LUCIUS JUNIUS MODERATUS COLUMELLA 



iubeat, sulcumque vacuari, ac totum spatium crudi 

 soli cum emota iam terra committi, sicut praecepi 

 priore ^ libro, cum arandi rationem traderem, monen- 

 do - necubi scamna omittantur, et quod est durum 



11 summis glaebis obtegatur. Sed huic operi exigendo 

 quasi quandam machinam commenti maiores nostri 

 regulam fabricaverunt, in cuius latere virgula promi- 

 nens ad earn altitudinem, qua deprimi sulcum 

 oportet, contingit summam ripae partem. Id genus 

 mensurae ciconiam vocant rustici. Sed ea quoque 

 fraudem recipit, quoniam plurimmn interest utrum 

 eam pronam an rectam ponas. Nos itaque huic 

 machinae quasdam partes adiecimus, quae con- 

 tendentium litem disputationemque dirimei'ent. 



12 Nam duas regulas eius latitudinis, qua ^ pastinator 

 sulcum facturus est, in speciein Graecae litterae X ^ 

 decussavimus,^ atque ita mediae parti, qua regulae 

 eommittuntur, antiquam illam ciconiam infiximus, 

 ut tamquam suppositae basi ad perpendiculum 

 normata insisteret ; deinde transversae, quae est in 



^ priore codd., superiore edd. 



^ monendo om. 8A, vett. edd. : movendo ac. 



^ qua om. SAac. 



* grecae chi littere (X in marg.) S : X om. AacM. 



* decusabimus 8Anc : densavimus M. 



<" II. 2. 25, 4. 3. 



* " Middle " as the meaning here of latus (side) is defended by 

 Gesuer and accepted generally by other commentators. 



' This measuring device is not mentioned by other writers, 

 though Isidore (Orig. XX. 15. 3) says that the Spaniards gave 

 the name ciconia to a well sweep {tolleno) because the motion of 

 the sweep, in drawing water, resembled the actions of the 

 stork. PaUadius (II. 10. 4) speaks of the use of the virga 

 alone as a measure of the depth of trenched ground. It 

 appears that the ancient ciconia here mentioned was in the 

 form of the letter T, standing, like a stork, on one leg ; though 



316 



