[140] Si fodere voles, altero piaculo eodem modo facito, hoc amplius dicito: “Operis faciundi causa”. Dum opus, cotidie per partes facito. Si intermiseris aut feriae publicae aut familiares intercesserint, altero piaculo facito.
[140] 1 If you wish to till the ground, offer a second sacrifice in the same way, with the addition of the words: “for the sake of doing this work.” So long as the work continues, the ritual must be performed in some part of the land every day; and if you miss a day, or if public or domestic feast days intervene, a new offering must be made.
[141] Agrum lustrare sic oportet. Impera suovitaurilia circumagi: “Cum divis volentibus quodque bene eveniat, mando tibi, Mani, uti illace suovitaurilia fundum agrum terramque meam quota ex parte sive circumagi sive circumferenda censeas, uti cures lustrare.” Ianum Iovemque vino praefamino, sic dicito:
“Mars pater te precor quaesoque
uti sies volens propitius
mihi domo familiaeque nostrae;
quoius rei ergo
agrum terram fundumque meum
suovitaurilia circum agi iussi:
uti tu morbos visos invisosque
viduertatem vastitudinemque,
calamitates intemperiasque
prohibessis defendas averruncesque;
uti tu fruges frumenta vineta virgultaque
grandire dueneque evenire siris,
pastores pecuaque salva servassis;
duisque duonam salutem valetudinemque
mihi domo familiaeque nostrae:
harunce rerum ergo
fundi terrae agrique mei
lustrandi lustrique faciundi ergo,
sic ut dixi,
macte hisce suovitaurilibus
lactentibus immolandis esto:
Mars pater,
eiusdem rei ergo
macte hisce suovitaurilibus
lactentibus immolandis esto.”
Item cultro facito struem et fertum uti adsiet, inde obmoveto. Ubi porcum inmolabis, agnum vitulumque, sic oportet:
“eiusdem rei ergo
macte hisce suovitaurilibus
immolandis esto.”
Nominare vetat Martem neque agnum vitulumque. Si minus in omnis litabit, sic verba concipito:
“Mars pater, quod tibi illoc porco neque satisfactum est, te hoc porco piaculo”.
[141] 1 The following is the formula for purifying land: Bidding the suovetaurilia to be led around, use the words: “That with the good help of the gods success may crown our work, I bid thee, Manius, to take care to purify my farm, my land, my ground with this suovetaurilia, in whatever part thou thinkest best for them to be driven or carried around.” 2 Make a prayer with wine to Janus and Jupiter, and say: “Father Mars, I pray and beseech thee that thou be gracious and merciful to me, my house, and my household; to which intent I have bidden this suovetaurilia to be led around my land, my ground, my farm; that thou keep away, ward off, and remove sickness, seen and unseen, barrenness and destruction, ruin and unseasonable influence; 3 and that thou permit my harvests, my grain, my vineyards, and my plantations to flourish and to come to good issue, preserve in health my shepherds and my flocks, and give good health and strength to me, my house, and my household. To this intent, to the intent of purifying my farm, my land, my ground, and of making an expiation, as I have said, deign to accept the offering of these suckling victims; Father Mars, to the same intent deign to accept the offering of these suckling offering.” 4 Also heap the cakes with the knife and see that the oblation cake be hard by, then present the victims. When you offer up the pig, the lamb, and the calf, use this formula: “To this intent deign to accept the offering of these victims.” . . . If favourable omens are not obtained in response to all, speak thus: “Father Mars, if aught hath not pleased thee in the offering of those sucklings, I make atonement with these victims.” If there is doubt about one or two, use these words: “Father Mars, inasmuch as thou wast not pleased by the offering of that pig, I make atonement with this pig.”
[142] Vilici officia quae sunt, quae dominus praecepit, ea omnia quae in fundo fieri oportet quaeque emi pararique oportet, quo modoque cibaria, vestimenta familiae dari oportet, eadem uti curet faciatque moneo dominoque dicto audiens sit. Hoc amplius, quo modo vilicam uti oportet et quo modo eae imperari oportet, uti adventu domini quae opus sunt parentur curenturque diligenter.
[142] 1 Those things which are the duty of the overseer, the instructions which the master has given, all those things which should be done on the farm and what should be bought or brought in, and how food and raiment should be issued to the servants — the same I warn that he do and perform, and that he hearken to the master’s instructions. Furthermore, he must know how to manage the housekeeper and how to give her directions, so that the master, at his coming, will find that all necessary preparations and arrangements have been made with care.
[143] Vilicae quae sunt officia curato faciat; si eam tibi dederit dominus uxorem, esto contentus; ea te metuat facito; ne nimium luxuriosa siet; vicinas aliasque mulieres quam minimum utatur neve domum neve ad sese recipiat; ad coenam ne quo eat neve ambulatrix siet; rem divinam ni faciat neve mandet qui pro ea faciat iniussu domini aut dominae: scito dominum pro tota familia rem divinam facere. Munda siet: villam conversam mundeque habeat; focum purum circumversum cotidie, priusquam cubitum eat, habeat. Kal., Idibus, Nonis, festus dies cum erit, coronam in focum indat, per eosdemque dies lari familiari pro copia supplicet. Cibum tibi et familiae curet uti coctum habeat. Gallinas multas et ova uti habeat. Pira arida, sorba, ficos, uvas passas, sorba in sapa et piras et uvas in doliis et mala struthea, uvas in vinaciis et in urceis in terra obrutas et nuces Praenestinas recentes in urceo in terra obrutas habeat. Mala Scantiana in doliis et alia quae condi solent et silvatica, haec omnia quotannis diligenter uti condita habeat. Farinam bonam et far suptile sciat facere.
[143] 1 See that the housekeeper performs all her duties. If the master has given her to you as wife, keep yourself only to her. Make her stand in awe of you. Restrain her from extravagance. She must visit the neighbouring and other women very seldom, and not have them either in the house or in her part of it. She must not go out to meals, or be a gadabout. She must not engage in religious worship herself or get others to engage in it for her without the orders of the master or the mistress; let her remember that the master attends to the devotions for the whole household. She must be neat herself, and keep the farmstead neat and clean. She must clean and tidy the hearth every night before she goes to bed. On the Kalends, Ides, and Nones, and whenever a holy day comes, she must hang a garland over the hearth, and on those days pray to the household gods as the opportunity offers. She must keep a supply of cooked food on hand for you and the servants. She must keep many hens and have plenty of eggs. She must have a large store of dried pears, sorbs, figs, raisins, sorbs in must, preserved pears and grapes and quinces. She must also keep preserved grapes in grape-pulp and in pots buried in the ground, as well as fresh Praenestine nuts kept in the same way, and Scantian quinces in jars, and other fruits that are usually preserved, as well as wild fruits. All these she must store away diligently every year. She must also know how to make good flour and to grind spelt fine.
