Workbook Documents	Rome (509 BC - AD 284)
	Cato the Censor: On Agriculture, Cicero: Scipio's Dream, Tacitus: Admitting Provincials to the Senate, The Pantheon, Juvenal: Satire on Women

Cato the Censor (Elder): On Agriculture (d. 149 BC)

On where to sow your crops you should work to these rules. A fat and fertile ground, with no trees, can be a wheat field. One that tends to be cloudy  should be sown with rape, radish, broomcorn millet, foxtail millet. In rich and hot ground grow pickling olives: choose from radius maior, Sallentina, orcites, posea, Sergiana, Colminiana, albiceres whichever people say does best in your district. Plant this type of olive 25 or 30 feet apart. For an olive plantation the ground must face the Favonius and be sunny: no other will suit, but the Liciniana olive can be planted in a rather cooler and leaner soil. If you plant this last variety in a fat or hot ground the crop will be good for nothing, the tree will exhaust itself in cropping and will be plagued with red moss.

By field margins and roadways plant elms and some poplars, so that you have the boughs for sheep and oxen and wood to hand when you need it.  Where these are river banks, or in waterlogged soil, you can plant poplar stands and reed beds. These are planted as follows: turn over with a spade,  plant reed rhizomes three feet apart. Plant wild asparagus crowns there too: reeds and asparagus go together in the digging, in the burning and because  one shades the other meanwhile. Plant Greek willows around the reed bed, then you will have something to tie the vines to the reeds with! . . .

In a property close to the City orchard planting is especially useful: timber and sticks can be marketed, and are there for the owner’s use too. . . .

Fruit: both strutea and cotonea quinces; Scantiana, Quiriniana and other apples for conserving; mustea quinces; pomegranates, pig’s urine or pig’s dung to be put to the roots to feed the fruit; pears, volaema, Aniciana sementiva, which are good for preserving in must, Tarentina, mustea, cucurbitiva and others; plant or graft as many as you can fit in;orchites and posia olives, which are best preserved, young, in brine, or crushed with mastic. Orchites, black and dried, can alternatively be kept in salt for five days, then, the salt discarded, placed in the sun for two days; or preserved in grape syrup without salt. . .

Marisca figs to be planted on a clayey, open ground. Africanae, Herculaneae, Sacontinae, hibernae, black tellanae with long pedicles, to be planted on a rather fat or well-manured ground.

Let the grass grow long, irrigated if possible, dry if not, for your supply of hay.

Close to the City be sure to grow all kinds of vegetables; all kinds of flowers for wreaths; grape-hyacinths; myrtles, coniugulum, white and black;

Delphic, Cypriot and forest bay; walnuts, filberts, hazelnuts, almonds. A market garden, especially if it is all that one has, must be planted for maximum

productivity.

In well-watered, damp, shady places, near streams, willows can be planted: make sure that they are productive, whether for the owner’s use or for sale. By all means have an irrigated hayfield if you have water; if not, grow as much hay dry as you can. . . .

Autumn Sowing; More Notes on Where to Plant

I return to sowing. Sow first in the coldest, wettest field. The last sowing should be made in the hottest field. Avoid working carious land.

Red earth, grey earth, ground that is heavy, stony, sandy, and also that is not watery: lupins will do well there.

In chalk and mud and red earth and in watery ground, it is best to sow emmer.

Fields that are dry and not weedy, open and not shaded: sow durum wheat there.

Sow beans in fields that are strong and not prone to fail.

Sow vetch and fenugreek in your least weedy fields.

You should sow bread wheat and durum wheat in open, high fields where the sun shines longest.

Sow lentil in stony ground or red earth that is not weedy.

Sow barley in a newly cleared field or in one that can be sown every year.

You should sow three-month wheat in a field that you were unable to sow early, or a field that is fat enough to be sown every year.

Sow turnip, field rape and radish in a well-manured field or a fat field.

Memoranda on Crops and Manuring

Manure for crops:

You can spread pigeon dung on pasture, garden or arable field.

Store goat, sheep, ox and all other dung carefully.

Spread amurca, or water trees with it: around larger heads, dose 1 amphora; smaller, 1 urna; add half of water. Trench beforehand, but not deeply.

Bad for crops:

To dig carious ground.

Chickpea is bad, because it is pulled up, and because it is salty.

Barley, fenugreek, bitter vetch, all suck the field dry; so do all crops that are pulled up.

Do not put olive stones to the crop.

Legumes that feed cereals:

Lupin, beans, vetch.

Sources of manure:

Straw, lupin, chaff, beanstalks, pods, holm-oak and oak foliage.

In Winter

Pull out danewort, hemlock, from the crop, and herba alta and sedge from the willow bed. Lay this stinking foliage as litter for sheep and oxen.

