BOOK I. IX. 8-9 



that men will not be by ones or twos, because they 

 are not easily watched when scattered ; and yet they 

 should number not more than ten, lest, on the other 

 hand, when the band is too large, each individual 

 may think that the work does not concern him. This 

 arrangement not only stimulates rivalr}-^, but also it 

 discloses the slothful ; for, when a task is enlivened 

 by competition, punishment inflicted on the laggards 

 appears just and free from censure. 



But surely, in pointing out to the farmer-to-be 9 

 those matters for which especial provision must be 

 made — healthfulness, roads, neighbourhood, water, 

 situation of the homestead, size of the farm, 

 classes of tenants and slaves, and assignment of duties 

 and tasks — we have now come properly, through 

 these steps, to the actual tilling of the soil ; of this we 

 shall presently treat at greater length in the book 

 that follows. 



lOI 