[144] Oleam legendam hoc modo locare oportet. Oleam cogito recte omnem arbitratu domini, aut quem custodem fecerit, aut cui olea venierit. Oleam ne stringito neve verberato iniussu domini aut custodis. Si adversus ea quis fecerit, quod ipse eo die delegerit, pro eo nemo solvet neque debebitur. Qui oleam legerint, omnes iuranto ad dominum aut ad custodem sese oleam non subripuisse neque quemquam suo dolo malo ea oletate ex fundo L. Manli. Qui eorum non ita iuraverit, quod is legerit omne, pro eo argentum nemo dabit neque debebitur. Oeam cogi recte satis dato arbitratu L. Manli. Scalae ita uti datae erunt, ita reddito, nisi quae vetustate fractae erunt. Si non erunt redditae, aequom viri boni arbitratu deducetur. Siquid redemptoris opera domino damni datum erit, resolvito; id viri boni arbitratu deducetur. Legulos, quot opus erit, praebeto et strictores. Si non praebuerit, quanti conductum erit aut locatum erit, deducetur; tanto minus debebitur. De fundo ligna et oleam ne deportato. Qui oleam legerit, qui deportarit, in singulas deportationes SS. N. II deducentur neque id debebitur. Omnem oleam puram metietur modio oleario. Adsiduos homines L praebeto, duas partes strictorum praebeto. Nequis concedat, quo olea legunda et faciunda carius locetur, extra quam siquem socium inpraesentiarum dixerit. Siquis adversum ea fecerit, si dominus aut custos volent, iurent omnes socii. Si non ita iuraverint, pro ea olea legunda et faciunda nemo dabit neque debebitur ei qui non iuraverit. Accessiones: in M xx CC accedit oleae salsae M V, olei puri P. VIIII, in tota oletate aceti Q. V. Quod oleae salsae non acceperint, dum oleam legent, in modios singulos SS. V dabuntur.
[144] 1 Terms for letting the gathering of olives: The contractor will gather the whole harvest carefully, according to the directions of the owner or his representative or the purchaser of the crop. He will not pick or beat down olives without the orders of the owner or his representative. If anyone violates this rule, no one will pay or be liable for what he has picked that day. All gatherers will take an oath before the owner or his representative that they have not stolen olives, nor has anyone with their connivance stolen olives from the estate of Lucius Manlius during that harvest; if any refuse to take the oath, no one will pay or be liable for what he has gathered. He must give security for the proper harvesting of the olives, satisfactory to Lucius Manlius. Ladders are to be returned in as good condition as when they were issued, except those which have been broken because of age; if they are not returned, a fair deduction will be made by arbitration of an honest man. Whatever damage is done the owner through the fault of the contractor the latter will make good, the amount to be deducted after arbitration by an honest person. The contractor will furnish as many gatherers and pickers as are needed; and if he fails to do so, a deduction will be made of the cost of hiring or contracting, and the total will be less by that amount. He is not to remove firewood or olives from the farm; and if any of his gatherers carry them off, a deduction will be made of 2 sesterces for each load, and that amount will not be due. All olives will be measured clean in an olive measure. He is to furnish fifty active workmen, two-thirds being pickers. No one shall form a combination for the purpose of raising the contract price for harvesting and milling olives, unless he names his associate at the time; in case of a violation of this rule, if the owner or his representative wish, all the associates shall take an oath, and if anyone refuses so to swear, no one will pay or be liable for pay for the gathering or milling of the olives to one who has not so sworn. Bonuses: The extra allowance for a harvest of 1200 modii will be 5 modii of salted olives, 9 pounds of pure oil, 5 quadrantals of vinegar for the whole harvest; for that part of the salted olives which they do not take during the harvesting, an allowance of 5 sesterces per modius of the aforesaid will be made.
[145] Oleam faciundam hac lege oportet locare. Facito recte arbitratu domini aut custodis, qui id negotium curabit. Si sex iugis vasis opus erit, facito. Homines eos dato, qui placebunt aut custodi aut quis eam oleam emerit. Si opus erit trapetis facito. Si operarii conducti erunt aut facienda locata erit, pro eo resolvito, aut deducetur. Oleum ne tangito utendi causa neque furandi causa, nisi quod custos dederit aut dominus. Si sumpserit, in singulas sumptiones SS. N. XL deducentur neque debebitur. Factores, qui oleum fecerint, omnes iuranto aut ad dominum aut ad custodem sese de fundo L. Manli neque alium quemquam suo dolo malo oledum neque oleam subripuisse. Qui eorum ita non iuraverit, quae eius pars erit, omne deducetur neque debebitur. Socium nequem habeto, nisi quem dominus iusserit aut custos. Siquid redemptoris opera domino damni datum erit, viri boni arbitratu deducetur. Si viride oleum opus siet, facito. Accedet oleum et sale suae usioni quod satis siet, vasarium vict. II.
[145] 1 Terms on which contracts are to be made for the milling of olives: Mill them honestly, to the satisfaction of the owner or his representative in charge of the work. If necessary, supply six complete equipments. Furnish workmen to the satisfaction of the representative of the owner or the one who has bought the olives. If a mill is necessary, set it up. If labourers are hired, or the work has to be sublet, settle for this, or let it be deducted. Do not touch any oil by way of use or pilfering beyond what the owner or his representative issues; if he takes it, 40 sesterces will be deducted for each offence, and that amount will not be due. All hands engaged in the manufacturing will take an oath before the owner or his representative that neither they nor anyone with their connivance has stolen oil or olives from the farm of Lucius Manlius. If any one of them will not take such an oath, his share of the pay will be deducted, and that amount will not be due. You will have no partner without the approval of the owner or his representative. Any damage done to the owner through the fault of the contractor will be deducted on the decision of an honest person. If green oil is required, make it. There will be an allowance of a sufficient quantity of oil and salt for his own use, and two victoriati as toll.
