Columella: DE RE RUSTICA LIBRI XII

Xenophon Atheniensis eo libro, Publi Silvine, qui Oeconomicus inscribitur, prodidit maritale coniugium sic comparatum esse natura, ut non solum iucundissima, verum etiam utilissima vitae societas iniretur: nam primum, quod etiam Cicero ait, ne genus humanum temporis longinquitate occideret, propter hoc marem cum femina esse coniunctum, deinde, ut ex hac eadem societate mortalibus adiutoria senectutis nec minus propugnacula praeparentur.

Xenophon the Athenian, in that book, O Publius Silvinus, which is entitled Oeconomicus, has handed down that the marital union is so arranged by nature that not only the most pleasant, but also the most useful society of life might be entered upon: for first, as even Cicero says, lest the human race perish by the long duration of time, for this reason the male has been joined with the female; then, that from this same society for mortals aids for old age, and no less bulwarks, might be prepared.

[2] Tum etiam, cum victus et cultus humanus non, uti feris, in propatulo ac silvestribus locis sed domi sub tecto adcurandus erat, necessarium fuit alterutrum foris et sub divo esse, qui labore et industria compararet, quae tectis reconderentur, siquidem vel rusticari vel navigare vel etiam genere alio negotiari necesse erat, ut aliquas facultates adquireremus.

[2] Then also, since victuals and human culture were not, as for wild beasts, to be cared for in the open and in sylvan places but at home under a roof, it was necessary that one or the other be abroad and under the open sky, to procure by labor and industry the things which might be stored indoors, since it was necessary either to farm or to navigate or even to negotiate in another kind, so that we might acquire some resources.

[3] Cum vero paratae res sub tectum essent congestae, alium esse oportuit, qui et inlatas custodiret et ea conficeret opera, quae domi deberent administrari: nam et fruges ceteraque alimenta terrestria indigebant tecti, et ovium ceterarumque pecudum fetus atque fructus clauso custodiendi erant nec minus reliqua utensilia, quibus aut alitur hominum genus aut etiam excolitur.

[3] When indeed the prepared things had been heaped beneath the roof, it was necessary that there be another, who would both guard the things brought in and complete those works which ought to be administered at home: for both the grains and the other terrestrial aliments were in need of a roof, and the offspring and fruits of the sheep and of the other cattle had to be kept within an enclosure, and no less the remaining utensils, by which the human race is either nourished or even cultivated.

[4] Quare, cum et operam et diligentiam desiderarent ea, quae proposuimus, nec exigua cura foris adquirerentur, quae domi custodiri oporteret, iure, ut dixi, natura comparata est [opera] mulieris ad domesticam diligentiam, viri autem ad exercitationem forensem et extraneam; itaque viro calores et frigora perpetienda, tum etiam itinera et labores pacis ac belli, id est rusticationis et militarium stipendiorum, deus tribuit.

[4] Wherefore, since the things which we have set forth demanded both effort and diligence, and since with no small care there were acquired outside the things which ought to be guarded at home, rightly, as I said, nature has assigned the woman’s [work] to domestic diligence, but the man’s to forensic and external exercise; and so to the man God allotted heats and colds to be endured, and also journeys and the labors of peace and of war, that is, of rustication and of military service.

[5] Mulieri deinceps, quod omnibus his rebus eam fecerat inhabilem, domestica negotia curanda tradidit, et, quoniam hunc sexum custodiae et diligentiae adsignaverat, idcirco timidiorem reddidit quam virilem; nam metus plurimum confert ad diligentiam custodiendi.

[5] To the woman, thereafter, because he had made her unfit for all these things, he entrusted the domestic business to be cared for; and, since he had assigned this sex to custody and diligence, for that reason he made her more timid than the male; for fear contributes very much to the diligence of guarding.

[6] Quod autem necesse erat foris et in aperto victum quaerentibus nonnunquam iniuriam propulsare, idcirco virum quam mulierem fecit audaciorem; quia vero partis opibus aeque fuit opus memoria et diligentia, non minorem feminae quam viro earum rerum tribuit possessionem; tum etiam, quod simplex natura non omnis res commodas amplecti valebat, idcirco alterum alterius indigere voluit, quoniam, quod alteri deest, praesto plerumque est alteri.

[6] But because it was necessary for those seeking sustenance outside and in the open to repel injustice at times, for that reason he made the man more audacious than the woman; and since in the acquisition of resources there was equally need of memory and diligence, he granted to the woman no lesser possession of those things than to the man; then also, because a simple nature was not able to embrace all advantageous things, therefore he willed that the one should need the other, since what is lacking to the one is for the most part ready at hand for the other.

[7] Haec in Oeconomico Xenophon et deinde Cicero, qui eum Latinae consuetudini tradidit, non inutiliter disseruerunt; nam et apud Graecos et mox apud Romanos usque in patrum nostrorum memoriam fere domesticus labor matronalis fuit, tamquam ad requiem forensium exercitationum, omni cura deposita, patribus familias intra domesticos penatis se recipientibus. Erat enim summa reverentia cum concordia et diligentia mixta, flagrabatque mulier pulcherrima diligentiae aemulatione studens negotia viri cura sua maiora atque meliora reddere.

[7] These things, in the Oeconomicus, Xenophon—and then Cicero, who transmitted it to Latin consuetude—discussed not un-usefully; for both among the Greeks and soon among the Romans, down to the memory of our fathers, domestic labor was for the most part matronal, as a rest from forensic exercises, with every care laid aside, the fathers of families withdrawing within their household Penates. For there was the highest reverence, mixed with concord and diligence, and the woman burned with a most beautiful emulation of diligence, striving to render the husband’s affairs greater and better by her care.

[8] Nihil conspiciebatur in domo dividuum, nihil, quod aut maritus aut femina proprium esse iuris sui diceret, sed in commune conspirabatur ab utroque, ut cum forensibus negotiis matronalis industria rationem parem faceret. Itaque ne vilici quidem aut vilicae magna erat opera, cum ipsi domini cotidie negotia sua reviserent atque administrarent.

[8] Nothing divided was seen in the house, nothing that either the husband or the woman would call proper and of his or her own right; rather, it was concerted in common by both, so that, alongside the affairs of the forum, matronal industry might make an equal reckoning. And so there was not even much need of a steward or stewardess, since the masters themselves each day reviewed and administered their own business.

[9] Nunc vero, cum pleraeque sic luxu et inertia diffluant, ut ne lanificii quidem curam suscipere dignentur, sed domi confectae vestes fastidio sint, perversaque cupidine maxime placeant, quae grandi pecunia et paene totis censibus redimuntur, nihil mirum est easdem ruris et instrumentorum agrestium cura gravari sordidissimumque negotium ducere paucorum dierum in villa moram.

[9] Now indeed, since very many so melt away in luxury and inertia that they do not even deign to undertake the care of wool-working, but garments finished at home are a matter of disgust, and, by a perverse cupidity, those especially please which are ransomed at a great expense and almost with their whole revenues, it is nothing marvelous that these same are burdened by the care of the countryside and of agrarian instruments, and reckon a stay of a few days in the villa the most sordid business.

[10] Quam ob causam, cum in totum non solum exoleverit sed etiam occiderit vetus ille matrum familiarum mos Sabinarum atque Romanarum, necessaria inrepsit vilicae cura, quae tueretur officia matronae, quoniam et vilici quoque successerunt in locum dominorum, qui quondam, prisca consuetudine, non solum coluerant sed habitaverant rura. Verum ne videar intempestive censorium opus obiurgandis moribus nostrorum temporum suscepisse, iam nunc officia vilicae persequar.

[10] For which cause, since altogether that old custom of the matrons of families, Sabine and Roman, has not only withered but has even died, the necessary care of the vilica has crept in, to safeguard the offices of the matron, since the vilici too have succeeded to the place of the masters, who once, by ancient custom, had not only cultivated but had even inhabited the countryside. But, lest I seem untimely to have undertaken a censorial work for rebuking the morals of our times, I will now proceed to pursue the duties of the vilica.

I. PRAECEPTA, QUAE VILICA EXSEQUI DEBEAT.

1. PRECEPTS, WHICH THE FARM-STEWARDESS OUGHT TO CARRY OUT.

Ea porro, ut institutum ordinem teneamus, quem priore volumine inchoavimus, iuvenis esse debet, id est non nimium puella, propter easdem causas, quas de aetate vilici rettulimus, integrae quoque valitudinis, nec foedi habitus nec rursus pulcherrima; nam inlibatum robur et vigiliis et aliis sufficiet laboribus. Foeditas fastidiosum, nimia species desidiosum faciet eius contubernalem;

She, moreover, so that we may keep the instituted order which we began in the prior volume, ought to be young, that is, not too much a girl, for the same reasons which we related about the age of the vilicus, and also of sound health, neither of foul bearing nor, on the other hand, most beautiful; for unimpaired vigor will suffice both for vigils and for other labors. Ugliness will make her contubernal fastidious; excessive beauty will make him slothful;

[2] itaque curandum est, ut nec vagum vilicum et aversum a contubernio suo habeamus nec rursus intra tecta desidem et complexibus adiacentem feminae. Sed nec haec tantum, quae diximus, in vilica custodienda sunt:

[2] therefore it must be seen to, that we have the steward neither wandering and averse from his cohabitation nor, on the other hand, indoors idle and lying in a woman’s embraces. But not only these things, which we have said, are to be guarded for the farm-mistress:

[3] nam in primis considerandum erit, an a vino, ab escis, a superstitionibus, a somno, a viris remotissima sit, et ut cura eam subeat, quid meminisse, quid in posterum prospicere debeat, ut fere eum morem servet, quem vilico praecepimus, quoniam pleraque similia esse debent in viro atque femina; et tam malum vitare quam praemium recte factorum sperare; tum elaborare, ut quam minimam operam vilicus intra tectum impendat, cui et primo mane cum familia prodeundum est et crepusculo peractis operibus fatigato redeundum.

[3] for first of all it must be considered whether she is most removed from wine, from foods, from superstitions, from sleep, from men, and that care take hold of her as to what she ought to remember, what she ought to foresee for the future, so that she keep almost that same custom which we have prescribed for the vilicus, since most things ought to be similar in man and woman; and to avoid evil as much as to hope for the reward of deeds done rightly; then to strive that the vilicus expend as little effort as possible indoors, for whom it is necessary both at first light to go forth with the household and, at twilight, when the tasks have been completed, to return, fatigued.

[4] Nec tamen instituendo vilicam domesticarum rerum vilico remittimus curam, sed laborem eius adiutrice data levamus. Ceterum munia, quae domi capessuntur, non in totum muliebri officio relinquenda sunt, sed ita deleganda ei, ut identidem oculis vilici custodiantur, sic enim diligentior erit vilica, si meminerit ibi esse, cui frequenter ratio reddenda sit.

[4] Nor yet, in appointing a vilica, do we lessen for the vilicus the care of domestic affairs; rather, we lighten his labor by giving him a helper. Moreover, the duties that are undertaken at home are not to be left in their entirety to a womanly office, but are to be delegated to her in such a way that they are kept repeatedly under the eyes of the vilicus; for thus the vilica will be more diligent, if she remembers that there is someone there to whom an account must frequently be rendered.

