BOOK I. I. 8-12 



standing authorities are Chaereas, Aristandrus, 

 Amphilochus, Euphronius, and Chrestus — Euphronius 

 being not, as many believe, the Euphronius of Aniphi- 

 polis (who is himself regarded as a praiseworthy 

 farmer), but a native of Attica. The islands, too, 9 

 have honoured the study, as witness Epigenes of 

 Rhodes, Agathocles of Chios, and Evagon and 

 AnaxipoUs of Thasos. Menander and Diodorus 

 also, fellow-countrymen of the renowned Bias, one 

 of the Seven," were among the first to lay claim to a 

 knowledge of agriculture. Not inferior to these 

 are Bacchius and Mnaseas of Miletus, Antigonus of 

 Cyme, Apollonius of Pergamus, Dion of Colophon, 

 and Hegesias of Maronea. As a matter of fact, 10 

 Diophanes of Bithynia epitomized in six abridged 

 volumes the entire work of Dionysius of Utica, who 

 translated in many prolix volumes the treatise of the 

 Carthaginian Mago.** Other writers, too, though 

 of lesser fame, whose countries we have not 

 learned, have made some contribution to our 

 study. Such are Androtion, Aeschrion, Aristo- 

 menes, Athenagoras, Crates, Dadis, Dionysius. 

 Euphyton, and Euphorion. And ^vith no less 11 

 fidelity have Lysimachus and Eubulus, Menestratus 

 and Plentiphanes, Persis and Theophilus, to the best 

 of their ability, brought us their tribute. And that 12 

 we may endow Agriculture at last with Roman 

 citizenship (for it has belonged thus far to writers 



" The Seven Sages of Greece, all belonging to the period 

 from 620 to 550 e.g. The names are variously given, but 

 those usually mentioned are : Cleobulus, Periander, Pittacus, 

 Bias, Thales, Chilon, and Solon. 



* Cf. Varro, R.R. I. 1. 10; and see V. Lundstrom, 

 " Magostudien," Eranos, II. 60-67; J. P. Mahaffy, "The 

 Work of Mago on Agriculture," Hermathena, VII. 29-35. 



33 