[146] Oleam pendentem hac lege venire oportet. Olea pendens in fundo Venafro venibit. Qui oleam emerit, amplius quam quanti emerit omnis pecuniae centesima accedet, praeconium praesens SS. L, et oleum: Romanici P. xx D, viridis P. CC, oleae caducae M L, strictivae M X modio oleario mensum dato, unguinis P. X; ponderibus modiisque domini dato frugis primae cotulas duas. Dies argento ex K. Nov. mensum X oleae legendae faciendae quae locata est, et si emptor locarit, Idibus solvito. Recte haec dari fierique satisque dari domino, aut cui iusserit, promittito satisque dato arbitratu domini. Donicum solutum erit aut ita satis datum erit, quae in fundo inlata erunt, pigneri sunto; nequid eorum de fundo deportato; siquid deportaverit, domini esto. Vasa torcula, funes, scalas, trapetos, siquid et aliud datum erit, salva recte reddito, nisi quae vetustate fracta erunt. Si non reddet aequom solvito. Si emptor legulis et factoribus, qui illic opus fecerint, non solverit, cui dari oportebit, si dominus volet, solvat. Emptor domino debeto et id satis dato, proque ea re ita uti S. S. E item pignori sunto.
[146] 1 Terms for the sale of olives on the tree: Olives for sale on the tree on an estate near Venafrum. The purchaser of the olives will add one per cent. of all money more than the purchase price; the auctioneer’s fee of 50 sesterces; and pay 1500 pounds of Roman oil, 200 pounds of green oil, 50 modii of windfall olives, 10 modii of picked olives, all measured by olive measure, and 10 pounds of lubricating oil; and pay 2 cotylae of the first pressing for the use of the weights and measures of the owner. Date of payment: within ten months from the first of November he will pay the contract price for gathering and working up the olives, even if the purchaser has made a contract, on the Ides. Sign a contract and give bond to the satisfaction of the owner or his representative that such payments will be made in good faith, and that all will be done to the satisfaction of the owner or his representative. Until payment is made, or such security has been given, all property of the purchaser on the place will be held in pledge, and none of it shall be removed from the place; whatever is so removed becomes the property of the owner. All presses, ropes, ladders, mills, and whatever else has been furnished by the owner, will be returned in the same good condition, except articles broken because of age; and a fair price will be paid for all not returned. If the purchaser does not pay the gatherers and the workmen who have milled the oil, the owner may, if he wishes, pay the wages due; and the purchaser will be liable to the owner for the amount, and give bond, and his property will be held in pledge as described above.
[147] Hac lege vinum pendens venire oportet. Vinaceos inlutos et faecem relinquito. Locus vinis ad K. Octob. primas dabitur. Si non ante ea exportaverit, dominus vino quid volet faciet. Cetera lex, quae oleae pendenti.
[147] 1 Terms for the sale of grapes on the vine: The purchaser will leave unwashed lees and dregs. Storage will be allowed for the wine until the first of October next following; if it is not removed before that time, the owner will do what he will with the wine. All other terms as for the sale of olives on the tree.
[148] Vinum in doliis hoc modo venire oportet. Vini in culleos singulos quadragenae et singulae urnae dabuntur. Quod neque aceat neque muceat, id dabitur. In triduo proxumo viri boni arbitratu degustato. Si non ita fecerit, vinum pro degustato erit. Quot dies per dominum mora fuerit, quo minus vinum degustet, totidem dies emptori procedent. Vinum accipito ante K. Ian. primas. Si non ante acceperit, dominus vinum admetietur. Quod admensus erit, pro eo resolvito. Si emptor postularit, dominus ius iurandum dabit verum fecisse. Locus vinis ad K. Octobres primas dabitur. Si ante non deportaverit, dominus vino quid volet faciet. Cetera lex, quae oleae pendenti.
[148] 1 Terms for the sale of wine in jars: Forty-one urns to the culleus will be delivered, and only wine which is neither sour nor musty will be sold. Within three days it shall be tasted subject to the decision of an honest man, and if the purchaser fails to have this done, it will be considered tasted; but any delay in the tasting caused by the owner will add as many days to the time allowed the purchaser. The acceptance will take place before the first of January next following; and in default of the acceptance by the purchaser the owner will measure the wine, and settlement will be made on the basis of such measurement; if the purchaser wishes the owner will take an oath that he has measured it correctly. Storage will be allowed for the wine until the first of October next following; if it is not removed before that date, the owner will do what he wishes with the wine. Other terms as for olives on the tree.
[149] Qua lege pabulum hibernum venire oporteat. Qua vendas fini dicito. Pabulum frui occipito ex Kal. Septembribus. Prato sicco decedat, ubi prius florere coeperit; prato inriguo, ubi super inferque vicinus permittet, tum decedito, vel diem certam utrique facito. Cetero pabulo Kal. Martiis decedito. Bubus domitis binis, cantherio uni, cum emptor pascet, domino pascere recipitur. Holeris, asparagis, lignis, aqua, itinere, actu domini usioni recipitur. Siquid emptor aut pastores aut pecus emptoris domino damni dederit, viri boni arbitratu resolvat. Siquid dominus aut familia aut pecus emptori damni dederit, viri boni arbitratu resolvetur. Donicum pecuniam solverit aut satisfecerit aut deligarit, pecus et familia, quae illic erit, pigneri sunto. Siquid de iis rebus controversiae erit, Romae iudicium fiat.
[149] 1 Terms for the lease of winter pasturage: The contract should state the limits of pasturage. The use of the pasturage should begin on the first of September, and should end on dry meadows when the pear trees begin to bloom, and on water meadows when the neighbours above and below begin irrigating, or on a definite date fixed for each; on all other meadows on the first of March. The owner reserves the right to pasture two yoke of oxen and one gelding while the renter pastures; the use of vegetables, asparagus, firewood, water, roads, and right of way is reserved for the owner. All damage done to the owner by the renter or his herdsmen or cattle shall be settled for according to the decision of an honest man; and all damage done to the renter by the owner or his servants or cattle shall be settled for according to the decision of good man. Until such damage is settled for in cash or by security, or the debt is assigned, all herds and servants on the place shall be held in pledge; and if there arises any dispute over such matters, let the decision be made at Rome.