[5] Ea porro persuasissimum habere debebit aut in totum aut certe plurimum domi se morari oportere; tunc, quibus aliquid in agro faciendum erit servis, eo foras emittere, quibus autem in villa quid agendum videbitur, eos intra parietes continere atque animadvertere, ne diurna cessando frustrentur opera; quae domum autem inferuntur, diligenter inspicere, ne delibata sint, et ita explorata atque inviolata recipere; tum separare, quae consumenda sunt, et, quae superfieri possunt, custodire, ne sumptus annuus menstruus fiat.

[5] Moreover, she ought to hold it as most thoroughly persuaded that she must stay either entirely, or certainly for the most part, at home; then to send outside those slaves for whom something must be done in the field, but those for whom something seems to be done in the villa to keep within the walls and supervise, lest by idling they defraud the day’s work; the things, however, that are brought into the house to inspect diligently, lest they have been sampled, and so, once explored and inviolate, to receive them; then to separate what is to be consumed, and to keep what can be left over, lest an annual expense become a monthly one.

[6] Tum, si quis ex familia coeperit adversa valitudine adfici, videndum erit, ut is quam commodissime ministretur; nam ex eiusmodi cura nascitur benivolentia nec minus obsequium; quin etiam fidelius quam prius servire student, qui convaluerunt, cum est aegris adhibita diligentia.

[6] Then, if anyone of the household begins to be affected by adverse health, it must be seen to that he be ministered to as commodiously as possible; for from care of this sort there is born benevolence and no less obedience; indeed, those who have recovered even strive to serve more faithfully than before, when diligence has been applied to the sick.

II. Post haec meminisse debebit, quae inferantur, ut idoneis et salubribus locis recondita[e] sine noxa permaneant. Nihil enim magis curandum est quam praeparare, ubi quidque reponatur, et unde, cum opus sit, promatur. Ea loca qualia esse debeant, et primo volumine, cum villam constitueremus, et undecimo, cum de vilico disputaremus, iam dicta sunt.

2. After these things he ought to remember, as to the items that are brought in, that, laid away in suitable and salubrious places, they may remain without harm. For nothing is more to be cared for than to prepare where each thing is to be put away, and whence, when there is need, it may be brought forth. What sort of places these ought to be has already been said both in the first volume, when we were establishing the villa, and in the eleventh, when we were discussing the bailiff.

[2] Sed ne nunc quidem demonstrare breviter pigebit: nam quod est excelsissimum conclave, pretiosissima vasa et vestem desiderat, quod denique horreum siccum atque aridum, frumentis habetur idoneum, quod frigidum, commodissime vinum custodit, quod bene inlustre, fragilem supellectilem atque ea postulat opera, quae multi luminis indigent.

[2] But not even now will it be troublesome to demonstrate briefly: for the highest chamber requires the most precious vessels and garments; that, finally, a dry and arid granary is held suitable for grains; that which is cold most suitably preserves wine; that which is well-illuminated calls for fragile furniture and those works which are in need of much light.

[3] Praeparatis igitur receptaculis oportebit suo quidque loco generatim atque etiam specialiter nonnulla disponere, quo facilius, cum quid expostulabit usus, recipere possit. Nam vetus est proverbium: paupertatem certissimam esse, cum alicuius indigeat, uti eo non posse, quia ignoretur, ubi proiectum iaceat, quod desideratur. Itaque in re familiari laboriosior est neglegentia quam diligentia.

[3] With the receptacles therefore prepared, it will be proper to arrange each thing in its own place, by kind and even in some cases specifically, so that more easily, when use demands something, one can retrieve it. For there is an old proverb: that the most certain poverty is, when one is in need of something, to be unable to use it, because it is unknown where that which is desired lies cast aside. And so, in household affairs, negligence is more laborious than diligence.

[4] Quis enim dubitet nihil esse pulchrius in omni ratione vitae dispositione atque ordine, quod etiam ludicris spectaculis licet saepe cognoscere: nam ubi chorus canentium non ad certos modos neque numeris praeeuntis magistri consensit, dissonum quiddam et tumultuosum audientibus canere videtur; at ubi certis numeris ac pedibus velut facta conspiratione consensit atque concinuit, ex eiusmodi vocum concordia non solum ipsis canentibus amicum quiddam et dulce resonat verum etiam spectantes audientesque laetissima voluptate permulcentur.

[4] For who would doubt that nothing is more beautiful, in every aspect of life, than disposition and order—a thing one may often recognize even in public spectacles: for when a chorus of singers has not agreed to fixed modes nor to the measures of the master who gives the lead in counting, it seems to the hearers a singing that is somewhat dissonant and tumultuous; but when, to fixed measures and feet, as if by a conspiration made, it has agreed and sung together, from such a concord of voices not only does something friendly and sweet resound for the singers themselves, but even the spectators and listeners are soothed with the most joyful pleasure.

[5] Iam vero in exercitu neque miles neque imperator sine ordine ac dispositione quicquam valet explicare, cum armatus inermem, eques peditem, plaustrum equitem, si sint permixti, confundant. Haec eadem ratio praeparationis atque ordinis etiam in navigiis plurimum valet: nam ubi tempestas incessit et est rite disposita navis, suo quidque ordine locatum armamentum sine trepidatione minister promit, cum est a gubernatore postulatum.

[5] Now indeed in an army neither the soldier nor the commander can accomplish anything without order and disposition, since, if they are intermixed, the armed confound the unarmed, the horseman the foot-soldier, the wagon the horseman. This same rationale of preparation and order avails very greatly also in ships: for when a storm has set in and the ship is duly disposed, the attendant, without trepidation, brings forth the equipment, each thing placed in its own order, when it has been demanded by the helmsman.

[6] Quod si tantum haec possunt vel in theatris vel in exercitibus vel etiam in navigiis, nihil dubium est, quin cura vilicae ordinem dispositionemque rerum, quas reponit, desideret: nam et unumquidque facilius consideratur, cum est adsignatum suo loco, et, si quid forte abest, ipse vacuus locus admonet, ut, quod deest, requiratur; si quid vero curari aut concinnari oportet, facilius intellegitur, cum ordine suo recensetur. De quibus omnibus Marcus Cicero, auctoritatem Xenophontis secutus in Oeconomico, sic inducit schomachum sciscitanti Socrati narrantem.

[6] But if these things avail so much either in theaters or in armies or even on ships, there is no doubt that the vilica’s care requires an order and disposition of the things which she stores: for both each individual item is more easily considered when it has been assigned to its own place, and, if anything by chance is absent, the empty place itself admonishes that what is lacking be sought; if indeed anything ought to be cared for or made trim, it is more easily understood when it is reviewed in its own order. On all of which Marcus Cicero, following the authority of Xenophon in the Oeconomicus, thus introduces Ischomachus telling it to Socrates as he inquires.

III. Praeparatis idoneis locis instrumentum et supellectilem distribuere coepimus. Ac primum ea secrevimus, quibus ad res divinas uti solemus, postea mundum muliebrem, qui ad dies festos comparatur, deinde ad <bellum> virilem, item dierum sollemnium ornatum nec minus calciamenta utrique sexui convenientia; tum iam seorsum arma ac tela separabantur et in altera parte, quibus <ad> lanificia utuntur;

3. With suitable places prepared, we began to distribute the equipment and the furnishings. And first we separated those things which we are accustomed to use for things divine, afterwards the women’s finery, which is prepared for festal days, then the manly gear for <war>, likewise the ornament of solemn days, and no less the footwear suitable to each sex; then now separately arms and missiles were being set apart, and on the other side, the things which are used <for> wool-working;

[2] post, quae ad cibum comparandum vasa adsolent, construebantur; inde, quae ad lavationem, quae ad exornationem, quae ad mensam cotidianam atque epulationem pertinent, exponebantur; postea ex his, quibus cotidie utimur, quod menstruum esset, seposuimus; annuum quoque in duas partes divisimus: nam sic minus fallit, qui exitus futurus sit.

[2] after this, the vessels that are wont to be used for preparing food were stacked; then those which pertain to lavation, to ornamentation, and to the daily table and to feasting were set out; afterwards, from these things which we use every day, we set apart what was for the month; the yearly supply also we divided into two parts: for thus one is less mistaken as to what the outgo will be.

[3] Haec postquam omnia secrevimus, tum suo quaeque loco disposuimus. Deinde, quibus cotidie servuli utuntur, quae ad lanificia, quae ad cibaria coquenda et conficienda pertinent, haec ipsis, qui his uti solent, tradidimus et, ubi exponerent, demonstravimus et, ut salva essent, praecepimus.

[3] After we had separated all these things, then we disposed each in its own place. Then, the things which the household servants use daily—those which pertain to wool-working, and those which pertain to comestibles to be cooked and prepared—we handed over to the very persons who are wont to use them, and we demonstrated where they should set them out, and we prescribed that they be kept safe.

[4] Quibus autem ad dies festos et ad hospitum adventum utimur et ad quaedam rara negotia, haec promo tradidimus et loca omnium demonstravimus et ei omnia adnumeravimus atque adnumerata ipsi exscripsimus eumque monuimus, ut, quodcumque opus esset, sciret, unde daret, et meminisset atque adnotaret, quid et quando et cui dedisset, et cum recepisset, ut quidque suo loco reponeret.

[4] But the things which we use on feast days and at the arrival of guests and for certain rare affairs, these we handed over to the storekeeper (promus), and we showed the places of all, and we enumerated everything to him and transcribed for him the items enumerated; and we admonished him that, whatever need there was, he should know whence to give, and should remember and annotate what and when and to whom he had given, and, when he had received it back, that he should replace each thing in its own place.

[5] Igitur haec nobis antiqui per schomachi personam praecepta industriae ac diligentiae tradiderunt, quae nunc nos vilicae demonstramus. Nec tamen una eius esse cura debebit, ut clausa custodiat, quae tectis inlata receperit, sed subinde recognoscat atque consideret, ne aut supellex vestisve condita situ dilabatur aut fruges aliave utensilia neglegentia desidiaque sua corrumpantur;

[5] Therefore the Ancients through the person of Ischomachus handed down to us these precepts of industry and diligence, which we now set forth to the farm-stewardess. Nor, however, ought her care be only this: to keep under lock the things which, brought under the roofs, she has received; but she should from time to time review and consider, lest either furniture or clothing, stored away, decay from disuse, or the grain and other utensils be ruined by her own negligence and sloth;

[6] pluviis vero diebus, vel cum frigoribus aut pruinis mulier sub dio rusticum opus obire non potuerit, ut ad lanificium reducatur praeparataeque sint et pectitae lanae, quo facilius iusta lanificio persequi atque exigere possit. Nihil enim nocebit, si sibi atque actoribus et aliis in honore servulis vestis domi confecta fuerit, quo minus patris familiae rationes onerentur.

[6] indeed, on rainy days, or when with cold or frosts the woman cannot undertake rustic work under the open sky, let her be brought back to wool-working, and let the wools be prepared and carded, so that she may more easily pursue and exact what is due in wool-working. For it will do no harm if clothing be made at home for herself and for the agents and for other honored house-servants, so that the accounts of the father of the family be less burdened.

[7] Illud vero etiam in perpetuum custodiendum habebit, ut eos, qui foris rusticari debebunt, cum iam e villa familia processerit, requirat, ac si quis, ut evenit, curam contubernalis eius intra tectum tergiversans fefellerit, causam desidiae sciscitetur exploretque, utrum adversa valitudine inhibitus restiterit an pigritia delituerit, et, si compererit vel simulantem languorem, sine cunctatione in valitudinarium deducat; praestat enim opere fatigatum sub custodia requiescere unum aut alterum diem quam pressum nimio labore veram noxam concipere.