Sieve the debris from the olive stones, put in a tank, add water, turn over well with a shovel. Use this mixture to manure trenched olives; also use burnt olive stones.

If a vineyard is poor, chop up its shoots and plough them or dig them in at the spot.

Questions: Why do you think Cato's advice to farmers was often followed? Do you see any patterns in his recommendations?

Cicero: Scipio's Dream (d. 43 BC)

Here I had the following dream, occasioned, as I verily believe, by our preceding conversation -- for it frequently happens that the thoughts and discourses which have employed us in the daytime, produce in our sleep an effect somewhat similar to that which Ennius writes happened to him about Homer, of whom, in his waking hours, he used frequently to think and speak.

Africanus, I thought, appeared to me in that shape, with which I was better acquainted from his picture, than from any personal knowledge of him. When I perceived it was he, I confess I trembled with consternation; but he addressed me, saying, Take courage, my Scipio, be not afraid, and carefully remember what I am saying to you.

Do you see that city Carthage, which, though brought under the Roman yoke by me, is now renewing former wars, and cannot live in peace? (and he pointed to Carthage from a lofty spot, full of stars, and brilliant and glittering;) to attack which city you are this day arrived in a station not much superior to that of a private soldier. Before two years, however, are elapsed, you shall be consul, and complete its overthrow; and you shall obtain, by your own merit, the surname of Africanus, which, as yet, belongs to you no otherwise than as derived from me. And when you have destroyed Carthage, and received the honor of a triumph, and been made censor, and, in quality of ambassador, visited Egypt, Syria, Asia, and Greece, you shall be elected a second time consul in your absence, and by utterly destroying Numantia, put an end to a most dangerous war.

But when you have entered the Capitol in your triumphal car, you shall find the Roman commonwealth all in a ferment, through the intrigues of my grandson Tiberius Gracchus.

It is on this occasion, my dear Africanus, that you show your country the greatness of your understanding, capacity and prudence. . . . On you the senate, all good citizens, the allies, the people of Latium, shall cast their eyes; on you the preservation of the state shall entirely depend. In a word, if you escape the impious machinations of your relatives, you will, in the quality of dictator, establish order and tranquility in the commonwealth. . . .

Now, in order to encourage you, my dear Africanus, continued the shade of my ancestor, to defend the state with the greater cheerfulness, be assured that for all those who have in any way conduced to the preservation, defense, and enlargement of their native country, there is a certain place in heaven, where they shall enjoy an eternity of happiness. . . .

[They look at the earth from above.]

I perceive that you are still employed in contemplating the seat and residence of mankind. But if it appears to you so small, as in fact it really is, despise its vanities, and fix your attention for ever on these heavenly objects. Is it possible that you should attain any human applause or glory that is worth the contending for? The earth, you see, is peopled but in a very few places, and those too of small extent; and they appear like so many little spots of green scattered through vast uncultivated deserts. And those who inhabit the earth are not only so remote from each other as to be cut off from all mutual correspondence, but their situation being in oblique or contrary parts of the globe, or perhaps in those diametrically opposite to yours, all expectation of universal fame must fall to the ground.

You may likewise observe that the same globe of the earth is girt and surrounded with certain zones, whereof those two that are most remote from each other, and lie under the opposite poles of heaven, are congealed with frost; but that one in the middle, which is far the largest, is scorched with the intense heat of the sun. The other two are habitable, one towards the south -- the inhabitants of which are your Antipodes, with whom you have no connection -- the other, towards the north, is that which you inhabit, whereof a very small part, as you may see, falls to your share. For the whole extent of what you see, is as it were but a little island, narrow at both ends and wide in the middle, which is surrounded by the sea which on earth you call the great Atlantic ocean, and which, notwithstanding this magnificent name, you see is very insignificant. And even in these cultivated and well-known countries, has yours, or any of our names, ever passed the heights of the Caucasus, or the currents of the Ganges? In what other parts to the north or the south, or where the sun rises and sets, will your names ever be heard? And if we leave these out of the question, how small a space is there left for your glory to spread itself abroad? and how long will it remain in the memory of those whose minds are now full of it?

Besides all this, if the progeny of any future generation should wish to transmit to their posterity the praises of any one of us which they have heard from their forefathers, yet the deluges and combustions of the earth which must necessarily happen at their destined periods will prevent our obtaining, not only an eternal, but even a durable glory. . . .

If, then, you wish to elevate your views to the contemplation of this eternal seat of splendor, you will not be satisfied with the praises of your fellow-mortals, nor with any human rewards that your exploits can obtain; but Virtue herself must point out to you the true and only object worthy of your pursuit. Leave to others to speak of you as they may, for speak they will. Their discourses will be confined to the narrow limits of the countries you see, nor will their duration be very extensive, for they will perish like those who utter them, and will be no more remembered by their posterity. . . .