[150] Fructum ovium hac lege venire oportet. In singulas casei P. I S dimidium aridum, lacte feriis quod mulserit dimidium et praeterea lactis urnam unam; hisce legibus, agnus diem et noctem qui vixerit in fructum; et Kal. Iun. emptor fructu decedat; si interkalatum erit, K. Mais. Agnos XXX ne amplius promittat. Oves quae non pepererint binae pro singulis in fructu cedent. Ex quo die lanam et agnos vendat menses X ab coactore releget. Porcos serarios in oves denas singulos pascat. Conductor duos menses pastorem praebeat. Donec domino satisfecerit aut solverit, pignori esto.
[150] 1 Terms for the sale of the increase of the flock: The lessee will pay per head 1½ pounds of cheese, one-half dry; one-half of the milking on holy days; and an urn of milk on other days. For the purpose of this rule a lamb which lives for a day and a night is counted as increase; the lessee will end the increase on the first of June, or, if an intercalation intervene, on the first of May. The lessor will not promise more than thirty lambs; ewes which have borne no lambs count in the increase two for one. Ten months after the date of the sale of wool and lambs he shall receive his money from the collector. He may feed one whey-fed hog for every ten sheep. The lessee will furnish a shepherd for two months; and he shall remain in pledge until the owner is satisfied either by security or by payment.
[151] Semen cupressi quo modo legi seri propagarique oporteat et quo pacto cupresseta seri oporteat, Minius Percennius Nolanus ad hunc modum monstravit. Semen cupressi Tarentinae per ver legi oportet; materiem, ubi hordeum flavescit. Id ubi legeris, in sole ponito, semen purgato. Id aridum condito, uti aridum expositum siet. Per ver serito in loco ubi terra tenerrima erit, quam pullam vocant, ubi aqua propter siet. Eum locum stercorato primum bene stercore caprino aut ovillo, tum vortito bipalio, terram cum stercore bene permisceto, depurgato ab herba graminibusque, bene terram conminuito. Areas facito pedes latas quaternos; subcavas facito, uti aquam continere possint; inter eas sulcos facito, qua herbas de areis purgare possis. Ubi areae factae erunt, semen serito crebrum, ita uti linum seri solet. Eo cribro terram incernito, dimidiatum digitum terram altam succernito. Id bene tabula aut manibus aut pedibus conplanato. Siquando non pluet, uti terra sitiat, aquam inrigato leniter in areas. Si non habebis unde inriges, gerito inditoque leniter. Quotiescumque opus erit, facito uti aquam addas. Si herbae natae erunt, facito uti ab herbis purges. Per aestatem ita uti dictum est fieri oportet, et ubi semen satum siet, stramentis operiri; ubi germinascere coeperit, tum demi.
[151] 1 As to cypress seed, the best method for its gathering, planting, and propagation, and for the planting of the cypress bed has been given as follows by Minius Percennius of Nola: The seed of the Tarentine cypress should be gathered in the spring, and the wood when the barley turns yellow; when you gather the seed, expose it to the sun, clean it, and store it dry so that it may be set out dry. Plant the seed in the spring, in soil which is very mellow, the so-called pulla, close to water. First cover the ground thick with goat or sheep dung, then turn it with the trenching spade and mix it well with the dung, cleaning out grass and weeds; break the ground fine. Form the seed-beds four feet wide, with the surface concave, so that they will hold water, leaving a footway between the beds so that you may clean out the weeds. After the beds are formed, sow the seed as thickly as flax is usually sowed, sift dirt over it with a sieve to the depth of a half-finger, and smooth carefully with a board, or the hands or feet. In case the weather is dry so that the ground becomes thirsty, irrigate by letting a stream gently into the beds; or, failing a stream, have the water brought and poured gently; see that you add water whenever it is needed. If weeds spring up, see that you free the beds of them. Clean them when the weeds are very young, and as often as necessary. This procedure should be continued as stated throughout the summer. The seed, after being planted, should be covered with straw, which should be removed when they begin to sprout.
[152] De scopis virgeis, Q. A. M. Manlii monstraverunt. In diebus XXX, quibus vinum legeris, aliquotiens facito scopas virgeas ulmeas aridas, in asserculo alligato, eabus latera doliis intrinsecus usque bene perfricato, ne faex in lateribus adhaerescat.
[152] 1 Of brush-brooms, according to the directions of the Manlii: At several times during the thirty days of the vintage, make brooms of dry elm twigs bound around a stick. With these scrape continually the inner surfaces of the wine jars, to keep the wine dregs from sticking to the sides.
[153] Vinum faecatum sic facito. Fiscinas olearias Campanicas duas illae rei habeto. Eas faecis inpleto sub prelumque subdito exprimitoque.
[153] 1 To make lees-wine: Keep two Campanian olive baskets for the purpose; fill them with lees, place them under the press-beam, and force out the juice.
[154] Vinum emptoribus sine molestia quo modo admetiaris. Labrum culleare illae rei facito. Id habeat ad summum ansas IIII, uti transferri possitur. Id imum pertundito; ea fistulam subdito, uti opturarier recte possit; et ad summum, qua fini culleum capiet, pertundito. Id in suggestu inter dolia positum habeto, uti in culleum de dolio vinum salire possit. Id inpleto, postea obturato.
[154] 1 A convenient method of measuring wine for buyers: Take for this purpose a cask of culleus size, with four handles at the top for easy handling; make a hole at the bottom, fitting into it a pipe so that it can be stopped tight, and also pierce near the top at the point where it will hold exactly a culleus. Keep it on the elevation among the jars, so that the wine can run from the jar into the cask; and when the cask is filled close it up.
[155] Per hiemen aquam de agro depelli oportet. In monte fossas inciles puras habere oportet. Prima autumnitate cum pulvis est, tum maxime ab aqua periculum est. Cum pluere incipiet, familiam cum ferreis sarculisque exire oportet, incilia aperire, aquam diducere in vias et curare oportet uti fluat. In villa, cum pluet, circumire oportet, sicubi perpluat, et signare carbone, cum desierit pluere, uti tegula mutetur. Per segetem in frumentis aut in segete aut in fossis sicubi aqua sonstat aut aliquid aquae obstat, id emittere, patefieri removerique oportet.
[155] 1 Land ought to be drained during the winter, and the drain-ditches on the hillsides kept clean. The greatest danger from water is in the early autumn, when there is dust. When the rains begin, the whole household must turn out with shovels and hoes, open the ditches, turn the water into the roads, and see that it flows off. You should look around the farmstead while it is raining, and mark all leaks with charcoal, so that the tile can be replaced after the rain stops. During the growing season, if water is standing anywhere, in the grain or the seed-bed or in ditches, or if there is any obstruction to the water, it should be cleared, opened and removed.