[7] She will also have this to be kept in perpetuity: that she make inquiry for those who ought to work outside in the fields, when already the household has gone forth from the villa; and if anyone, as happens, by shirking indoors has evaded the care of his contubernal (hut-mate), let her ask and explore the cause of the idleness—whether he has been held back by adverse health or has lain hidden from sloth—and, if she discovers even one feigning languor, without delay let her conduct him to the infirmary; for it is better that a man wearied by work should rest under guard for a day or two than, pressed by excessive labor, to contract a real harm.

[8] Denique uno loco quam minime oportebit eam consistere: neque enim sedentaria eius opera est, sed modo ad telam debebit accedere ac, si quid melius sciat, docere, si minus, addiscere ab eo, qui plus intellegat; modo eos, qui cibum familiae conficiunt, invisere, tum etiam culinam et bubilia nec minus praesepia emundanda curare; valitudinaria quoque, vel si vacent ab inbecillis, identidem aperire et inmunditiis liberare, ut, cum res exegerit, bene ordinata [et ornata] et salubria languentibus praebeantur;

[8] Finally, it will be least proper for her to remain in one place: for her work is not sedentary, but at one time she ought to go to the loom and, if she knows anything better, to teach; if less, to learn in addition from him who understands more; at another time to visit those who prepare the family’s food, then also to take care that the kitchen and the cattle-stalls, and no less the mangers, be cleaned; the infirmaries also, even if they are vacant of the weak, to open repeatedly and to free from filth, so that, when the situation requires, well-ordered [and adorned] and salubrious places may be provided to the languishing;

[9] promis quoque et cellariis aliquid attendentibus aut metuentibus intervenire, nec minus interesse pastoribus in stabulis fructum cogentibus aut [ut] fetus ovium aliarumve pecudum subrumantibus; tonsuris vero earum utique interesse et lanas [etiam] diligenter percipere et vellera ad numerum pecoris recensere; tum insistere atriensibus, ut supellectilem exponant; et aeramenta detersa nitidentur atque rubigine liberentur, ceteraque, quae refectionem desiderant, fabris concinnanda tradantur.

[9] to intervene also for the storekeepers and the cellarers when they are attending to something or are fearful; and no less to be present with the shepherds in the stalls as they gather the produce, or [that] the offspring of sheep or other herds are suckling; at their shearings indeed to be present without fail, and to take in the wools [also] diligently and to tally the fleeces to the headcount of the livestock; then to press the atrium-servants to set out the furniture; and that the bronze-ware, having been wiped, be made shining and be freed from rust, and that the other things which desire refection be handed over to the craftsmen to be made trim.

[10] Postremo, his rebus omnibus constitutis, nihil hanc arbitror distributionem profuturam, nisi, ut iam dixi, vilicus saepius et aliquando tamen dominus aut matrona consideraverit animadverteritque, ut ordinatio instituta conservetur. Quod etiam in bene moratis civitatibus semper est observatum, quarum primoribus atque optimatibus non satis visum est bonas leges habere, nisi custodes earum diligentissimos cives , quos Graeci nomophylakas appellant.

[10] Finally, with all these things constituted, I judge this distribution will be of no use, unless, as I have already said, the bailiff more often, and at times, however, the master or the matron, shall have inspected and taken note, so that the instituted ordination may be preserved. Which also in well-ordered states has always been observed, whose foremost men and optimates did not think it sufficient to have good laws, unless they had the most diligent citizens as their guardians, whom the Greeks call nomophylakes.

[11] Horum erat officium eos, qui legibus parerent, laudibus prosequi nec minus honoribus, eos autem, qui non parerent, poena multare, quod nunc scilicet faciunt magistratus adsidua iurisdictione vim legum custodientes. Sed haec in universum administranda tradidisse abunde sit.

[11] It was the duty of these to accompany with praises, and no less with honors, those who obeyed the laws; but those who did not obey, to penalize with punishment—which, to be sure, the magistrates now do, guarding the force of the laws by assiduous jurisdiction. But let it be enough to have handed down these things to be administered in general.

IV. Nunc de ceteris rebus, quae omissae erant prioribus libris, quoniam vilicae reservabantur officiis, praecipiemus, et, ut aliquis ordo custodiatur, incipiemus a verno tempore, quoniam fere maturis atque trimenstribus consummatis sationibus vacua tempora iam contingunt ad ea exsequenda, quae deinceps docebimus.

4. Now about the remaining matters, which had been omitted in the earlier books, since they were being reserved for the duties of the vilica, we shall prescribe; and, that some order may be kept, we shall begin with the springtime, since, the sowings that are nearly mature and the three-month sowings being consummated, free times now occur for carrying out those things which we shall teach henceforth.

[2] Parvarum rerum curam non defuisse Poenis Graecisque auctoribus atque etiam Romanis memoria tradidit: nam et Mago Carthaginiensis et Hamilcar, quos secuti videntur Graecae gentis non obscuri scriptores Mnaseas atque P[h]axamus, tum demum nostri generis, postquam a bellis vacuum fuit, quasi quoddam tributum victui humano conferre non dedignati sunt, ut Marcus Ambivius et Maenas Licinius, tum etiam Gaius Matius, quibus studium fuit pistoris et coqui nec minus cellarii diligentiam suis praeceptis instruere.

[2] Tradition has handed down that care for small things was not lacking to Punic and Greek authors and even to Roman ones: for both Mago the Carthaginian and Hamilcar—whom writers of the Greek nation, not obscure ones, Mnaseas and P[h]axamus, seem to have followed—then at length men of our own race, after there was a respite from wars, did not disdain to contribute, as it were, a certain tribute to human victuals, such as Marcus Ambivius and Maenas Licinius, then also Gaius Matius, whose zeal was to instruct by their precepts the diligence of the baker and the cook, and no less of the cellarer.

[3] His autem omnibus placuit eum, qui rerum harum officium susceperit, castum esse continentemque oportere, quoniam totum in eo sit, ne contrectentur pocula vel cibi nisi aut inpubi aut certe abstinentissimo rebus veneriis; quibus si fuerit operatus vel vir vel femina, debere eos flumine aut perenni aqua, priusquam penora contingant, ablui; propter quod his necessarium esse pueri vel virginis ministerium, per quos promantur, quae usus postulaverit.

[3] But it pleased all these authorities that the one who has undertaken the office of these matters ought to be chaste and continent, since the whole point lies in this: that cups or foods be not handled except by one either not yet pubescent, or at any rate most abstinent in venereal matters; and if either a man or a woman has been occupied with such matters, they ought to be washed in a river or in perennial water before they touch the stores; on account of which it is necessary for these tasks to have the service of a boy or a virgin, through whom there may be brought forth whatever use shall have required.

[4] Post hoc praeceptum locum et vasa idonea salgamis praeparari iubent: locum esse debere aversum a sole, quam frigidissimum et siccissimum, ne situ penora mucorem contrahant; vasa autem fictilia vel vitrea, plura potius quam ampla, et eorum alia recte picata, nonnulla tamen pura, prout condicio conditurae exegerit;

[4] After this precept they bid that a place and vessels suitable for brine-pickles be prepared: the place ought to be turned away from the sun, as most frigid and most dry as possible, lest by mustiness the stores contract mold; the vessels, however, earthenware or vitreous, rather more numerous than large, and of them some duly pitched, yet some pure, as the condition of the preserving shall have required;

[5] haec vasa dedita opera fieri oportere patenti ore et usque ad imum aequalia nec in modum doliorum formata, ut, exemptis ad usum salgamis, quidquid superest aequali pondere usque ad fundum deprimatur, quoniam ea res innoxia penora conservet, ubi non innatent sed semper sint iure summersa; quod in utero dolii fieri vix posse propter inaequalitatem figurae; maxime autem ad haec necessarium esse aceti et durae muriae usum; quae utraque sic confieri.

[5] these vessels ought by deliberate design to be made with an open mouth and equal all the way to the bottom, and not shaped in the manner of dolia, so that, the salgama taken out for use, whatever remains may be pressed down with equal weight to the very bottom, since this preserves the stores wholesome, when they do not float but are always submerged in the brine; which in the belly of a dolium can scarcely be done because of the inequality of the shape; and most especially for these things the use of vinegar and strong brine is necessary; both of which are prepared thus.

V. VINUM VAPIDUM FIERI ACRIUS.

5. TO MAKE VAPID WINE SHARPER.

In sextarios quadraginta octo fermenti libram, fici aridi pondo quadrantem, salis sextarium; haec subterito et subtrita cum quartario mellis aceto diluito atque ita in praedictam mensuram adicito. Quidam hordei tosti sextarios quattuor et nuces ardentes iuglandes quadraginta et mentae viridis pondo selibram in eandem mensuram adiciunt.

Into forty-eight sextarii, a pound of ferment, a quarter-pound by weight of dried figs, a sextarius of salt; pound these and, when ground, dilute with vinegar and with a quartarius of honey, and thus add into the aforesaid measure. Some add, into the same measure, four sextarii of toasted barley, and forty blazing-hot walnuts, and a half-pound by weight of green mint.

[2] Quidam ferri massas exurunt, ita ut ignis speciem habeant, easque in eandem mensuram demittunt, tum etiam exemptis nucleis ipsas nuces pineas vacuas numero V vel sex incendunt et ardentis eodem demittunt, alii nucibus sappineis ardentibus idem faciunt.

[2] Some burn masses of iron, so that they have the appearance of fire, and they let them down into the same measure; then also, with the kernels removed, they ignite the pine nuts themselves, emptied, to the number 5 or six, and, while burning, let them down into the same; others do the same with burning fir-cones.

VI. DE MURIA DURA.

6. ON HARD BRINE.

Muriam duram sic facito: dolium quam patentissimi oris locato in ea parte villae, quae plurimum solis accipit; id dolium aqua caelesti repleto - est ea enim huic aptissima - vel, si non fuerit pluviatilis, certe fontana dulcissimi saporis; tum indito sportam iunceam vel sparteam, quae replenda est sale candido, quo candidior muria fiat; eum salem per aliquot dies videbis liquescere, et ex eo intellegis nondum esse muriam maturam.

Make hard brine thus: place a dolium with the widest possible mouth in that part of the villa which receives the most sun; fill that dolium with celestial water — for that is most apt for this — or, if pluvial water is not available, certainly with spring-water of the sweetest savor; then put in a basket of rush or of esparto, which is to be filled with white salt, in order that the brine may become more candid; you will see that salt liquefy for several days, and from this you understand that the brine is not yet mature.

[2] Itaque subinde alium salem tamdiu ingeres, donec in sporta permaneat integer nec minuatur; quod cum animadverteris, scies habere muriam maturitatem suam; et, si facere aliam volueris, hanc in vasa bene picata diffundes et opertam in sole[m] habebis: omnem enim mucorem vis solis aufert et odorem bonum praebet. Et est aliud muriae maturae experimentum: nam ubi dulcem caseum demiseris in eam, si pessum ibit, scies esse adhuc crudam, si innatabit, maturam.