Do you, therefore, exercise this mind of yours in the best pursuits. And the best pursuits are those which consist in promoting the good of your country. Such employments will speed the flight of your mind to this its proper abode; and its flight will be still more rapid, if, even while it is enclosed in the body, it will look abroad, and disengage itself as much as possible from its bodily dwelling, by the contemplation of things which are external to itself.

Questions:

What does Cicero's story demonstrate about Roman knowledge? What goals are appropriate for Rome's governmnet?

Tacitus: Admitting Provincials to the Senate (AD 48)

In 48 CE the emperor Claudius filled some vacancies in the Senate with some Roman citizens from Gaul. This began the process of extending  the Senate to be a body with members from the entire Empire. His activity, and speech on the issue, was recorded by Tacitus. An inscription  of part of Claudius' speech also survives.

In the consulship of Aulus Vitellius and Lucius Vipstanus the question of filling up the Senate was discussed, and the chief men of Gallia Comata, as it was called, who had long possessed the rights of allies and of Roman citizens, sought the privilege of obtaining public offices at Rome. There was much talk of every kind on the subject, and it was argued before the emperor with vehement opposition. "Italy," it was asserted, "is not so feeble as to be unable to furnish its own capital with a senate. Once our native-born citizens sufficed for peoples of our own kin, and we are by no means dissatisfied with the Rome of the past. To this day we cite examples, which under our old customs the Roman character exhibited as to valour and renown. Is it a small thing that Veneti and Insubres have already burst into the Senate-house, unless a mob of foreigners, a troop of captives, so to say, is now forced upon us? What distinctions will be left for the remnants of our noble houses, or for any impoverished senators from Latium? Every place will be crowded with these millionaires, whose ancestors of the second and third generations at the head of hostile tribes destroyed our armies with fire and sword, and actually besieged the divine Julius at Alesia. These are recent memories. What if there were to rise up the remembrance of those who fell in Rome's citadel and at her altar by the hands of these same barbarians! Let them enjoy indeed the title of citizens, but let them not vulgarise the distinctions of the Senate and the honours of office."

These and like arguments failed to impress the emperor. He at once addressed himself to answer them, and thus harangued the assembled Senate. "My ancestors, the most ancient of whom was made at once a citizen and a noble of Rome, encourage me to govern by the same policy of transferring to this city all conspicuous merit, wherever found. And indeed I know, as facts, that the Julii came from Alba, the Coruncanii from Camerium, the Porcii from Tusculum, and not to inquire too minutely into the past, that new members have been brought into the Senate from Etruria and Lucania and the whole of Italy, that Italy itself was at last extended to the Alps, to the end that not only single persons but entire countries and tribes might be united under our name. We had unshaken peace at home; we prospered in all our foreign relations, in the days when Italy beyond the Po was admitted to share our citizenship, and when, enrolling in our ranks the most vigorous of the provincials, under colour of settling our legions throughout the world, we recruited our exhausted empire. Are we sorry that the Balbi came to us from Spain, and other men not less illustrious from Narbon Gaul? Their descendants are still among us, and do not yield to us in patriotism.

"What was the ruin of Sparta and Athens, but this, that mighty as they were in war, they spurned from them as aliens those whom they had conquered? Our founder Romulus, on the other hand, was so wise that he fought as enemies and then hailed as fellow-citizens several nations on the very same day. Strangers have reigned over us. That freedmen's sons should be intrusted with public offices is not, as many wrongly think, a sudden innovation, but was a common practice in the old commonwealth. But, it will be said, we have fought with the Senones. I suppose then that the Volsci and Aequi never stood in array against us. Our city was taken by the Gauls. Well, we also gave hostages to the Etruscans, and passed under the yoke of the Samnites. On the whole, if you review all our wars, never has one been finished in a shorter time than that with the Gauls. Thenceforth they have preserved an unbroken and loyal peace. United as they now are with us by manners, education, and intermarriage, let them bring us their gold and their wealth rather than enjoy it in isolation. Everything, Senators, which we now hold to be of the highest antiquity, was once new. Plebeian magistrates came after patrician; Latin magistrates after plebeian; magistrates of other Italian peoples after Latin. This practice too will establish itself, and what we are this day justifying by precedents, will be itself a precedent."

The emperor's speech was followed by a decree of the Senate, and the Aedui were the first to obtain the right of becoming senators at Rome. This compliment was paid to their ancient alliance, and to the fact that they alone of the Gauls cling to the name of brothers of the Roman people.

Question:

How does the emperor use history to make his argument?

  The Pantheon (AD 118-125)

Question:

What does this building tell us about ancient Rome?

Juvenal: Satire on Women (d. 130)

Why tell of love potions and incantations, of poisons brewed and administered to a stepson, or of the grosser crimes to which women are driven by the imperious power of sex? Their sins of lust are the least of all their sins.

