. Prepare the hearth16 and get the heat right. Then put in the placenta, cover it with a hot clay lid, and heap coals on top and all around. Make sure it bakes through, well and slowly. Lift the lid two or three times to look at it. When it is done, take it out and spread it with honey. This makes a placenta of half a modius.17

16. Goetz marks the next words (de ve primo) as corrupt. Their meaning is unknown, so they are left out.
17. A modius was a dry measure of nearly 2 gallons (about 9 liters).

Globos sic facito. caseum cum alica ad eundem modum misceto. inde quantos voles facere facito. in ahenum caldum unguen indito. singulos aut binos coquito versatoque crebro duabus rudibus, coctos eximito, eos melle unguito, papaver infriato, ita ponito.

Make globi thus. Mix cheese with alica in the same way. Then make as many as you will want to make. Put fat into a hot bronze pot. Cook one or two at a time and turn often with two sticks, take out the cooked ones, spread them with honey, sprinkle poppy [seed], serve thus.

How to make globi [cheese balls]. Mix cheese with spelt groats in the same way [as before]. Then make as many balls as you like. Put fat into a hot bronze pot. Fry them one or two at a time, turning them often with two sticks. Take them out when they are cooked, spread them with honey, sprinkle them with poppy seed, and serve.

Savillum hoc modo facito. farinae selibram, casei P. II S una conmisceto quasi libum, mellis P. ≡ et ovum unum. catinum fictile oleo unguito. ubi omnia bene conmiscueris, in catinum indito, catinum testo operito. videto ut bene percocas medium, ubi altissimum est. ubi coctum erit, catinum eximito, melle unguito, papaver infriato, sub testum subde paulisper, postea eximito. ita pone cum catillo et lingula.

Make savillum in this way. Mix together half a pound of flour, 2½ pounds of cheese, as for libum, a quarter pound [≡] of honey and one egg. Grease an earthenware dish with oil. When you have mixed everything well, put [it] into the dish, cover the dish with a baking cover. See that you bake the middle well through, where it is highest. When it is baked, take out the dish, spread with honey, sprinkle poppy [seed], put [it] under the cover for a little while, afterward take [it] out. Serve it so, with a dish and a spoon.

How to make savillum [a sweet cheesecake]. Mix together half a pound of flour and 2½ pounds of cheese, as for libum, with a quarter pound of honey18 and one egg. Grease an earthenware dish with oil. When everything is well mixed, put it in the dish and cover the dish with a clay lid. Make sure it bakes right through in the middle, where it is highest. When it is done, take out the dish, spread the cake with honey, and sprinkle it with poppy seed. Put it back under the lid for a little while, then take it out. Serve it with a small dish and a spoon.

18. The edition prints a sign of three short strokes. Read with pondo, it means a quarter pound.