[2] And so you will continually add other salt until it remains whole in the basket and is not diminished; when you notice this, you will know the brine has its maturity; and, if you should wish to make another, you will pour this into well‑pitched vessels and keep it covered in the sun: for the force of the sun takes away all mold and furnishes a good odor. And there is another experiment of mature brine: for when you have let down sweet cheese into it, if it goes to the bottom, you will know it is still crude; if it floats, mature.

VII. QUAS HERBAS LEGI OPORTET.

7. WHICH HERBS OUGHT TO BE GATHERED.

His praeparatis circa vernum aequinoctium herbas in usum colligi et reponi oportebit: cymam, caulem, capparim, apii coliculos, rutam, holeris atri cum suo caule florem, antequam de folliculo exeat, item ferulae cum coliculo silentem quam tenerrimum florem, pastinacae agrestis vel sativae cum coliculo silentem florem, vitis albae et asparagi et rusci et thamni et digitelli et pulei et nepetae et lapsanae et battis et eius coliculum, qui milvinus pes appellatur, quin etiam tenerum coliculum faeniculi.

With these things prepared, around the vernal equinox it will be proper that herbs be collected for use and put away: cyma, the stalk, caper, the little shoots of apium, rue, the flower of the dark pot‑herb with its own stalk, before it goes out from the little pod; likewise of ferula, with its little stalk, the still‑closed and very tender flower; of parsnip, wild or cultivated, with its little stalk, the still‑closed flower; of the white vine and of asparagus and of ruscus and of thamnum and of digitellus and of pennyroyal and of nepeta and of nipplewort and of batis, and its little shoot, which is called kite’s foot; nay even the tender little shoot of fennel.

[2] Haec omnia una conditura commode servantur, id est, aceti duas partes et tertiam durae muriae si miscueris; sed vitis alba et ruscum et thamnum et asparagus et lapsana et pastinaca et nepeta et battis generatim in alveos conponuntur et sale consparsa biduo sub umbra, dum consudent, reponuntur; deinde, si tantum remiserunt umoris, ut suo sibi iure ablui possint;

[2] All these are conveniently preserved by a single pickling, that is, if you mix two parts of vinegar and a third part of strong brine; but the white vine and ruscus and thamnus and asparagus and lapsana and pastinaca and nepeta and battis are set by kind in vats and, sprinkled with salt, are put aside for two days under shade, while they sweat; then, if they have let out so much moisture that they can be rinsed in their own liquor;

[3] si minus, superfusa dura muria, lavantur et pondere inposito exprimuntur; tum suo quidque vase conditur et ius, ut supra dixi, quod est mixtum duabus partibus aceti et una muriae, infunditur, faeniculique aridi, quod est per vindemiam proximo anno lectum, spissamentum inponitur, ita ut herbas deprimat et ius usque in summum labrum fideliae perveniat.

[3] if not, with strong brine poured over, they are washed and, a weight having been placed on, they are pressed out; then each is stored in its own vessel and the liquor, as I said above, which is mixed of two parts vinegar and one of brine, is poured in, and a packing of dried fennel, which was gathered at the vintage in the previous year, is set on, so that it presses down the herbs and the liquor reaches all the way to the top lip of the jar.

[4] Holus atrum et ferulam et faeniculum cum legeris, sub tecto reponito, dum flaccescat; deinde folia et corticem omnem folliculorum detrahito. Caules si fuerint pollice crassiores, harundine secato et in duas partes dividito. Ipsos quoque flores, ne sint inmodici, diduci et partiri oportebit atque ita in vasa condi, deinde ius, quod supra scriptum est, infundi et paucas radiculas laseris, quod Graeci silphion vocant, adici, tum ita spissamento faeniculi aridi contegi, ut ius superveniat.

[4] When you have gathered black colewort and ferula (giant fennel) and fennel, set them under a roof until they become flaccid (wilt); then strip off the leaves and all the bark of the follicles (seed-pods). If the stalks are a thumb in thickness, cut them with a reed and divide into two parts. The flowers themselves also, lest they be immoderate, must be separated and divided, and so put into vessels; then the liquor which is written above is to be poured in, and a few little rootlets of laser, which the Greeks call silphion, added; then it is to be covered with a packing of dried fennel, so that the liquor comes up over.

[5] Cymam, caule, capparim, pedem milvi, puleium, digitellum compluribus diebus sub tecto siccari, dum flaccescat, et tum eodem modo condiri convenit quo ferulam.

[5] The cyma (cabbage-sprout), the stalk, the caper, kite’s-foot, pennyroyal, and little-finger should be dried under a roof for several days, until they wilt, and then it is proper that they be preserved in the same way as the ferule (giant fennel).

RUTA[M], SATUREIA[M], CUNELA[M].

RUE, SAVORY, CUNILA.

Sunt qui rutam muria tantum dura sine aceto condiant, deinde, cum usus exigit, aqua vel etiam vino abluant et superfuso oleo utantur; hac conditura possit commode satureia viridis et aeque viridis cunela servari.

There are some who pickle rue with only hard brine without vinegar; then, when use requires, they wash it with water or even wine and employ it with oil poured over. By this pickling, green savory (satureia) and likewise green cunela can be conveniently kept.

VIII. OXYGALAE COMPOSITIO.

8. COMPOSITION OF OXYGALA.

Oxygalam sic facito: ollam novam sumito eamque iuxta fundum terebrato; deinde cavum, quem feceris, surculo obturato et lacte ovillo quam recentissimo vas repleto eoque adicito viridium condimentorum fasciculos origani, mentae, cepae, coriandri. Has herbas ita in lacte demittito, ut ligamina earum exstent.

Make oxygala thus: take a new pot and bore it near the bottom; then stop up the hole you have made with a little peg, and fill the vessel with sheep’s milk as fresh as possible, and add to it bundles of green condiments—oregano, mint, onion, coriander. Let these herbs be lowered into the milk in such a way that their bindings protrude.

[2] Post diem quintum surculum, quo cavum opturaveras, eximito et serum emittito; cum deinde lac coeperit manare, eodem surculo cavum obturato, intermissoque triduo, ita ut supra dictum est, serum emittito et fasciculos condimentorum exemptos abicito, deinde exiguum aridi thymi et cunelae aridae super lac destringito concisique sectivi porri quantum videbitur adicito et permisceto; mox intermisso biduo rursus emittito serum cavumque obturato et salis triti quantum satis erit adicito et misceto. Operculo deinde inposito oblinito. Non antea aperueris ollam, quam usus exegerit.

[2] On the fifth day remove the peg with which you had stopped the hole and let the whey out; then, when the milk begins to trickle, stop the hole with the same peg, and, when three days have elapsed, let the whey out as described above and, having taken out the bundles of condiments, throw them away; then strew a small amount of dry thyme and of dry savory over the milk, and add chopped chives, as much as will seem good, and mix thoroughly; soon, when two days have passed, again let the whey out and stop the hole, and add ground salt as much as will suffice and mix. After putting on the lid, daub it over. Do not open the pot before need shall require.

ALIO MODO.

ANOTHER METHOD.

[3] Sunt qui, sativi vel etiam silvestris lepidii herbam cum collegerunt, in umbra siccent, deinde folia eius, abiecto caule, die et nocte muria macerata expressaque lacti misceant sine condimentis, et salis quantum satis arbitrantur adiciant, tum cetera, quae supra praecepimus, faciant.

[3] There are those who, when they have gathered the herb of cultivated or even wild cress (Lepidium), dry it in the shade; then, the stem cast aside, they mix its leaves—soaked for a day and a night in brine and pressed out—into the milk without condiments, and they add as much salt as they judge sufficient; then let them do the rest which we have prescribed above.

ALITER.

ANOTHER WAY.

Nonnulli recentia folia lepidii cum dulci lacte in olla miscent et post diem tertium, quemadmodum praecepimus, serum emittunt, deinde compertam satureiam viridem, tum etiam arida semina coriandri atque anethi et thymi et apii in unum bene trita adiciunt, salemque bene coctum cribratum permiscent. Cetera eadem, quae supra, faciunt.

Some mix fresh leaves of cress with sweet milk in a pot, and after the third day, as we have prescribed, they let out the whey; then they add bruised fresh savory, and also the dry seeds of coriander and of dill and of thyme and of celery, well ground together, and they commingle sifted salt that has been well cooked. The rest they do the same as above.

IX. LACTUCAE CONDITURA.

9. LETTUCE PICKLING.

Caules lactucae ab imo depurgatos eatenus, qua tenera folia videbuntur, in alveo sallire oportet diemque unum et noctem sinere, dum muriam remittant, deinde in muria eluere et expressos in cratibus pandere, dum adsiccescant; tum substernere anethum aridum et faeniculum rutaeque aliquid et porri concidere atque ita miscere; tum siccatos coliculos ita componere, ut phaseoli virides integri interponantur, quos ipsos ante dura muria die et nocte macerari oportebit;

Lettuce stalks, cleansed from the bottom up to the point where tender leaves appear, ought to be salted in a trough and left for one day and a night, until they give off brine; then rinse in brine and, having been pressed out, spread them on lattices until they dry somewhat; then lay beneath dried dill and fennel, and cut up a little rue and leek, and thus mix; then arrange the little stalks, once dried, in such a way that whole green beans are interposed, which themselves must first be macerated in strong brine for a day and a night;

[2] similiterque adsiccatos cum fasciculis lactucarum condi et superfundi ius, quod sit aceti duarum partium atque unius muriae; deinde arido spissamento faeniculi sic comprimi, ut ius supernatet; quod ut fiat, is, qui huic officio praeerit, saepe suffundere ius debebit neque pati sitire salgama sed extrinsecus munda spongea vasa pertergere et aqua fontana quam recentissima refrigerare.

[2] and likewise, when dried, to be put up with bundles of lettuces, and the liquor to be poured over, which should be of two parts vinegar and one of brine; then with a dry packing of fennel to compress them so that the liquor floats above; and, in order that this may be so, the one who presides over this office must often pour on the liquor and not allow the pickled goods to thirst, but from the outside wipe the vessels with a clean sponge and cool them with the freshest possible spring water.

INTIBI.

ENDIVES.

[3] Simili ratione intibum et cacumina rubi, qua lactuca, condire oportet nec minus thymi et satureiae et origani, tum etiam armoraciorum cymam. Haec autem, quae supra scripta sunt, verno tempore conponuntur.

[3] By a similar method, it is proper to season endive and the tips of bramble, just as lettuce, and no less thyme and savory and oregano, then also the shoot of horseradishes. These things, moreover, which have been written above are prepared in the vernal season.

X. Nunc, quae per aestatem circa messem vel etiam exactis iam messibus colligi et reponi debeant, praecipiemus.

10. Now we shall prescribe what, during the summer around harvest-time, or even when the harvests have already been completed, ought to be collected and stored.

CEPAE CONDITURA.

PICKLING OF ONIONS.

Pompeianam vel Ascaloniam cepam vel etiam Marsicam simplicem, quam vocant unionem rustici, eligito; ea est autem, quae non fruticavit nec habuit suboles adhaerentis.

Choose a Pompeian or Ascalonian onion, or even the simple Marsic one, which the rustics call a “union”; it is, moreover, the kind which has not put forth shoots nor had adherent offspring.

