1 66 Cato's principles 



passed to the plausible slave who was always on the spot as steward. 

 Cato knew very well that these vilict did not as a rule do the best for 

 their lords. They had no real interest in getting the most out of the 

 land. The owner, who wanted ready money for his ambitions and 

 pleasures, was hardly the man to spend it on material improvements 

 in hope of an eventual increase of income : thus a steward could easily 

 find excuses for a low standard of production really due to his own 

 slackness. All this demoralizing letting-down of agriculture was 

 anathema to the champion of old-Roman ideas and traditions. It was 

 a grave factor in the luxury and effeminacy that to his alarm were 

 undermining the solid virtues of the Roman people. Above all things, 

 it had what to his intensely Roman nature was the most fatal 

 defects it did not pay. Roman nobles were in fact making their 

 chief profits out of plundering abroad, and ceasing to exercise old- 

 fashioned economy at home. With the former evil Cato waged open 

 war as statesman and orator. How he dealt with the latter as a writer 

 on agriculture I proceed to inquire. 



We may classify the several points of view from which agriculture 

 could be regarded under a few heads, and see what position in relation 

 to each of these was taken up by Cato. First, as to the scale of 

 farming operations. He does ^not denounce great estates. He insists 

 on the maintenance of a due proportion 1 between the house and the 

 land. Neither is to be too big for the other. A decent dwelling 2 will 

 induce the landlord to visit his estate more often ; a fine mansion will 

 be costly and tempt him to extravagance. Secondly, it is on this 

 frequent personal attention that successful management depends. For 

 your steward needs the presence of the master's eye to keep him to 

 his_duty^_ Thirdly,^ie accepts the position that the regular staff of 

 labourers are to be slaves, and some at least of these 3 are hi chains 

 (compediti). For special work, in time of harvest etc, extra labour is 

 to be hired, and of this some is free labour, perhaps not all. For con- 

 tractors employing gangs of labourers play a considerable part. Their 

 remuneration may be in cash, or they may receive a share 4 of the pro- 

 duce (partiario). Some of their labourers are certainly free : if they 

 do not pay the wages regularly, the dominus is to pay them and 

 recover from the contractor. But it is not clear that contractors 

 employed freemen exclusively, and there is some indication 5 of the 

 contrary. Fourthly, there is no suggestion of a return to quite small 

 peasant holdings, though he opens the treatise with an edifying passage 6 

 on the social political and military virtues of farmers, and cites the 



1 Cato agr 3 i, Pliny NH xvm 32. 2 Cato agr 4. 



3 Cato agr 56-7. 4 Cato agr 16, 136-7, 146. 



6 In 147 the emptor of a season's lambs seems to be bound to provide a pastor ; who is 

 held as a pledge to secure the final settlement. s Cato agr praef. 



