126 VARRO ON FARMING [bk. 



remember — on which you were recently beginning 

 to speak when we were interrupted. What three 

 matters? asked Murrius; do you mean what you 

 told me yesterday about cattle-raising? Precisely, 

 answered Cossinius: I mean the discourse which 

 our friend Varro here was beginning, on the origin, 

 dignity, and art of cattle-raising (we had come to 

 see Paetus,^ who was not very well), only the 

 arrival of the doctor prevented our further discus- 

 sion. 



For my part, said I, I consent to treat the his- 

 torical part only, to say what I know about the first 

 two parts, namely, the origin of the art and its 

 dignity. The third, the practical part, Scrofa ' must 

 take in hand. For Scrofa, oV '^^p /-^o^ Tro'^y^ov afxsivav 

 (^^ who is a much better man than I ") — I say it in 

 Greek to two half-Greek shepherds — is the man 

 who taught C. Lucilius Hirrus, your son-in-law, 



ship. A few lines further (i, 20) he mentions a L. Papirius 

 Paetus who was an Epicurean and a man of much wit and 

 learning. To him were written twelve of Cicero's letters 

 (Ad Fam., ix, 15-26). 



^ Cufn poetam sesum. This passage is manifestly corrupt. 

 Sesum may be ior fesum {i.e.^fessum) in the sense of ill (Ursi- 

 nus) and poetam for paetum. The passage would then read : 

 Cum Poetumfessum visere venissemus. For visere venissemus 

 cf. Plautus (Rudens, 94), nunc hue ad Veneris fanum venio 

 visere. 



^ Scrofa {Tremellius) constantly quoted by Columella as a 

 great authority. Columella (i, i, 12) says that " Cato first 

 taught Agriculture to speak Latin, the two Sasernae con- 

 tinued her education, Tremellius Scrofa made her eloquent, 

 Varro gave her polish (!), and Virgil made a poet of her." 