"But tell me why is Censennia, on her husband's testimony, the best of wives?" She brought him a million sesterces; that is the price at which he calls her chaste. He has not pined under the arrows of Venus' quiver; he was never burnt by her torch. It was the dowry that lighted his fires, the dowry that shot those arrows! That dowry bought liberty for her: she may make what signals, and write what love letters she pleases, before her husband's face; the rich woman who marries a money-loving husband is as good as unmarried.

"Why does Sertorius burn with love for Bibula?" If you shake out the truth, it is the face that he loves, not the wife. Let three wrinkles make their appearance; let her skin become dry and flabby ; let her teeth turn black, and her eyes lose their lustre: then will his freedman give her the order, "Pack up your traps and be off! you've become a nuisance; you are for ever blowing your nose; be off, and quick about it! There's another wife coming who will not sniffle." But till that day comes, the Lady rules the roast, asking her husband for shepherds and Canusian sheep, and elms for her Falernian vines. But that's a mere nothing: she asks for all his slave-boys, all his prison-gangs; everything that her neighbour possesses, and that she does not possess, must be bought. . . .

"Do you say no worthy wife is to be found among all these crowds?" Well, let her be handsome, charming, rich and fertile; let her have ancient ancestors ranged about her halls; let her be more chaste than all the dishevelled Sabine maidens who stopped the war--a prodigy as rare upon the earth as a black swan! yet who could endure a wife that possessed all perfections? I would rather have a Venusian wench for my wife than you, O Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, if, with all your virtues, you bring me a hanghty brow, and reckon up Triumphs as part of your marriage portion. . . . And who was ever so enamoured as not to shrink from the woman whom he praises to the skies, and to hate her for seven hours out of every twelve?

Some small faults are intolerable to husbands. What can be more offensive than this, that no woman believes in her own beauty unless she has converted herself from a Tuscan into a Greekling (Greeks were considered lustful) , or from a maid of Sulmo (birthplace of Ovid) into a true maid of Athens? They talk nothing but Greek, though it is a greater shame for our people to be ignorant of Latin. Their fears and their wrath, their joys and their troubles--all the secrets of their souls--are poured forth in Greek; their very loves are carried on in Greek fashion. All this might be pardoned in a girl; but will you, who are hard on your eighty-sixth year, still talk in Greek? That tongue is not decent in an old woman's mouth. When you come out with the wanton words [Greek], you are using in public the language of the bed-chamber. Carressing and naughty words like these incite to love; but though you say them more tenderly than a Haemus or a Carpophorus (famous actors at the time) , they will cause no fluttering of the heart--your years are counted upon your face!

. . . If you are honestly uxorious, and devoted to one woman, then bow your head and submit your neck ready to bear the yoke. Never will you find a woman who spares the man who loves her; for though she be herself aflame, she delights to torment and plunder him. So the better the man, the more desirable he be as a husband, the less good by far will he get out of his wife. No present will you ever make if your wife forbids; nothing will you ever sell if she objects; nothing will you buy without her consent. She will arrange your friendships for you; she will turn your now-aged friend from the door which saw the beginnings of his beard. Panders and trainers can make their wills as they please, as also can the gentlemen of the arena; but you will have to write down among your heirs more than one rival of your own.

"Crucify that slave!" says the wife. "But what crime worthy of death has he committed?" asks the husband; "where are the witnesses? who informed against him? Give him a hearing at least; no delay can be too long when a man's life is at stake!" "What, you numbskull? you call a slave a man, do you? He has done no wrong, you say? Be it so; this is my will and my command: let my will be the voucher for the deed."

Thus does she lord it over her husband. But before long she vacates her kingdom; she flits from one home to another, wearing out her bridal veil; then back she flies again and returns to her own imprints in the bed that she has abandoned, leaving behind her the newly decorated door, the festal hangings on the walls, and the branches green still over the threshold. Thus does the tale of her husbands grow; there will be eight of them in the course of five autumns--a fact worthy of commemoration on her tomb!

Give up all hope of peace so long as your mother-in-law is alive. It is she that teaches her daughter to revel in stripping and despoiling her husband; it is she that teaches her to reply to a seducer's love-letters in no unskilled and innocent fashion; she eludes or bribes your guards; it is she that calls in Archigenes (a famous doctor) when your daughter has nothing the matter with her, and tosses about the heavy blankets; the lover meanwhile is in secret and silent hiding, trembling with impatience and expectation. Do you really expect the mother to teach her daughter honest ways--ways different from her own? Nay, the vile old woman finds a profit in bringing up her daughter to be vile.

There never was a case in court in which the quarrel was not started by a woman. . . .

Question:

What does this passage tell you about Roman women and men?

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