No. 200.] 203 



Call up from the records of men those names which cannot die, and 

 you will find them all of one mind as to the culture of the earth. 

 What is the rule of that venerable empire at our antipodes : Chinese 

 emperors have been always bound by a custom of several thousand 

 years, to appear in the field at the opening of every spring, and in the 

 presence of the first men of the empire, take hold of the plow and run 

 the first furrow ! 



Cato of Home always cried aloud to the Romans, go to your fields 

 and work them with as much energy as you would meet the enemy in 

 battle ! The most beautiful poet of ancient days, Virgil, wrote two 

 works that will never die. One on the management of stock, his j&«- 

 co/tc5, (meaning care of cattle) — the other the Georgics, Agriculture. 



At the era of Virgil, Rome had attained by her power ihe command 

 of an hundred millions of men. That was the memorable Augustan 

 age ! the real achme of Roman glory. Thus you perceive that the 

 beloved poet of the day, the truly admirable Maro, devoted his rich 

 mind first to the raising of cattle ! secondly to Georgics, or agricul- 

 ture ; and lastly to the History of Rome's infancy and father iEneas 



Such then was the imperial taste of Rome. She had, by following 

 the just and noble precepts of Cincinnaius, Cato,] Virgil, Varro, Colu- 

 mella, of Theophiastus of Athens, and others of nature's noblemen, es- 

 tablished virtue in her people. Virgil slates the maxims oi much cat- 

 tle much tvheat ? Cull from your seeds and fruits always the very 

 best. Spare not your sturdy labor upon the soil. Italy can be for- 

 ever maintained as a garden by manure of much cattle, and by con- 

 stant labor. Steep the seeds of your plants in nitre and the lees of 

 oil. 



Select the very best cattle to stock your farm. Kiln dry your grain 

 before you grind it, and it will be more wholesome. Mow your grass 

 while the dew is upon it. Agriculture is noble. The dictators of 

 Rome maintained themselves from a few acres by their own daily la- 

 bor. By such men and such means, says the Roman satirist, Juvenal, 

 all the men of Rome were brave and strong, a: d all the women chaste! 

 The empire grew to the enormous community of one hundred and 

 twenty millions of people. 



Thiers, in his Philosophy of History, has recently beautifully illus- 

 trated this manhood of the Roman people, and also the causes of its 



