Cato on Farming

Cato wrote the earliest surviving complete work of Latin prose literature and it was this treatise, De agricultura a book of instruction about the cultivation of vines, olives and fruit, the management of slaves and contract labour, the rituals consequent on ownership and even cookery for humans and the pharmacy. Because of its date, the 2nd century BC, it is a particularly important resource for students of Latin and of early Roman society as well as, of course, enthusiasts of cookery, for these are the first recipes to have survived in the Latin language.

Andrew Dalby has provided an intelligent, accurate, modern translation of the Latin, which is here printed as a parallel text. The English is fully annotated to enable better understanding of the terms and references in Cato’s writing. Many comparisons are drawn with later Roman authors to elucidate this difficult, yet important text. The introduction places the man and his work in context and discusses specific problems of textural arrangement and organization and agricultural practice. There are several drawings to aid appreciation of Cato’s descriptions of buildings and equipment.