Plinies NaturallHiftorie. 



A the meaner in dcgree^vvas named the Vrbane Tribes; confifting of Arcifancs & fuch like zs were 

 not landed perfons : into which, if a man were transferred from any of the reft ^.ic was tliought a 

 great fhame and difgrace, asifheewerereprochcdforidleneffeand negligence inhusbandrie; 

 And hereupon thefe foure Tribes alone tooke name of thofe. foure principal) parts or quaricig 

 of thecitiewhcreintheywerefcated.towirjSuburrana.PalatinajCollina/andExquilina. Over 

 and bcfides,uponfaires & market daies,the Rufticke Tribes ufiiaUy viijtcd thecitic; upon which 

 daies therefore nopublickeaflembliesof the people were holden^ to call the Commons away 

 from their market affaires. Alfo the manner m thofc daies was to take their ficcpe and repofe in 

 good ftraw and litter. Yea^and when fpeech was of gloric arid reno!wne, men would call h by no 

 other tearme but Adorea^of Ador,a kind offine red wheat. Where, by the way, Ihaveingreac 



B admiration the antique words of thofe times,and it doth me good to tliinke how fignificant tiiey 

 were.For thus we read in the facred Pontifical! Commentaries of the high priefts,i^V tk^^ u- 

 guYic or folemmfmipce called '^Cattdmrny let there be certain daies dppmted^ to w:t, before that the * UsAt^ 

 cornejherveAreotitofthehofe.ycA^mdbeforethdtitcomeintoit, Buttoreturne againe loihepraifc '^^^^^ 

 of Husbandrie.When the world was thus addided and given to Agriculture|ltalie was not on- aaire> 

 ly well provided and fufficientlyfurnifhed of corne,without any helpe from our provinces; but 

 alfo all kind of grainc and visuals were in thofc daies fo exceeding cheape,as it is incredible.For 

 Manilas Martm a Plebeian i^dile of Rome,was the firft man that ferved the people wheat at one 

 Affe theModius : and after him Minutim Augunnm^ the eleventh Tribuhe of the Commons, 

 (even he who endited that mutinous and feditious citizen SpMelim)\>lQ\^^t downe the price of 



Q wheat for three market daies to an Affe the N'lodius.The people thereibre of Rome,in regard of 

 this good deed of his, exeded a ffatuc for him without the gate Trigemina , and that with (uch 

 affedion and devotion, that every man contributed fomewhat thereto by way of benevolence. 

 TrebKu alfo in the time of his ^dilefhip, caufcd wheat to bee fold unto the people at the fame 

 rate,to wit,one Affe aModius . For which caufe, there were twoftatues alfo in memoriallof him 

 fet upjboth intheCapitollandaifoinPalatiiim: and himfelfe when he was departed this liie^ 

 had this honour done unto him by the people,at his exequies, as to bee caried on their iTioul- 

 derstohis funerall fire . It is reported moreover,That in the very fame yearev^hercin the great 

 goddeHe C^hele (called alfo the mother of the gods) was brought to Rome, there was a more 

 plentifull harveft that Summerjand corne was at a lower price than had been knowne in ten years 



D before. Likewife, CM,VArro hath left in writing, That when I.c^J/^m'/^madefhewof lo many 

 Elephants in his triumph at Rome, a Modius of good red wheat, was worth no more than one 

 Afle. Alfo a gallon of wine coff no more. And as for drie Figges,thirtie pound weigl it caried no 

 higher price : and a man might have bought a pound of oile Olivejand twelve pound of fiefb a« 

 the very lame reckoning.And yet ail thisplcntieandcheapencffeproceedednotlrom the great 

 dOmainesand large poffcffions ofthofepiivate perfons that cncroched upon their neighbors, 

 and hemmed tlicin within narrow compaffe. For by the law publiilied by Siolo ncimui^ provi- 

 ded it was,That no Romane citizen (liould hold in private above five hundred Acres.1 he rigor 

 of whichlaw or ftatute was extended and pradifed upon the Law maker himlelfe,and by vcrtue 

 thereof he was condemned: who,for to poffeffe above that propor£ion,and to defraud the mea- 



E ning of the faid Aa^purchafed more lands in the name of his fonne.Lo what m.igiit be the pro- 

 portion and meafure of poffeffions allowed even then,when as the State and Common-wealth 

 of Rome was in the prime and began to flourilb. And as for the Oration verily of Cuv.ui 

 after fuch triumphs of his,& when he had fubdued and brought under the obeifancc of the Ro- 

 : man Empire and laid to their dominion fo many forrain nationsjwhat it W3s,every man knoweth, 

 wherin he delivered this fpeech,That he was not to be counted a good n-;an,but a dangerous d- 

 tizen,who could not content himfelfe with a clofe of feven acres of ground. A nd to fay a tiuth,^ 

 tcr that thekingswerebanilhed out of Rome, and their regiment abolillied, this was theverie 

 proportion of land alTigned co a Romane Commoner.If this be fo,VVhat might be the caufc of 

 fo great plentie & abundance aforefuid in thofe daies? Ccrtes,this & nothing els,Great LL.and 



F generals of the field(as it fhould feemejtilled themfelves their ground with their own hands : and 

 the Earth again for her part, taking nofmall plea(ure(as it were) to be eared and broken up with 

 ploughs Laureatj and ploughmen Triumphant, drained her fclfe to yeeld encreafe to the utter- 

 moff. Like it is alfo, that thele brave men and worthieperfonages wereascurious in fowing a 



ground with cor ne^as in ordinance of a battcll in array : as diligent (I lay) in difpofmg and orde? 



ying 