[2] Hanc prius in sole siccato, deinde sub umbra refrigeratam, substrato thymo vel cunela, componito in fidelia et infuso iure, quod sit aceti trium partium et unius muriae, fasciculum cunelae superponito, ita ut cepa deprimatur; quae cum ius combiberit, simili mixtura vas suppleatur. Eodem tempore corna et pruna onychina et pruna silvestria nec minus genera pirorum et malorum conduntur.

[2] First dry this in the sun, then, cooled in the shade, with thyme or savory (cunila) laid underneath, set it in earthenware vessels (fidelia) and pour in the liquor (ius), which should be of vinegar (acetum) three parts and of brine (muria) one; place a little bundle of savory on top, so that the onion is pressed down; when it has drunk up the liquor, fill the vessel with a similar mixture. At the same time cornelian cherries and onychine plums (onyx-plums) and wild plums, and no less the kinds of pears and apples, are preserved.

CORNA ET PRUNA CONDIRE.

TO PRESERVE CORNELIAN CHERRIES AND PLUMS.

[3] Corna, quibus pro olivis utamur, item pruna silvestria et pruna onychina adhuc solida nec maturrima legenda sunt, nec tamen nimium cruda; deinde uno die umbra siccanda; tum aequis partibus acetum et sapam vel defrutum misceatur et infundatur. Oportebit autem aliquid salis adicere, ne vermiculus aliudve animal innasci possit. Verum commodius servantur, si duae partes sapae cum aceti una parte misceantur.

[3] Cornels (cornelian cherries), which we may use in place of olives, likewise wild plums and onychina plums, must be gathered still firm and not at their ripest, yet not overly unripe; then they must be dried for one day in the shade; then in equal parts vinegar and sapa or defrutum should be mixed and poured in. It will be needful, moreover, to add a bit of salt, lest a little worm or some other animal be born within. In truth, they keep more conveniently—rather, they keep better—if two parts of sapa are mixed with one part of vinegar.

PIRORUM ET MALORUM CETERORUMQVE POMORUM COMPOSITIO.

THE COMPOSITION OF PEARS AND APPLES AND OF THE OTHER POMES.

[4] Pira Dolabelliana, crustumina, regia, Veneria, volema, Naeviana, Lateritiana, Decimiana, laurea, myrapia, [pruna] purpurea cum inmatura, non tamen percruda legeris, diligenter inspicito, ut sint integra sine vitio aut vermiculo; tum in fictili picata fidelia conponito et aut passo aut defruto completo, ita ut omne pomum summersum sit. Operculum deinde impositum gypsato.

[4] pears Dolabellian, crustominian, royal, venerean, voleman, naevian, lateritian, decimian, laurel, myrapian, [plums] purple, when somewhat unripe, yet not very raw, you should pick; inspect carefully that they be whole, without blemish or little worm; then place them in pitch-smeared earthenware jars and fill completely with either passum (raisin-wine) or defrutum (boiled-down must), such that every fruit is submerged. Then, a lid having been placed on, seal with gypsum.

[5] Illud in totum praecipiendum existimavi nullum esse genus pomi, quod non possit melle servari; itaque, cum sit haec res interdum aegrotantibus salutaris, censeo vel pauca poma in melle custodire sed separata generatim; nam si commisceas, alterum ab altero genere corrumpitur.

[5] I have judged this to be prescribed in general: that there is no kind of fruit which cannot be preserved with honey; therefore, since this thing is sometimes salutary for the sick, I advise keeping even a few fruits in honey, but separated by kind; for if you commix them, the one is corrupted by the other kind.

DE ALVIS CASTRANDIS.

ON THE CASTRATION OF HIVES.

[6] Et quoniam o

portune mellis fecimus mentionem, hoc eodem tempore alvi castrandae ac mel conficiendum, cera facienda est, de quibus nono libro iam diximus. Nec nunc aliam curam exigimus a vilica, quam ut administrantibus intersit fructumque custodiat.

[6] And since we have opportunely made mention of honey, at this same time the hives are to be cut and the honey prepared, the wax made—matters about which we have already spoken in Book 9. Nor do we now require any other care from the farm-mistress than that she be present with those who are managing and guard the produce.

XI. DE MELLA ET MULSA FACIENDA.

11. ON MAKING HONEYS AND MULSUM.

Ceterum cum eodem tempore mella nec minus aqua mulsa in vetustatem reponi debeat, meminisse oportebit, ut, cum secundarium mel de favis fuerit exemptum, cerae statim minute resolvantur et aqua fontana vel caelesti macerentur. Expressa deinde aqua coletur et in vas plumbeum defusa decoquatur, omnisque spurcitia cum spumis eximatur. Quae decocta cum tam crassa fuerit, quam defrutum, refrigeretur et bene picatis lagonis condatur.

Moreover, since at the same time the honeys, and no less honey-water (mulsa), ought to be laid up for aging, it will be needful to remember that, when the secondary honey has been removed from the combs, the waxes at once be finely resolved and soaked in spring or heavenly water. Then the water, expressed, should be strained, and, poured into a leaden vessel, boiled down, and every impurity removed together with the scums. When this decoction has become as thick as defrutum, let it be cooled and stored in well-pitched flagons.

[2] Ha[e]c quidam mella pro aqua mulsa utuntur, nonnulli etiam pro defruto in condituras olivarum, quibus quidem magis idoneam censeo, quia cibarium saporem habet. Nec potest languentibus pro aqua mulsa remedio esse, cum, si bibatur, inflationem stomachi et praecordiorum faciat.

[2] Certain people use these honeys in place of honey‑water, and some even in place of defrutum for the seasonings of olives, for which indeed I deem it more suitable, because it has an alimentary flavor. Nor can it serve as a remedy for the ailing in place of honey‑water, since, if it is drunk, it causes inflation of the stomach and the precordia.

XII. DE AQUA MULSA FACIENDA.

12. ON MAKING HONEY-WATER.

Itaque seposita e<a> et ad condituras destinata, per se facienda erit optimo melle aqua mulsa. Haec autem non uno modo conponitur; nam quidam multos ante annos caelestem aquam vasis includunt et sub dio in sole habent, deinde, cum saepius eam in alia vasa transfuderunt et eliquaverunt; nam quotiensque etiam per longum tempus diffunditur, aliquod crassamentum in imo simile faeci reperitur - , veteris aquae sextarium cum libra mellis miscent.

Therefore, with that set aside and destined for picklings, honey-water will have to be made by itself with the best honey. This, however, is not compounded in one way; for some, many years beforehand, enclose celestial water in vessels and keep it under the open sky in the sun, then, when they have more often decanted it into other vessels and clarified it; for as often as it is poured off even over a long time, some thickening at the bottom, like dregs, is found - , they mix a sextarius of old water with a pound of honey.

[2] Nonnulli tamen, qui austeriorem volunt efficere gustum, sextarium aquae cum dodrante pondo mellis diluunt et ea portione repletam lagonam gypsatamque patiuntur per Caniculae ortum in sole quadraginta diebus esse; tum demum in tabulatum, quod fumum accipit, reponunt.

[2] Some, however, who wish to make a more austere taste, dilute a sextarius of water with three-quarters of a pound (by weight) of honey, and they allow a flagon filled in that proportion and sealed with gypsum to be in the sun for forty days during the rising of Canicula; then at last they put it away in a loft that takes smoke.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[3] Nonnulli, quibus non fuit curae caelestem inveterare aquam, recentem sumunt eamque usque in quartam partem decoquunt; deinde, cum refrixerit, sive dulciorem mulseam facere volunt, duobus aquae sextariis sextarium mellis permiscent, sive austeriorem, sextario aquae dodrantem mellis adiciunt; et his portionibus factam in lagonam diffundunt eamque, sicut supra dixi, quadraginta diebus insolatam postea in tabulatum, quod suffumigatur, reponunt.

[3] Some, for whom it has not been a concern to age the celestial water (rainwater), take it fresh and boil it down to the fourth part; then, when it has cooled, whether they wish to make a sweeter mulsean (mulseum), they commix one sextary of honey with two sextaries of water, or, for a more austere one, to one sextary of water they add a dodrans (three-quarters) of a sextary of honey; and, made with these proportions, they pour it into a flagon and, as I said above, after forty days of sunning, they then store it in a loft that is fumigated.

XIII. DE CASEO IN USUS DOMESTICOS SERVANDO.

13. ON KEEPING CHEESE FOR DOMESTIC USES.

Caseo usibus domesticis praeparando hoc maxime idoneum tempus est, quod et caseus seri minimum remittit et ultimo tempore, cum iam exiguum lactis est, non tam expedit operas morari ad forum fructibus deferendis; et sane saepe deportati propter aestum acore vitiantur. Itaque praestat eos hoc ipso tempore in usum conficere. Id autem ut quam optime fiat, opilionis officium est, cui septimo libro praecepta dedimus, quae sequi debeat.

This is the most suitable time for preparing cheese for domestic uses, because both the cheese remits the least whey, and at the last season, when already there is scant milk, it is not so expedient to detain the hands from carrying produce to the market; and indeed, the cheeses, when transported, are often marred by sourness on account of the heat. Therefore it is better to make them at this very time for use. But that this may be done as excellently as possible is the duty of the shepherd, to whom in the seventh book we have given precepts which he ought to follow.

PORTULACA ET BATTIS QUEMADMODUM SERVENTUR.

PORTULACA AND BATIS, HOW THEY ARE TO BE PRESERVED.

[2] Sunt etiam quaedam herbae, quas adpropinquante vindemia condire possis, ut portulacam et holus cordum, quod quidam sativam battim vocant. Hae herbae diligenter purgantur et sub umbra expanduntur, deinde, quarto die, sal in fundis fideliarum substernitur et separatim unaquaeque earum componitur acetoque infuso iterum sal superponitur; nam his herbis muria non convenit.

[2] There are also certain herbs which, with the vintage approaching, you can condite, such as purslane (portulaca) and the vegetable cordum, which some call cultivated battis. These herbs are carefully cleansed and spread out under shade; then, on the fourth day, salt is strewn at the bottoms of the jars (fideliae), and each of them is set in separately, and vinegar being poured in, salt is again placed on top; for brine does not suit these herbs.

XIV. DE MALIS ET PIRIS IN SOLE SICCANDIS.

14. ON DRYING APPLES AND PEARS IN THE SUN.

Hoc eodem tempore, vel etiam primo mense Augusto, mala et pira dulcissimi saporis, mediocriter matura eliguntur et in duas aut tres partes harundine vel osseo cultello divisa in sole ponuntur, donec arescant. Eorum si est multitudo, non minimam partem cibariorum per hiemem rusticis vindicant; nam pro pulmentario cedit sicuti ficus, quae cum arida seposita est, hiemis temporibus rusticorum cibaria adiuvat.

At this same time, or even in the first month August, apples and pears of sweetest savor, moderately mature, are selected and, divided into two or three parts with a reed or bone knife, are set in the sun until they dry. If there is a multitude of them, they secure no small portion of the provisions for rustics through the winter; for as a relish it serves, just as the fig, which, when dried and set aside, in the times of winter helps the rustics’ provisions.