[156] De brassica quod concoquit. Brassica est quae omnibus holeribus antistat. Eam esto vel coctam vel crudam. Crudam si edes, in acetum intinguito. Mirifice concoquit, alvum bonam facit, lotiumque ad omnes res salubre est. Si voles in convivio multum bibere cenareque libenter, ante cenam esto crudam quantum voles ex aceto, et item, ubi cenaveris, comesto aliqua V folia; reddet te quasi nihil ederis, bibesque quantum voles.
Alvum si voles deicere superiorem, sumito brassicae quae levissima erit P. IIII inde facito manipulos aequales tres conligatoque. Postea ollam statuito cum aqua. Ubi occipiet fervere, paulisper demittito unum manipulum, fervere desistet. Postea ubi occipiet fervere, paulisper demittito ad modum dum quinque numeres, eximito. Item facito alterum manipulum, item tertium. Postea conicito, contundito, item eximito in linteum, exurgeto sucum quasi heminam in pocillum fictile. Eo indito salis micam quasi ervum et cumini fricti tantum quod oleat. Postea ponito pocillum in sereno noctu. Qui poturus erit, lavet calida, bibat aquam mulsam, cubet incenatus. Postea mane bibat sucum deambuletque horas IIII, agat, negoti siquid habebit. Ubi libido veniet, nausia adprehendet, decumbat purgetque sese. Tantum bilis pituitaeque eiciet, uti ipse miretur, unde tantum siet. Postea ubi deorsum versus ibit, heminam aut paulo plus bibat. Si amplius ibit, sumito farinae minutae concas duas, infriet in aquam, paulum bibat, constituet. Verum quibus tormina molesta erunt, brassicam in aqua macerare oportet. Ubi macerata erit, coicito in aquam calidam, coquito usque donec conmadebit bene, aquam defundito. Postea salem addito et cumini paululum et pollinem polentae eodem addito et oleum. Postea fervefacito, infundito in catinum, uti frigescat. Eo interito quod volet cibi, postea edit. Sed si poterit solam brassicam esse, edit. Et si sine febre erit, dato vini atri duri aquatum bibat quam minimum; si febris erit, aquam. Id facito cotidie mane. Nolito multum dare, ne pertaedescat, uti possit porro libenter esse. Ad eundem modum viro et mulieri et puero dato. Nunc de illis, quibus aegre lotium it quibusque substillum est. Sumito brassicam, coicito in aquam ferventem, coquito paulisper, uti subcruda siet. Postea aquam defundito non omnem. Eo addito oleum bene et salem et cumini paululum, infervefacito paulisper. Postea inde iusculum frigidum sorbere et ipsam brassicam esse, uti quam primum excoquatur. Cotidie id facito.
[156] 1 Of the medicinal value of the cabbage: It is the cabbage which surpasses all other vegetables. It may be eaten either cooked or raw; if you eat it raw, dip it into vinegar. It promotes digestion marvellously and is an excellent laxative, and the urine is wholesome for everything. If you wish to drink deep at a banquet and to enjoy your dinner, eat as much raw cabbage as you wish, seasoned with vinegar, before dinner, and likewise after dinner eat some half a dozen leaves; it will make you feel as if you had not dined, and you can drink as much as you please.
2 If you wish to clean out the upper digestive tract, take four pounds of very smooth cabbage leaves, make them into three equal bunches and tie them together. Set a pot of water on the fire, and when it begins to boil sink one bunch for a short time, which will stop the boiling; when it begins again sink the bunch briefly while you count five, and remove. 3 Do the same with the second and third bunches, then throw the three together and macerate. After macerating, squeeze through a cloth about a hemina of the juice into an earthen cup; add a lump of salt the size of a pea, and enough crushed cummin to give it an odour, and let the cup stand in the air through a calm night. Before taking a dose of this, one should take a hot bath, drink honey-water, and go to bed fasting. 4 Early the next morning he should drink the juice and walk about for four hours, attending to any business he has. When the desire comes on him and he is seized with nausea, he should lie down and purge himself; he will evacuate such a quantity of bile and mucus that he will wonder himself where it all came from. Afterwards, when he goes to stool, he should drink a hemina or a little more. If it acts too freely, if he will take two conchas of fine flour, sprinkle it into water, and drink a little, it will cease to act. 5 Those who are suffering from colic should macerate cabbage in water, then pour into hot water, and boil until it is quite soft. Pour off the water, add salt, a bit of cummin, barley flour dust, and oil, and boil again; 6 turn into a dish and allow it to cool. You may break any food you wish into it and eat it; but if you can eat the cabbage alone, do so. If the patient has no fever, administer a very little strong, dark wine, diluted; but if he has fever give only water. The dose should be repeated every morning, but in small quantities, so that it may not pall but continue to be eaten with relish. The treatment is the same for man, woman, and child. 7 Now for those who pass urine with difficulty and suffer from strangury: take cabbage, place it in hot water and boil until it is half-done; pour off most of the water, add a quantity of oil, salt, and a bit of cummin, and boil for a short time. After that drink the broth of this and eat the cabbage itself, that it may be absorbed quickly. Repeat the treatment daily.
