A History of Rome During the Later Republic and Early Principate Part 18

[190] Liv. x.x.xix. 29.

[191] Varro _R.R_. ii. 5. II Pasc.u.n.tur armenta commodissime in nemoribus, ubi virgulta et frons multa. Hieme secundum mare, aestu abiguntur in montes frondosos.

[192] Nitzsch _Die Gracchen_ p. 16.

[193] Nitzsch op. cit. p. 17.

[194] Cic. _de Off_. ii. 25. 89. So in Cato's more reasoned estimate (_R.R_. i. 7) of the relative degrees of productivity, although _vinea_ comes first (cf. p. 80) yet _pratum_ precedes _campus frumentarius_.

[195] App. _Hannib_. 61.

[196] App. l.c.; Gell. x. 3. 19.

[197] Nitzsch _Die Gracchen_ p. 193 So zerfiel denn Mittelitalien in zwei scharf-getheilte Halften, den ackerbauenden Westen und den viehzuchttreibenden Osten; jener reich an Hafen, von Landstra.s.sen durchschnitten, in einer Menge von Colonien oder einzelnen Gehoften von Romischen Ackerburgern bewohnt; dieser fast ohne Hafen, nur von einer Kustenstra.s.se durchschnitten, fur den grossen Romer der rechte Sitz seiner Sclaven und Heerden. Cf. p. 21. For the pasturage in Calabria and Apulia see op. cit. pp. 13 and 193.

[198] Liv. xxviii. II; cf. Luc. _Phars_. i. 30.

[199] Dureau de la Malle (economie Politique ii. p. 38) compares the precept of the Roman "Quid est agrum bene colere? bene arare. Quid secundum? arare. Tertio stercorare" with the adage of the French farmer "Fumez bien, labourez mal, vous recueillerez plus qu'en fumant mal et en labourant bien".

[200] See Dreyfus _Les lois agraires_ p. 97. Varro (_R.R_. i. 12. 2) is singularly correct in his account of the nature of the disease that arose from the _loca pal.u.s.tria_:--Cresc.u.n.t animalia quaedam minuta, quae non possunt oculi consequi, et per aera intus in corpus per os ac nares perveniunt atque efficiunt difficilis morbos. The pa.s.sage is cited by Voigt (Iwan-Muller's _Handbuch_ iv. 2. p. 358) who gives a good sketch of the evils consequent on neglect of drainage.

[201] Nitzsch _Die Gracchen_ p. 228.

[202] Polyb. x.x.xvii. 4.

[203] Nitzsch _Die Gracchen_ p. 237.

[204] Polyb. x.x.xvii. 3.

[205] Polyb. ii. 15.

[206] For such purchases from Sardinia see Liv. x.x.xvi. 2, from Sicily (at a period later than that which we are considering) Cic. _in Verr_.

iii. 70, 163.

[207] Cf. Cato _R.R_. i. 3 (In choosing the situation of one's estate) oppidum validum prope siet aut mare aut amnis, qua naves ambulant, aut via bona celebrisque.

[208] For the traditions which a.s.sign a very early date for laws dealing with the _ager publicus_ see the following chapter, which treats of the legislation of Tiberius Gracchus.

[209] App, _Bell. Civ_. i. 7 [Greek: _taes de gaes taes doriktaetou sphisin ekastote gignomenaes taen men exeirgasmenaen autika tois oikizomenois epidiaeroun hae epipraskon hae exemisthoun, taen d' argon ek tou polemou tote ousan, hae dae kai malista eplaethyen, ouk agontes po scholaen dialachein, epekaerytton en tosode tois ethelousin ekponein epi telei ton etaesion karpon_].

[210] For the evidence for this and other statements connected with the _ager publicus_ see the citations in the next chapter.

[211] In consequence of the doubtfulness of the traditions concerning early agrarian laws this time cannot even be approximately specified.

See the next chapter.

[212] Tradition represents the first laws dealing with the _ager publicus (e. g_. the supposed _lex Licinia_) as earlier than the _lex Poetelia_ of 326 B.C., which abolished the contract of _nexum_.

