How to Be a Farmer by M. D. Usher

Author:M. D. Usher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2021-08-04T00:00:00+00:00

24 A Farmer’s Memorial (Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum 11.600)

Most of what we hear about farming in the ancient world is filtered through the experience of highly educated elites. This stone epitaph, erected by a farmer in Tuscany in the early years of Augustus’s reign by a farmer in Tuscany, is a precious exception. The echoes of Hesiod’s advice (see selection nos. 1–5) across so many centuries are remarkable.

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Gaius Castricius Calvus, son of Titus, military tribune … a man of good will … a farmer; a patron to good ex-slaves, and especially to those who cultivate their fields well and with energy; who keep themselves in good physical condition, which is particularly important for farmers; who feed themselves, and who keep watch over whatever they have.… Here are true maxims for the person who wants to live well and in freedom: The first thing is duty—you should wish your master well, respect your parents, keep good faith; speak no evil, lest you hear bad things about yourself. The man who does no harm and is trustworthy will lead a pleasant and untroubled life in uprightness and happiness. These precepts that a farmer teaches you to remember he acquired not by instruction from the learned, but from his own nature and experience.

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