BOOK XVIII. 1. 5-II. 8 



of our discourse is indeed the countryside and rustic 

 practiccs, but it is on these that life dcpcnds and that 

 the highest honour was bcstowed in early days. 



II. Ilomulus at thc outset instituted thc Pricsts EarivRoman 

 of the Fields,'' and nominatcd himself as the twelfth '^''"'^"""^- 

 brothcr among thcm, the others being the sons of 

 his foster-mothcr Acca Larcntia ; it was to this priest- 

 hood that was assigned as a most sacrcd emblcm the 

 first crown ever worn at Rome, a wreath of ears of 

 corn tied together with a white fillet ; and this dignity 

 only ends with Hfe, and accompanies its holdcrs even 

 into exile or captivity. In those days two acres 

 of land each was enough for the Roman people, 

 who assigned to no one a larger amount — which of 

 the persons who but a httle time before wcre the 

 slaves of the Empcror Nero would have been satisficd 

 with an ornamental gardcn of that extent ? They 

 Hke to have fishponds largcr than that, and it is a 

 thing to bc thankful for if somcone docs not insist 

 on kitchens covcring a greater area. Numa estab- 

 lished worship of the gods with an olfering of corn 

 and winning their favour with a salted cake, and, 

 according to Hemina, of roasting emnier wheat* 

 because it was morc wholcsome for food when 

 roasted — though he could attain this only in one way, 

 by estabhshing that emmer was not in a pure condition 

 for a rcHffious ofFcrinff unless it had becn roasted. 

 It was also Numa who cstabHshed the Feast of Ovcns, 

 the hoHday when emmer is roasted, and the equally 

 solemn holiday dedicated to the Boundary-marks of 

 estates, thcse bounds being in those days particu- 

 larly recognized as gods, with the goddcsses Seia 

 named from sowing the seed and Segesta from 

 reaping the harvest, whosc statues we see in the 



193 