[157] De brassica Pythagorea, quid in ea boni sit salubritatisque. Principium te cognoscere oportet, quae genera brassicae sint et cuius modi naturam habeant. Omnia ad salutem temperat conmutatque sese semper cum calore, arida simul et umida et dulcis et amara et acris. Sed quae vocantur septem bona in conmixtura, natura omnia haec habet brassica. Nunc uti cognoscas naturam earum, prima est levis quae nominatur; ea est grandis, latis foliis, caule magno, validam habet naturam et vim magnam habet. Altera est crispa, apiacon vocatur; haec est natura et aspectu bona, ad curationem validior est quam quae supra scripta est. Et item est tertia, quae lenis vocatur, minutis caulibus, tenera, et acerrima omnium est istarum, tenui suco vehementissima. Et primum scito, de omnibus brassicis nulla est illius modi medicamento. Ad omnia vulnera tumores eam contritam inponito. Haec omnia ulcera purgabit sanaque faciet sine dolore. Eadem tumida concoquit, eadem erumpit, eadem vulnera putida canceresque purgabit sanosque faciet, quod aliud medicamentum facere non potest. Verum prius quam id inponas, aqua calida multa lavato; postea bis in die contritam inponito; ea omnem putorem adimet. Cancer ater, is olet et saniem spurcam mittit; albus purulentus est, sed fistulosus et subtus suppurat sub carne. In ea vulnera huiusce modi teras brassicam, sanum faciet; optima est ad huiusce modi vulnus. Et luxatum siquid est, bis die aqua calida foveto, brassicam tritam opponito, cito sanum faciet; bis die id opponito, dolores auferet. Et siquid contusum est, erumpet; brassicam tritam opponito, sanum faciet. Et siquid in mammis ulceris natum et carcinoma, brassicam tritam opponito, sanum faciet. Et si ulcus acrimoniam eius ferre non poterit, farinam hordeaceam misceto, ita opponito. Huiusce modi ulcera omnia haec sana faciet, quod aliud medicamentum facere non potest neque purgare. Et puero et puellae si ulcus erit huiusce modi, farinam hordeaceam addito. Et si voles eam consectam lautam siccam sale aceto sparsam esse, salubrius nihil est. Quo libentius edis, aceto mulso spargito; lautam siccam et rutam coriandrum sectam sale sparsam paulo libentius edes. Id bene faciet et mali nihil sinet in corpore consistere et alvum bonam faciet. Hanc mane esse oportet ieiunum. Et si bilis atra est et si lienes turgent et si cor dolet et si iecur aut pulmones aut praecordia, uno verbo omnia sana faciet intro quae dolitabunt. Eodem silpium inradito, bonum est. Nam venae omnes ubi sufflatae sunt ex cibo, non possunt perspirare in toto corpore; inde aliqui morbus nascitur. Ubi ex multo cibo alvus non it, pro portione brassica si uteris, id ut te moneo, nihil istorum usu veniet morbis. Verum morbum articularium nulla res tam purgat, quam brassica cruda, si edes concisam et rutam et coriandrum concisam siccam et sirpicium inrasum et brassicam ex aceto oxymeli et sale sparsam. Haec si uteris, omnis articulos poteris experiri. Nullus sumptus est, et si sumptus esset, tamen valetudinis causa experires. Hanc oportet mane ieiunum esse. Insomnis vel siquis est seniosus, hac eadem curatione sanum facies. Verum assam brassicam et unctam caldam, salis paulum dato homini ieiuno. Quam plurimum ederit, tam citissime sanus fiet ex eo morbo. Tormina quibus molesta erunt, sic facito. Brassicam macerato bene, postea in aulam coicito, defervefacito bene. Ubi cocta erit bene, aquam defundito. Eo addito oleum bene et salis paululum et cuminum et pollinem polentae. Postea ferve bene facito. Ubi ferverit, in catinum indito. Dato edit, si poterit, sine pane; si non, dato panem purum ibidem madefaciat. Et si febrim non habebit, dato vinum atrum bibat; cito sanus fiet. Et hoc siquando usus venerit, qui debilis erit, haec res sanum facere potest: brassicam edit ita uti S. S. E. Et hoc amplius lotium conservato eius qui brassicam essitarit, id calfacito, eo hominem demittito, cito sanum facies hac cura; expertum hoc est. Item pueros pusillos si laves eo lotio, numquam debiles fient. Et quibus oculi parum clari sunt, eo lotio inunguito, plus videbunt. Si caput aut cervices dolent, eo lotio caldo lavito, desinent dolere. Ei si mulier eo lotio locos fovebit, numquam miseri fient, et fovere sic oportet: ubi in scutra fervefeceris, sub sellam supponito pertusam. Eo mulier adsidat, operito, circum vestimenta eam dato.
Brassica erratica maximam vim habet. Eam arfacere et conterere oportet bene minutam. Siquem purgare voles, pridie ne cenet, mane ieiuno dato brassicam tritam, aquae cyathos II. Nulla res tam bene purgabit, neque elleborum neque scamonium, et sine periculo, et scito salubrem esse corpori. Quos diffidas sanos facere, facies. Qui hac purgatione purgatus erit, sic eum curato. Sorbitione liquida hoc per dies septem dato. Ubi esse volet, carnem assam dato. Si esse non volet, dato brassicam coctam et panem, et bibat vinum lene dilutum, lavet raro, utatur unctione. Qui sic purgatus erit, diutina valetudine utetur, neque ullus morbus veniet nisi sua culpa. Et siquis ulcus taetrum vel recens habebit, hanc brassicam erraticam aqua spargito, opponito; sanum facies. Et si fistula erit, turundam intro trudito. Si turundam non recipiet, diluito, indito in vesicam, eo calamum alligato, ita premito, in fistulam introeat; ea res sanum faciet cito. Et ad omnia ulcera vetera et nova contritam cum melle opponito, sanum faciet. Et si polypus in naso intro erit, brassicam erraticam aridam tritam in manum conicito et ad nasum admoveto, ita subducito susum animam quam plurimum poteris; in triduo polypus excidet. Et ubi exciderit, tamen aliquot dies idem facito, ut radices polypi persanas facias. Auribus si parum audies, terito cum vino brassicam, sucum exprimito, in aurem intro tepidum instillato; cito te intelleges plus audire. Depetigini spurcae brassicam opponito, sanam faciet et ulcus non faciet.
