BOOK II. II. 3-7 



what the Greeks call o-v^vyt'at evavTtoTyjTwv, and 

 which we may fairly render " the couplings of 

 opposites." Furthermore, it must be pointed out that, 

 of all things which the earth brings forth, more 

 thrive better on a plain than on a hill, and more in fat 

 land than in lean. As to dry ground and wet ground, 4 

 we have not ascertained which of these excels in 

 number, since there are, in each case, almost 

 limitless things which thrive in dry places, and the 

 same in wet areas ; but of this number there is 

 nothing that does not grow better in loose soil than 

 in dense. This, too, our own Vergil said when, 

 after recounting the other good points of a fruitful 

 field, he added : 



and one of crumbling soil ; for this is what we 

 rival when we plough.** 



For cultivation is nothing else than the loosening and 

 breaking up of the ground ; and on this account a 5 

 field which is both rich and mellow yields the greatest 

 returns, because in producing most it demands least, 

 and what it does require is supplied with trifling 

 labour and expense. Such a soil may therefore with 

 justice be called the very best. Next in order to this 

 is the combination of rich and dense, a soil which re- 

 wards the expense and toil of the husbandman with 

 rich increase. Third in rank is a well-watered place, 6 

 because it can produce fruits without expense. Cato, 

 who rated the yield of meadow lands far ahead of 

 other returns, used to say that this kind of land 

 was first ; * but we are now speaking of land under 

 cultivation, not of that left untilled. No kind is con- 7 

 sidered worse than that which is at the same time 

 dry, stiff, and lean; for not only is it worked with 



III 