XV. DE FICIS SICCANDIS.

15. ON DRYING FIGS.

Ea porro neque nimium vieta neque inmatura legi debet et in eo loco expandi, qui toto die solem accipit. Pali autem quattuor pedibus inter se distantes figuntur et perticis iugantur; factae deinde in hunc usum cannae iugis superponuntur, ita ut duobus pedibus absint a terra, ne umorem, quem fere noctibus remittit humus, trahere possint. Tunc ficus inicitur, et crates pastorales, culmo aut carice vel filice textae, ex utroque latere super terram plane disponuntur, ut, cum sol in occasu fuerit, erigantur et inter se adclines testudineato tecto more tuguriorum viescentem ficum ab rore et interdum a pluvia defendant; nam utraque res praedictum fructum corrumpit.

Moreover, it ought to be gathered neither too withered nor unripe, and to be spread out in a place which receives the sun the whole day. Stakes, however, are fixed at intervals four feet from each other and are yoked with poles; then reeds made for this use are laid upon the crossbars, so that they are two feet away from the ground, lest they be able to draw the moisture which the soil generally sends back at night. Then the fig is laid on, and shepherds’ hurdles, woven of straw or sedge or fern, are laid out flat on the ground on either side, so that, when the sun is at its setting, they may be raised and, leaning toward each other, with a tortoise-shell-like roof after the manner of huts, may defend the wizening fig from dew and sometimes from rain; for each of these things corrupts the aforesaid fruit.

[2] Cum deinde aruerit, in orcas bene picatas meridiano tempore calentem ficum condere et calcare diligenter oportebit, subiecto tamen arido faeniculo et iterum, repletis vasis, superposito. Quae vasa confestim operculare et oblinire convenit et in horreum siccissimum reponi, quo melius ficus perennet.

[2] When then it has dried, at meridian time it will be proper to put the warm fig into well-pitched vats and to tread it carefully, with dry fennel placed beneath and, when the vessels are filled, placed on top again. These vessels ought forthwith to be lidded and daubed over, and to be stored in a most dry granary, whereby the fig may more perennate.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[3] Quidam lectis ficis pediculos adimunt et in sole eas expandunt; cum deinde paulum siccatae sunt, antequam indurescant, in labra fictilia vel lapidea congerunt eas, tum pedibus lotis in modum farinae proculcant et admiscent torrefactam sesamam cum aneso Aegyptio et semine faeniculi et cymini.

[3] Certain people, with the figs having been picked, remove the little stalks and spread them out in the sun; when then they have been dried a little, before they harden, they heap them into earthenware or stone basins, then, with washed feet, they thoroughly tread them down to the likeness of flour and mix in toasted sesame with Egyptian anise and fennel seed and cumin.

[4] Haec cum bene proculcaverunt et totam massam comminutae fici permiscuerunt, modicas offas foliis ficulneis involvunt ac religatas iunco vel qualibet herba offas reponunt in crates et patiuntur siccari; deinde cum peraruerunt, picatis vasis eas condunt. Nonnulli hanc ipsam farinam fici orcis sine pice includunt et oblita vasa clibano vel furno torrefaciunt, quo celerius omnis umor excoquatur; sic siccatam in tabulatum reponunt et, cum exigit usus, testam comminuunt; nam duratam massam fici aliter eximere non possunt.

[4] When they have well trampled these and have thoroughly mixed the whole mass of the comminuted fig, they wrap small cakes in fig-tree leaves, and, tied with rush or with any herb, they set the cakes on lattices and allow them to dry; then, when they have dried through, they store them in pitch-smeared vessels. Some enclose this very fig flour in orci without pitch, and, the vessels having been smeared over, they toast them in a clibanus or an oven, so that all moisture may be cooked out more quickly; thus dried, they put it away on a boarded shelf, and, when use requires, they break the potsherd; for they cannot otherwise remove the hardened mass of fig.

[5] Alii pinguissimam quamque viridem ficorum eligunt et harundine vel digitis divisam dilatant atque ita in sole viescere patiuntur; quas deinde bene siccatas meridianis temporibus, cum calore solis emollitae sunt, colligunt et, ut est mos Afris atque Hispanis, inter se compositas comprimunt, in figuram stellarum flosculorumque vel in formam panis redigentes; tum rursus in sole adsiccant et ita vasis recondunt.

[5] Others select the plumpest green figs and, split with a reed or with the fingers, they dilate them and so allow them to grow limp in the sun; which then, well dried at the meridian hours, when by the heat of the sun they have been softened, they gather, and, as is the custom with the Africans and the Spaniards, they compress them, arranged together, reducing them into the figure of stars and little flowers, or into the form of a loaf; then again they dry them in the sun and so store them in vessels.

XVI. DE UVIS PASSIS.

16. ON RAISINS.

Similem curam uvae desiderant, quas dulcissimi saporis, albas, maximis acinis nec spissis luna decrescente sereno et sicco caelo post horam quintam legi oportet et in tabulas paulisper porrigi, ne inter se pondere suo pressae conlidantur. Deinde aeno vel in olla nova fictili ampla praeparatam lixivam cineris sarmenticii calefieri convenit, quae cum fervebit, exiguum olei quam optimi adici et ita permisceri, deinde uvas pro magnitudine binas vel ternas inter se conligatas in aenum fervens demitti et exiguum pati, dum decolorentur, nec rursus committere, ut excoquantur; nam quadam moderatione temperamentoque opus est.

Grapes desire similar care: those of the sweetest savor, white, with very large berries and not compact, ought to be picked with the moon waning, in clear and dry weather, after the fifth hour, and to be spread for a little while on boards, lest, pressed by their own weight, they be crushed together. Then it is proper that lye prepared from the ash of vine-prunings be heated in a cauldron or in a large new earthenware pot; when it comes to a boil, a small amount of the best oil should be added and thus mixed in; then the grapes, in pairs or in threes tied together according to their size, are to be dropped into the boiling cauldron and to be allowed a short time, until they are discolored, and, on the other hand, not permitted to be overcooked; for there is need of a certain moderation and tempering.

[2] Cum deinde exemeris, in crate disponito rarius, quam ut altera alteram contingat. Post tres deinde horas unamquamque uvam convertito nec in eodem vestigio reponito, ne in umore, qui defluxerit, corrumpatur. Noctibus autem contegi debent quemadmodum fici, ut a rore vel pluvia tutae sint; cum deinde modice aruerint, in vasa nova sine pice operculata et gypsata sicco loco reponito.

[2] When thereafter you have taken them out, arrange them on a crate more sparsely than that one should touch another. After three hours then, turn each grape, and do not replace it on the same spot, lest it be spoiled in the moisture that has flowed down. By night, however, they ought to be covered just like figs, so that they may be safe from dew or rain; when thereafter they have moderately dried, put them away in new vessels without pitch, lidded and gypsum-sealed, in a dry place.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[3] Quidam uvam passam foliis ficulneis involvunt et adsiccant, alii foliis vitigineis, nonnulli plataninis semivietas uvas contegunt et ita in amphoras recondunt. Sunt qui culmos fabae exurant et ex eo, quod cremaverint, cineream lixivam faciant, deinde in lixivae sextarios decem salis tres cyathos et olei cyathum adiciant, tum adhibito igne calefaciant et cetera eodem modo administrent. Quod si videbitur in aeno parum inesse olei, subinde, quantum satis erit, adiciatur, quo sit pinguior et nitidior uva passa.

[3] Some wrap the raisin-grape in fig-tree leaves and dry it thoroughly; others in vine leaves; some cover half-withered grapes with plane-tree leaves and thus store them away in amphoras. There are those who burn the stalks of the bean and from what they have cremated make an ashy lixive (lye); then into ten sextarii of the lixive they add three cyathi of salt and one cyathus of oil, then, fire being applied, they warm it and administer the rest in the same way. But if it seems that there is too little oil in the kettle, let there be added from time to time as much as will suffice, so that the raisin-grape may be fatter and more lustrous.

DE SORBIS.

ON SORBS.

[4] Eodem tempore sorba manu lecta curiose in urceolos picatos adicito, et opercula picata inponito et gypso linito; tum, scrobibus bipedaneis sicco loco intra tectum factis, urceolos ita collocato, ut oblita ora eorum deorsum spectent; deinde terram congerito et modice supercalcato. Melius est autem pluribus scrobibus pauciora vasa distantia inter se disponere: nam in exemptione eorum, dum unum tollis, si reliqua commoveris, celeriter sorba vitiantur.

[4] At the same time, carefully hand-picked sorbs are to be added into small pitched urceoli, and pitched covers put on and coated with gypsum; then, pits two feet deep having been made in a dry place under a roof, set the urceoli in such a way that their smeared mouths face downward; next heap earth and moderately tamp it down above. It is better, however, to arrange fewer vessels at intervals from one another in several pits: for in the taking out of them, while you lift one, if you disturb the rest, the sorbs are quickly spoiled.

[5] Quidam hoc idem pomum in passo, quidam etiam in defruto commode servant, adiecto spissamento spissi faeniculi, quo deprimatur ita sorba, ut semper ius supernatet; ac nihilominus picata opercula diligenter gypso linunt, ne possit spiritus introire.

[5] Some suitably preserve this same fruit in passum, some even in defrutum, with a packing of densely packed fennel added, by which the sorb-apples are pressed down so that the juice always floats above; and nonetheless they carefully smear with gypsum the pitch-smeared lids, lest air be able to enter.

XVII. DE ACETO FICULNEO FACIENDO.

17. ON MAKING FIG-TREE VINEGAR.

Sunt quaedam regiones, in quibus vini ideoque etiam aceti penuria est. Itaque hoc eodem tempore est ficus viridis quam maturissima legenda utique, si iam pluviae incesserunt et propter imbres in terram decidit; quae cum sublecta est, in doleum vel in amphoras conditur et ibi sinitur fermentari. Deinde cum exacuit et remisit liquorem, quicquid est aceti diligenter colatur et in vasa picata bene olida diffunditur.

There are certain regions in which there is a scarcity of wine and therefore also of vinegar. And so at this same time the fig, whether green or the very ripest, must be gathered—particularly if the rains have already set in and, on account of the showers, it has fallen to the ground; which, when it has been picked up, is put into a cask or into amphoras and there is allowed to ferment. Then, when it has turned sharp and has released its liquid, whatever vinegar there is should be carefully strained and is poured into pitched vessels that are well-odorous.

Hoc primae notae acerrimi aceti usum praebet nec umquam situm aut mucorem contrahit, si non umido loco positum est.

This affords the use of a first-rate, most acrid vinegar, and it never contracts mustiness or mold, if it is not set in a humid place.

[2] Sunt qui multitudini studentes quam ficis permisceant et subinde maturissimas ficos recentis adiciant et patiantur in eo iure tabescere, donec satis acris aceti sapor fiat; postea in iunceis fiscellis vel sparteis saccis percolant liquatumque acetum infervefaciunt, dum spumam et omnem spurcitiam eximant; tum torridi salis aliquid adiciunt, quae res prohibet vermiculos aliave innasci animalia.

[2] There are those who, courting the multitude, mix water with the figs and from time to time add the ripest fresh figs, and allow them to melt away in that juice until a taste of vinegar sharp enough is produced; afterwards they filter it through little rush-baskets or esparto sacks and bring the strained vinegar to a boil, while they remove the foam and all foulness; then they add some parched salt, a thing which prevents little worms or other animals from being born within.

XVIII. QUAE VINDEMIAE PRAEPARANDA SUNT.

18. WHAT THINGS ARE TO BE PREPARED FOR THE VINTAGE.

Quamvis priore libro, qui <in>scribitur vilicus, iam diximus, quae ad vindemiam praeparanda sint, non tamen alienum est etiam vilicae de isdem rebus praecipere, ut intellegat suae curae esse debere, quaecumque sub tecto administrantur circa vindemiam.