[157] 1 Of Pythagoras’s cabbage, what virtue and health-giving qualities it has. The several varieties of cabbage and the quality of each should first be known; it has all the virtues necessary for health, and constantly changes its nature along with the heat, being moist and dry, sweet, bitter, and acid. The cabbage has naturally all the virtues of the so-called “Seven Blessings” mixture. To give, then, the several varieties: the first is the so-called smooth; it is large, with broad leaves and thick stem; it is hardy and has great potency. 2 The second is the curly variety, called “parsley cabbage”; it has a good nature and appearance, and has stronger medicinal properties than the above-mentioned variety. So also has the third, the mild, with small stalk, tender, and the most pungent of all; and its juice, though scanty, has the most powerful effect. No other variety of cabbage approaches it in medicinal value. 3 It can be used as a poultice on all kinds of wounds and swellings; it will cleanse all sores and heal without pain; it will soften and open boils; it will cleanse suppurating wounds and tumours, and heal them, a thing which no other medicine can do. But before it is applied, the surface should be washed with plenty of warm water, and then the crushed cabbage should be applied as a poultice, and renewed twice a day; it will remove all putridity. The black ulcer has a foul odour and exudes putrid pus, the white is purulent but fistulous, and suppurates under the surface; 4 but if you macerate cabbage it will cure all such sores — it is the best remedy for sores of this kind. Dislocations will be healed quickly if they are bathed twice a day in warm water and a cabbage poultice is applied; if applied twice a day, the treatment will relieve the pain. A contusion will burst, and when bruised cabbage is applied, it will heal. 5 An ulcer on the breast and a cancer can be healed by the application of macerated cabbage; and if the spot is too tender to endure the astringency, the cabbage should be mixed with barley-flour and so applied. All sores of this kind it will heal, a thing which no other medicine can do or cleanse. When applied to a sore of this kind on a boy or girl the barley-meal should be added. If you eat it chopped, washed, dried, and seasoned with salt and vinegar, nothing will be more wholesome. 6 That you may eat it with better appetite, sprinkle it with grape vinegar, and you will like a little better when washed, dried, and seasoned with rue, chopped coriander and salt. This will benefit you, allow no ill to remain in the body, and promote digestion; and will heal any ill that may be inside. Headache and eyeache it heals alike. It should be eaten in the morning, on an empty stomach. 7 Also if you are bilious, if the spleen is swollen, if the heart is painful, or the liver, or the lungs, or the diaphragm — in a word, it will cure all the internal organs which are suffering. (If you grate silphium into it, it will be good.) For when all the veins are gorged with food they cannot breathe in the whole body, and hence a disease is caused; and when from excess of food the bowels do not act, if you eat cabbage proportionately, prepared as I direct above, you will have no ill effects from these. But as to disease of the joints, nothing so purges it as raw cabbage, if you eat it chopped, and rue, chopped dry coriander, grated asafetida, and cabbage out of vinegar and honey, and sprinkled with salt. 8 After using this remedy you will have the use of all your joints. There is no expense involved; and even if there were, you should try it for your health’s sake. It should be eaten in the morning, on an empty stomach. One who is sleepless or debilitated you can make well by this same treatment. But give the person, without food, simply warm cabbage, oiled, and a little salt. The more the patient eats the more quickly will he recover from the disease. 9 Those suffering from colic should be treated as follows: Macerate cabbage thoroughly, then put in a pot and boil well; when it is well done pour off the water, add plenty of oil, very little salt, cummin, and fine barley-flour, and let it boil very thoroughly again. After boiling turn it into a dish. The patient should eat it without bread, if possible; if not, plain bread may be soaked in it and if he has no fever he may have some dark wine. The cure will be prompt. 10 And further, whenever such occasion arises, if a person who is debilitated will eat cabbage prepared as I have described above, he will be cured. And still further, if you save the urine of a person who eats cabbage habitually, heat it, and bathe the patient in it, he will be healed quickly; this remedy has been tested. Also, if babies are bathed in this urine they will never be weakly; those whose eyes are not very clear will see better if they are bathed in this urine; and pain in the head or neck will be relieved if the heated urine is applied. 11 If a woman will warm the privates with this urine, they will never become diseased. The method is as follows: when you have heated it in a pan, place under a chair whose seat has been pierced. Let the woman sit on it, cover her, and throw garments around her.
12 Wild cabbage has the greatest strength; it should be dried and macerated very fine. When it is used as a purge, let the patient refrain from food the previous night, and in the morning, still fasting, take macerated cabbage with four cyathi of water. Nothing will purge so well, neither hellebore, nor scammony; it is harmless, and highly beneficial; it will heal persons whom you despair of healing. 13 The following is the method of purging by this treatment: Administer it in a liquid form for seven days; if the patient has an appetite, feed him on roast meat, or, if he has not, on boiled cabbage and bread. He should drink diluted mild wine, bathe rarely, and rub with oil. One so purged will enjoy good health for a long time, and no sickness will attack him except by his own fault. If one has an ulcer, whether suppurated or new, sprinkle this wild cabbage with water and apply it; you will cure him. 14 If there is a fistula, insert a pellet; or if it will not admit a pellet, make a solution, pour into a bladder attached to a reed, and inject into the fistula by squeezing the bladder. It will heal quickly. An application of wild cabbage macerated with honey to any ulcer, old or new, will heal it. 15 If a nasal polypus appears, pour macerated dry wild cabbage into the palm of the hand; apply to the nostril and sniff with the breath as vigorously as possible. Within three days the polypus will fall out, but continue the same treatment for several days after it has fallen out, so that the roots of the polypus may be thoroughly cleaned. 16 In case of deafness, macerate cabbage with wine, press out the juice, and instil warm water into the ear, and you will soon know that your hearing is improved. An application of cabbage to a malignant scab will cause it to heal without ulcerating.
[158] Alvum deicere hoc modo oportet, si vis bene tibi deicere. Sume tibi ollam, addito eo aquae sextarios sex et eo addito ungulam de perna. Si ungulam non habebis, addito de perna frustum P. S quam minime pingue. Ubi iam coctum incipit esse, eo addito brassicae coliculos duos, betae coliculos duos cum radice sua, feliculae pullum, herbae Mercurialis non multum, mitulorum L. II, piscem capitonem et scorpionem I, cochleas sex et lentis pugillum. Haec omnia decoquito usque ad sextarios III iuris. Oleum ne addideris. Indidem sume tibi sextarium unum tepidum, adde vini Coi cyathum unum, bibe, interquiesce, deinde iterum eodem modo, deinde tertium: purgabis te bene. Et si voles insuper vinum Coum mixtum bibere, licebit bibas. Ex iis tot rebus quod scriptum est unum, quod eorum vis, alvum deicere potest. Verum ea re tot res sunt, uti bene deicias, et suave est.
[158] 1 Recipe for a purgative, if you wish to purge thoroughly: Take a pot and pour into it six sextarii of water and add the hock of a ham, or, if you have no hock, a half-pound of ham-scraps with as little fat as possible. Just as it comes to a boil, add two cabbage leaves, two beet plants with the roots, a shoot of fern, a bit of the mercury-plant, two pounds of mussels, a capito fish and one scorpion, six snails, and a handful of lentils. 2 Boil all together down to three sextarii of liquid, without adding oil. Take one sextarius of this while warm, add one cyathus of Coan wine, drink, and rest. Take a second and a third dose in the same way, and you will be well purged. You may drink diluted Coan wine in addition, if you wish. Any one of the many ingredients mentioned above is sufficient to move the bowels; but there are so many ingredients in this concoction that it is an excellent purgative, and, besides, it is agreeable.