[213] Plut. _Ti. Gracch_. 8 [Greek: _hysteron de ton geitnionton plousion hypoblaetois prosopois metapheronton tas misthoseis eis eautous_.]

[214] App. _Bell. Civ_. i. 7 [Greek: _oi gar plousioi ... ta ... anchou sphisin, osa te haen alla brachea penaeton, ta men onoumenoi peithoi ta de bia lambanontes, pedia makra anti chorion egeorgoun_.] Cf. Seneca _Ep_. xiv. 2 (90). 39 Licet agros agris adjiciat vicinum vel pretio pellens vel injuria.

[215] [Greek: _pedia makra_] (App. l.c.), Plin. _H.N_. xviii. 6. 35 Verumque confitentibus latifundia perdidere Italiam. (For the expression _lati fundi_ see Siculus Flaccus pp. 157, 161). Frontinus p. 53 Per longum enim tempus attigui possessores vacantia loca quasi invitante otiosi soli opportunitate invaserunt, et per longum tempus inpune commalleaverunt. For the invasion of pasturage see Frontinus p. 48 Haec fere pascua certis personis data sunt depascenda tunc c.u.m agri adsignati sunt. Haec pascua multi per inpotentiam invaserunt et colunt.

[216] In spite of the fertility of the land, the native Gallic population had vanished from most of the districts of this region as early as Polybius' time (Polyb. ii. 35). Cf. Nitzsch _Die Gracchen_ p. 60.

[217] Val. Max. iv. 4. 6.

[218] Steinwender _Die romische Burgerschaft in ihrem Verhaltnis zum Heere_ p. 28.

[219] App. _Bell. Civ_. i. 7.

[220] Polyb. vi. 39.

[221] Liv. xxvii. 9 (209 B.C.) Fremitus enim inter Latinos sociosque in conciliis ortus:--Decimum annum dilectibus, stipendiis se exhaustos esse ... Duodecim (coloniae) ... negaverunt consulibus esse unde milites pecuniamque darent.

[222] Nitzsch _Die Gracchen_ p. 194.

[223] Cato _R.R_. 144 etc.

[224] Nitzsch _Die Gracchen_ p. 187.

[225] Cato _R.R_. 5. 136.

[226] Cato _R.R_. 136 Politionem quo pacto _partiario_ dari oporteat.

In agro Casinate et Venafro in loco bono parti octava corbi dividat, satis bono septima, tertio loco s.e.xta; si granum modio dividet, parti quinta. In Venafro ager optimus nona parti corbi dividat ... Hordeum quinta modio, fabam quinta modio dividat.

[227] Nitzsch _Die Gracchen_ p. 188.

[228] Dureau de la Malle _economie Politique_ ii. pp. 225, 226.

[229] Cato _R.R_. i. 7 Vinea est prima,... secundo loco hortus inriguus, tertio salictum, quarto oletum, quinto pratum, s.e.xto campus frumentarius, septimo silva caedua, octavo arbustum, nono glandaria silva.

[230] Cic. _de Rep_. iii. 9. 16 Nos vero justissimi homines, qui Transalpinas gentis oleam et vitem serere non sinimus, quo pluris sint nostra oliveta nostraeque vineae. Cf. Colum. iii. 3. 11.

[231] See Cato _R.R_. 7, 8 for the produce of the _fundus suburba.n.u.s_.

Cf. c. 1 (note 2) for the value of the _hortus inriguus_.

[232] See the citations in Voigt (Iwan-Muller's _Handbuch_ iv. 2 p.

370). Communities and corporations employed _coloni_ on their _agri vectigales_ (Cic. _ad Fam_. xiii. 11, 1; Hygin. _de Cond. Agr_.

p. 117. 11; Voigt l.c.).

[233] Liv. xlv. 34.

[234] Mahaffy ("The Slave Wars against Rome" in _Hermathena_ no. xvi.

1890) believes that the majority of these were s.h.i.+pped to Sicily.

[235] Strabo xiv. 5. 2.