Although in the prior book, which is inscribed “Vilicus,” we have already said what things ought to be prepared for the vintage, nevertheless it is not out of place to give directives to the vilica as well about the same matters, so that she may understand that whatever is administered under the roof concerning the vintage ought to be her care.

[2] Si ager amplus aut vineta aut arbusta grandia sunt, perenne fabricandae decemmodiae et trimodiae, fiscellae texendae et picandae, nec minus faculae et ungues ferrei quam plurimi parandi et exacuendi sunt, ne vindemitor manu destringat uvas et non minima fructus portio dispersis acinis in terram dilabatur.

[2] If the field is ample, or the vineyards or the tree‑trained vine‑plots (arbusta) are large, ten‑modius and three‑modius containers must be made perennially, little baskets (fiscellae) must be woven and pitched, and no less, torches and a great many iron “claws” (hooks) must be prepared and sharpened, lest the grape‑harvester strip the grapes by hand and no small portion of the produce, with the berries scattered, slip down onto the ground.

[3] Funiculi quoque fiscellis aptandi sunt et lora trimodiis. Tum lacus vinarii et torcularii et fora omniaque vasa, si vicinum est mare, aqua marina, si minus, dulci eluenda sunt et commundanda et diligenter adsiccanda, ne umorem habeat. Cella quoque vinaria omni stercore liberanda et bonis odoribus suffi[ci]enda, ne quem redoleat foetorem acoremve.

[3] Little cords also are to be fitted to the fiscellae, and straps to the trimodiae. Then the wine and press vats and the channels, and all the vessels, if the sea is nearby, are to be rinsed with seawater, if not, with fresh, and to be cleaned and carefully dried, lest they retain moisture. The wine-cellar too is to be freed from all filth and fumigated with good odors, lest it exhale any stench or sourness.

[4] Tum sacrificia Libero Liberaeque et vasis pressoris quam sanctissime castissimeque facienda, nec per vindemiam ab torculari aut vinaria cella recedendum est, ut et omnia, qui mustum conficiunt, pure mundeque faciant ne furi locus detur partem fructum intercipiendi.

[4] Then sacrifices to Liber and Libera, and for the pressing vessels, must be performed in the most holy and most chaste manner; nor during the vintage is it to be departed from the press-house or the wine-cellar, so that all things may be done purely and cleanly by those who prepare the must, and that no opportunity be given to a thief to intercept a portion of the fruits.

[5] Dolia quoque et seriae ceteraque vasa ante quadragesimum vindemiae diem picanda sunt atque aliter ea, quae demersa sunt humi, aliter, quae stant supra terram: nam ea, quae demersa sunt, ferreis lampadibus ardentibus calefiunt, et cum pix in fundum destillavit, sublata lampade rutabulo ligneo et ferrea curvata radula educitur, quod destillavit aut quod in lateribus haesit; dein penicillo detergitur et, ferventissima pice infusa, novo alio rutabulo et scopula picatur.

[5] The dolia and the seriae and the other vessels too must be pitched before the fortieth day of the vintage; and those that are sunk in the ground are treated one way, those that stand above the earth another: for those that are sunk are heated with burning iron lamps, and when the pitch has dripped to the bottom, with the lamp removed, what has dripped down or what has stuck to the sides is drawn out with a wooden rutabulum and a curved iron scraper; then it is wiped with a brush, and, when the hottest pitch has been poured in, it is pitched with another new rutabulum and a small broom.

[6] At quae supra terram consistunt, e compluris dies, quam curentur, in solem producuntur, deinde, cum satis insolata sunt, in labra convertuntur et, subiectis parvis tribus lapidibus, suspenduntur; atque ita igni subicitur et tam diu incenditur, donec ad fundum calor tam vehemens perveniat, ut adposita manus patiens eius non sit; tum, dolio in terram demisso et in latus deposito, pix ferventissima infunditur volutaturque, ut omnes doli partes linantur.

[6] But those which stand above the ground, e several days before they are cared for, are brought out into the sun; then, when they are sufficiently sunned, they are turned onto their rims and, with three small stones placed beneath, they are suspended; and thus igni is set beneath and it is heated for so long until the heat reaches the bottom so vehement that a hand laid upon it cannot endure it; then, the dolium having been let down to the ground and laid on its side, the most boiling pitch is poured in and rolled about, so that all the parts of the dolium are smeared.

[7] Sed haec die quieto a ventis fieri debent, ne admoto igne, cum adflaverit ventus, vasa rumpantur. Satis autem sesquicullearibus doleis picis durae pondo vicena quina; nec dubium quin, si[c] quinta pars picis Brutiae in universam cocturam adiciatur, utilissimum sit omni vindemiae.

[7] But these things ought to be done on a day calm from winds, lest, when fire is brought near, if the wind blows upon it, the vessels be broken. For casks of a sesqui-culleus, twenty-five pounds by weight of hard pitch are sufficient; nor is there any doubt that, if a fifth part of Bruttian pitch be added to the whole boiling, it is most useful for the entire vintage.

XIX. DE CONDITURIS VINI.

19. ON THE SEASONINGS OF WINE.

Cura quoque adhibenda est, ut expressum mustum perenne sit aut certe usque ad venditionem durabile, quod quemadmodum fieri debeat et quibus condituris adiuvari, deinceps subiciemus.

Care must also be applied, that the expressed must be perennial, or at least durable up to vendition; how this ought to be done, and by what condiments it may be aided, we will subjoin next.

QUEMADMODUM COQUATUR SAPA.

HOW SAPA IS TO BE COOKED.

Quidam partem quartam eius musti, quod in vasa plumbea coniecerunt, nonnulli tertiam decoquunt; nec dubium quin, ad dimidiam si quis excoxerit, meliorem sapam facturus sit eoque usibus utiliorem, adeo quidem, ut etiam vice defruti sapa mustum, quod est ex veteribus vineis, condire possit.

Some boil down a fourth part of that must which they have thrown into leaden vessels, others a third; nor is there doubt that if someone boils it down to a half, he will make a better sapa and thereby more useful for uses, indeed to such a degree that sapa can even, in place of defrutum, season must which is from old vineyards.

DE FRUTI COCTURA.

ON THE COOKING OF DEFRUTUM.

[2] Quaecumque vini nota sine condimento valet perennare, optimam esse eam censemus, nec omnino quidquam permiscendum, quo naturalis sapor eius infuscetur. Id enim praestantissimum est, quod suapte natura placere potuerit. Ceterum cum aut regionis vitio aut novellarum vinearum mustum laboravit, eligenda erit pars vineae, si est facultas, Amineae, si minus, quam bellissimi vini, quaeque erit et vetustissima et minime uliginosa.

[2] Whatever grade of wine is able to endure without condiment, we judge that to be the best, and that nothing at all should be intermixed, whereby its natural savor might be darkened. For that is most preeminent which could please by its own nature. Otherwise, when the must has suffered either from the fault of the region or from new-planted vines, there must be chosen, if there is the means, a part of the vineyard of the Aminean; if not, then one of very beautiful/fine wine, and one which will be both most long-established and least waterlogged.

[3] Tum observabimus decrescentem lunam, cum est sub terra, et sereno siccoque die uvas quam maturissimas legimus, quibus proculcatis mustum, quod defluxerit, antequam prelo pes eximatur, satis de lacu in vasa defrutaria conferemus, lenique primum igne et tenuibus admodum lignis, quae gremia rustici appellant, fornacem incendemus, ut ex commodo mustum ferveat.

[3] Then we shall observe the decrescent moon, when it is under the earth, and on a serene and dry day we gather grapes as fully ripe as possible; these being trodden, the must which has flowed down, before the foot is removed from the press, we will transfer in sufficient quantity from the vat into vessels for defrutum, and with a gentle fire at first and with very slender sticks, which the rustics call “gremia,” we shall light the furnace, so that the must may boil at a convenient rate.

[4] Isque, qui praeerit huic decoquendo, cola iuncea vel spartea ex crudo, id est non malleato, sparto praeparata habeat, itemque fasciculos faeniculi fustibus inligatos, quos possit utique ad fundum vasorum demittere, ut quicquid faecis subsederit exagitet et in summum reducat, tum colis omnem spurcitiam, quae redundarit, expurget, nec absistat id facere, donec videbitur eliquatum omni faece mustum carere; tum sive mala cydonea, quae percocta sublaturus sit, seu quoscumque voluerit convenientis odores adiciat, et nihilominus subinde faeniculo peragitet, ne quid subsederit, quod possit plumbeum perforare.

[4] And the one who will preside over this decocting should have strainers of rush or of esparto prepared from raw—i.e., not hammered—esparto, and likewise little bundles of fennel bound to sticks, which he can certainly lower to the bottom of the vessels, so that whatever lees have settled he may agitate and bring back to the top; then with the strainers let him purge all the foulness that has welled up, nor desist from doing this until, clarified, the must seems to be free of all dregs; then let him add either quinces, which when thoroughly cooked he is going to remove, or whatever agreeable odors he will wish, and nonetheless from time to time let him agitate with the fennel, lest anything settle which could perforate the lead.

[5] Cum deinde iam acriorem potuerit ignem vas sustinere, id est, cum aliqua parte iam mustum excoctum in se fervebit, tum codices et vastiora ligna subiciantur sed ita, ne fundum contingant; quod nisi vitatum fuerit, saepe vas ipsum [quod aliquando contingit] pertundetur; vel, si id factum non erit, utique aduretur mustum et, amaritudine concepta, condituris fiet inutile.

[5] Then, when the vessel can now endure a more intense fire—that is, when the must, with some part already boiled down, will be seething in itself—then let billets and more massive wood be placed beneath, but in such a way that they do not touch the bottom; for unless this is avoided, the vessel itself will often be pierced [as sometimes happens]; or, if that has not occurred, at any rate the must will be scorched and, bitterness having been conceived, will become useless for condiments.

[6] Oportebit autem, antequam mustum in vasa defrutaria coiciatur, oleo bono plumbea intrinsecus inbui, bene fricari atque ita mustum adici. Ea res non patitur defrutum aduri.

[6] It will be needful, however, before the must is cast into the defrutum-vessels, that the leaden ones be imbued on the inside with good oil, be well rubbed, and thus the must be added. This measure does not allow the defrutum to be scorched.

XX. Quin etiam diligenter factum defrutum, sicut vinum, solet acescere; quod cum ita sit, meminerimus anniculo defruto, cuius iam bonitas explorata est, vinum condire; nam vitioso medicamento tunc fructus, qui perceptus est, vitiat<ur>. Ipsa autem vasa, quibus sapa aut defrutum coquitur, plumbea potius quam aenea esse debent.

20. Indeed, even carefully made defrutum, just like wine, is wont to turn sour; since this is so, let us remember to season wine with one-year-old defrutum, whose goodness has already been tested; for by a faulty medicament the fruit that has been harvested is then spoiled. But the vessels themselves in which sapa or defrutum is cooked ought rather to be of lead than of bronze.