[159] Intertigini remedium. In viam cum ibis, apsinthi Pontici surculum sub anulo habeto.
[159] 1 To prevent chafing: When you set out on a journey, keep a small branch of Pontic wormwood under the anus.
[160] Luxum siquod est, hac cantione sanum fiet. Harundinem prende tibi viridem P. IIII aut quinque longam, mediam diffinde, et duo homines teneant ad coxendices. Incipe cantare: “Motas uaeta daries dardares astaries dissunapiter” usque dum coeant. Ferrum insuper iactato. Ubi coierint et altera alteram tetigerint, id manu prehende et dextera sinistra praecide, ad luxum aut ad fracturam alliga, sanum fiet. Et tamen cotidie cantato et luxato vel hoc modo: “huat haut haut istasis tarsis ardannabou dannaustra”.
[160] 1 Any kind of dislocation may be cured by the following charm: Take a green reed four or five feet long and split it down the middle, and let two men hold it to your hips. Begin to chant: “motas uaeta daries dardares astataries dissunapiter” and continue until they meet. Brandish a knife over them, and when the reeds meet so that one touches the other, grasp with the hand and cut right and left. If the pieces are applied to the dislocation or the fracture, it will heal. And none the less chant every day, and, in the case of a dislocation, in this manner, if you wish: “huat haut haut istasis tarsis ardannabou dannaustra.”
[161] Asparagus quo modo seratur. Locum subigere oportet bene qui habeat humorem aut loco crasso; ubi erit subactus, areas facito, uti possis dextra sinistraque sarire, runcare, ne calcetur; cum areas deformabis, intervallum facito inter areas semipedem latum in omnes partes; deinde serito ad lineam palo, grana bina aut terna demittito et eodem palo cavum terrae operito; deinde supra areas stercus spargito bene; serito secundum aequinoctium vernum. Ubi erit natum, herbas crebro purgato cavetoque ne asparagus una cum herba vellatur; quo anno severis, sum stramentis per hiemem operito, ne praeuratur; deinde primo vere aperito, sarito runcatoque. Post annum tertium quam severis, incendito vere primo; deinde ne ante sarueris quam asparagus natus erit, ne in sariendo radices laedas. Tertio aut quarto anno asparagum vellito ab radice. Nam si defringes, stirpes fient et intermorientur. Usque licebit vellas, donicum in semen videbis ire. Semen maturum fit ad autumnum. Ita, cum sumpseris semen, incendito, et cum coeperit asparagus nasci, sarito et stercorato. Post annos VIII aut novem, cum iam est vetus, digerito et in quo loco posturus eris terram bene subigito et stercorato. Deinde fossulas facito, quo radices asparagi demittas. Intervallum sit ne minus pedes singulos inter radices asparagi. Evellito, sed circumfodito, ut facile vellere possis; caveto ne frangatur. Stercus ovillum quam plurimum fac ingeras; id est optimum ad eam rem; aliud stercus herbas creat.[
[161] 1 Method of planting asparagus: Break up thoroughly ground that is moist, or is heavy soil. When it has been broken, lay off beds, so that you may hoe and weed them in both directions without trampling the beds. In laying off the beds, leave a path a half-foot wide between the beds on each side. Plant along a line, dropping two or three seeds together in a hole made with a stick, and cover with the same stick. After planting, cover the beds thickly with manure; plant after the vernal equinox. When the shoots push up, weed often, being careful not to uproot the asparagus with the weed. The year it is planted, cover the bed with straw through the winter, so that it will not be frostbitten. Then in the early spring uncover, hoe, and weed. The third year after planting burn it over in the early spring; after this do not work it before the shoots appear, so as not to injure the roots by hoeing. In the third or fourth year you may pull asparagus from the roots; for if you break it off, sprouts will start and die off. You may continue pulling until you see it going to seed. The seed ripens in autumn; when you have gathered it, burn over the bed, and when the asparagus begins to grow, hoe and manure. After eight or nine years, when it is now old, dig it up, after having thoroughly worked and manured the ground to which you are to transplant it, and made small ditches to receive the roots. The interval between the roots of the asparagus should be not less than a foot. In digging, loosen the earth around the roots so that you can dig them easily, and be careful not to break them. Cover them very deep with sheep dung; this is the best for this purpose, as other manure produces weeds.
[162] Salsura pernarum ofellae Puteolanae. Pernas sallire sic oportet in dolio aut in seria. Cum pernas emeris, ungulas earum praecidito. Salis Romaniensis moliti in singulas semodios. In fundo dolii aut seriae sale sternito, deinde pernam ponito, cutis deorsum spectet, sale obruito totam. Deinde alteram insuper ponito, eodem modo obruito. Caveto ne caro carnem tangat. Ita omnes obruito. Ubi iam omnes conposueris, sale insuper obrue, ne caro appareat; aequale facito. Ubi iam dies quinque in sale fuerint, eximito omnis cum suo sale. Quae tum summae fuerint, imas facito eodemque modo obruito et conponito. Post dies omnino XII pernas eximito et salem omnem detergeto et suspendito in vento biduum. Die tertio extergeto spongea bene, perunguito oleo, suspendito in fumo biduum. Tertio die demito, perunguito oleo et aceto conmixto, suspendito in carnario. Nec tinia nec vermes tangent.
[162] 1 Method of curing hams and Puteolan ofella. You should salt hams in the following manner, in a jar or large pot: When you have bought the hams cut off the hocks. Allow a half-modius of ground Roman salt to each ham. Spread salt on the bottom of the jar or pot; then lay a ham, with the skin facing downwards, and cover the whole with salt. Place another ham over it and cover in the same way, taking care that meat does not touch meat. Continue in the same way until all are covered. When you have arranged them all, spread salt above so that the meat shall not show, and level the whole. When they have remained five days in the salt remove them all with their own salt. Place at the bottom those which had been on top before, covering and arranging them as before. Twelve days later take them out finally, brush off all the salt, and hang them for two days in a draught. On the third day clean them thoroughly with a sponge and rub with oil. Hang them in smoke for two days, and the third day take them down, rub with a mixture of oil and vinegar, and hang in the meat-house. No moths or worms will touch them.