[2] Nam in coctura aeruginem remittunt aenea et medicaminis saporem vitiant. Odores autem vino fere apti sunt, qui cum defruto coquuntur: iris, faenum Graecum, schoenum. Harum rerum singulae librae in defrutarium, quod ceperit musti amphoras nonaginta, cum iam deferbuerit et expurgatum erit, tum adici debent; deinde, si natura tenue mustum erit, cum ad tertiam partem fuerit decoctum, ignis subtrahendus est et fornax protinus aqua refrigeranda; quod etiam si fecerimus, nihilominus defrutum infra tertiam partem vasi ~~considit.~~

[2] For in cooking bronze vessels give off verdigris and vitiate the flavor of the medicament. The odors, moreover, generally apt to wine, which are cooked with defrutum, are: iris, fenugreek, schoenus. Of these things, single pounds ought to be added into the defrutarium, which can hold 90 amphoras of must, when the boiling has now subsided and it has been purified; then, if the must will be thin by nature, when it has been boiled down to a third part, the fire must be withdrawn and the furnace straightway cooled with water; even if we should do this, nonetheless the defrutum settles below the third part of the vasi.

[3] Sed id quamvis aliquid detrimenti habeat, prodest tamen: nam quanto plus decoquitur, si modo non est adustum, melius et spissius fit. Ex hoc autem defruto, quod sic erit coctum, satis est singulos sextarios singulis amphoris inmisceri.

[3] But although it may have some detriment, it is nevertheless beneficial: for the more it is decocted, provided only it is not scorched, the better and the thicker it becomes. From this defrutum, moreover, which will have been cooked thus, it suffices to mix one sextarius into each amphora.

ALIA COMPOSITIO AD VINUM CONDIENDUM, QUAM QUIDAM NEAPOLITANAM VOCANT.

ANOTHER COMPOSITION FOR SEASONING WINE, WHICH SOME CALL NEAPOLITAN.

Cum amphoras musti nonaginta in defrutario decoxeris, ita ut iam exiguum supersit de coctura, [quod significat decoctum ad tertias], tum demum medicamina adicito, quae sunt aut liquida <a>ut resinosa, id est picis liquidae Nemeturicae, cum eam diligenter ante aqua marina decocta perlueris, decem sextarios, item resinae terebinthinae sesquilibram.

When you have boiled down in the defrutarium ninety amphorae of must, such that now only a small amount remains from the boiling [which signifies boiled down to one-third], then at last add the medicaments, which are either liquid or resinous, that is: of liquid pitch of the Nemeturic kind—after you have thoroughly rinsed it beforehand with sea-water that has been boiled—ten sextarii, likewise of turpentine resin one and a half pounds.

[4] Haec cum adicies, plumbeum peragitabis, ne adurantur. Cum deinde ad tertias subsederit coctura, subtrahe ignem, et plumbeum subinde agitabis, ut defrutum et medicamenta coeant. Deinde cum videbitur mediocriter calere defrutum, reliqua aromata contusa et cribrata paulatim insparges et iubebis rutabulo ligneo agitari, quod decoxeris, eo usque, dum defrigescat; quod si non ita, ut praecepimus, permiscueris, subsident aromata et adurentur.

[4] When you add these things, keep working the leaden implement, lest they be singed. Then, when the cook-down has settled to one-third, withdraw the fire, and keep agitating with the leaden implement, so that the defrutum and the medicaments may cohere. Then, when the defrutum seems to be moderately warm, you will little by little sprinkle in the remaining aromatics, pounded and sifted, and you will order what you have boiled down to be agitated with a wooden rutabulum, until it grows cool; but if you do not mix it in the way we have prescribed, the aromatics will settle and be scorched.

[5] Ad praedictum autem modum musti adici debent hi odores: nardi folium, iris Illyrica, nardum Gallicum, costum, palma, Cyperum, schoenum, quorum singulorum selibrae satisfacient, item murram, pondo quincunx, calami pondo libram, casiae selibram, amomi pondo quadrans, croci quincunx, erispae pampinaceae libram.

[5] Moreover, in the aforesaid manner the following odors must be added to the must: nard leaf, Illyrian iris, Gallic nard, costus, palm, cyperus, schoenus, of each a half‑pound will suffice; likewise myrrh, five‑twelfths of a pound; calamus, one pound; cassia, a half‑pound; amomum, a quarter‑pound; crocus (saffron), five‑twelfths of a pound; pampinaceous erispa, one pound.

[6] Haec, ut dixi, arida, contusa et cribrata debent adici et his commisceri rasis, quod est genus crudae picis; eaque, quanto est vetustior, tanto melior habetur: nam longo tempore durior facta, cum est contusa, in pulvere redigitur et his medicaminibus admiscetur; satis est autem praedictis ponderibus sex libras eius misceri. Ex hac compositione quantum in sextarios musti quadragenos octonos adiciendum sit, incertum est, quoniam pro natura vini aestimari oportet, quid satis sit, cavendumque est, ne conditus sapor intellegatur; nam ea res emptorem fugat.

[6] These, as I said, dry, crushed, and sifted, ought to be added and to be mixed with rasis, which is a kind of raw pitch; and this, the older it is, the better it is held: for, made harder by long time, when it is crushed it is reduced into powder and is admixed with these medicaments; moreover, it is sufficient, for the aforesaid weights, that six pounds of it be mixed. From this composition how much should be added into 48 sextarii of must is uncertain, since it must be estimated according to the nature of the wine what is enough, and care must be taken that the seasoned savor not be perceived; for that thing drives the buyer away.

[7] Ego tamen, si umida fuerit vindemia, trientem, si sicca, quadrantem medicaminis in binas amphoras miscere solitus sum [ita ut quattuor urnarum esset musti modus - urna autem quattuor et viginti sextariorum -] ; nonnullos agricolas singulis amphoris quadrantem medicaminis indidisse scio sed hoc coactos fecisse propter nimiam infirmitatem vini eiusmodi, quod vix triginta diebus integrum permanebat.

[7] I, however, if the vintage has been damp, have been accustomed to mix a third, if dry, a quarter, of the medicament into each pair of amphorae [so that the measure of must was 4 urnae - and an urna is 24 sextarii -] ; I know that some farmers have put a quarter of the medicament into single amphorae, but that they did this under compulsion on account of the excessive weakness of wine of that kind, which hardly remained sound for thirty days.

[8] Hoc tamen mustum, si sit lignorum copia, satius est infervefacere et omnem spumam cum faecibus expurgare, quo facto decima pars decidet sed reliqua perennis est. At si lignorum penuria est, marmoris vel gypsi quod flos appellatur, uncias singulas, item ad tertias decocti defruti sextarios binos singulis amphoris miscere oportebit. Ea res etiam si non in totum perennem, at certe usque in alteram vindemiam plerumque vini saporem servat.

[8] This must, however, if there is a supply of firewood, it is better to bring to a boil and purge all the foam together with the dregs; once this is done, a tenth part will fall away, but the remainder is perennial. But if there is a penury of firewood, it will be proper to mix, for each amphora, single ounces of marble or of gypsum (that which is called the flower), likewise two sextarii of defrutum boiled down to a third. This procedure, even if it does not make it entirely perennial, yet certainly preserves the flavor of the wine for the most part up to the next vintage.

XXI. ALITER, QUEMADMODUM MUSTUM INFIRMI GENERIS AD VETUSTATEM POSSIT PERDUCI.

21. OTHERWISE, HOW MUST OF A WEAK KIND CAN BE BROUGHT TO AGE.

Mustum quam dulcissimi saporis decoquetur ad tertias et decoctum, sicut supra dixi, defrutum vocatur; quod cum defrixit, transfertur in vasa et reponitur, ut post annum sit in usu. Potest tamen et post dies novem, quam refrixerit, adici in vinum, et melius est, si anno requieverit. Eius defruti sextarius in duas urnas musti adicitur, si mustum ex vineis collinis est, sed, si ex campestribus, tres heminae adiciuntur.

Must of the sweetest savor is boiled down to a third, and the boiled-down product, as I said above, is called defrutum; when it has cooled, it is transferred into vessels and put away, so that after a year it may be in use. Yet it can also, nine days after it has cooled, be added to wine, and it is better if it has rested for a year. A sextarius of this defrutum is added to two urns of must, if the must is from hill vineyards; but, if from level plains, three heminae are added.

[2] Patimur autem, cum de lacu mustum sublatum est, biduo defervescere et purgari; tertio die defrutum adicimus. Deinde interposito biduo, cum id mustum pariter cum defruto deferbuerit, purgatur et ita eo adicitur in binas urnas ligula cumulata vel mensura semunciae bene plenae salis cocti et triti. Sal autem quam candidissimus coicitur in urceo fictili sine pice; qui urceus cum recipit salem, diligenter totus oblinitur luto paleato et ita igni admovetur ac tamdiu torretur, quamdiu strepitum edit; cum silere coepit, finem habet cocturae.

[2] We allow, moreover, when the must has been lifted from the vat, that it defervesce for two days and be purged; on the third day we add defrutum. Then, with a two-day interval interposed, when that must together with the defrutum has defervesced alike, it is purged, and thus there is added to it, for each two urns, a heaped ligula or a measure of a well-filled half-ounce (semuncia) of cooked and ground salt. The salt, however, as most snow-white as possible, is cast into a fictile pitcher without pitch; which pitcher, when it receives the salt, is carefully all luted over with chaff-tempered clay and thus is set to the fire and is roasted for as long as it emits a crackling; when it begins to be silent, the cooking has its end.

[3] Praeterea faenum Graecum maceratur in vino vetere per triduum, deinde eximitur et in furno siccatur vel in sole; idque cum est aridum factum, molitur. Ex eo molito post sallituram musti cochlear cumulatum vel simile genus poculi huius, quod est quarta pars cyathi, adicitur in binas urnas. Deinde, cum iam perfecte mustum deferbuit et constitit, tantundem gypsi floris miscemus, quantum salis adieceramus, atque ita postero die purgamus dolium et nutritum vinum operimus atque oblinimus.

[3] Moreover, fenugreek is macerated in old wine for three days, then it is taken out and dried in the oven or in the sun; and when it has been made dry, it is ground. Of this ground [material], after the salting of the must, a heaped spoonful (cochlear cumulatum), or a similar measure, a pocillum, which is a fourth part of a cyathus, is added into two urns. Then, when the must has now perfectly ceased fermenting and has settled, we mix in just as much flower of gypsum as we had added of salt; and so on the next day we cleanse the cask and we cover and plaster over the nurtured wine.

[4] Hac conditura Columella patruus meus, inlustris agricola, uti solitus est in his fundis, in quibus palustres vineas habebat. Sed idem, cum collina vina condiebat, aquam salsam decoctam ad tertias pro sale adiciebat. Ea porro facit sine dubio maiorem mensuram et odoris melioris, sed periculum habet, ne vitietur vinum, si male cocta sit aqua; sumitur autem haec, ut iam dixeram, quam longissime ab litore; nam liquidior et purior est, quantum altiore mari hausta est.

[4] With this seasoning my uncle Columella, a distinguished agriculturist, was accustomed to use it on those estates in which he had marshy vineyards. But the same man, when he seasoned hill-country wines, would add boiled-down brine reduced to one-third in place of salt. This, moreover, without doubt makes a greater quantity and of better fragrance, but it carries the peril lest the wine be vitiated, if the water has been badly boiled; and this, as I already said, is taken as far as possible from the shore; for it is more limpid and purer, the deeper a sea it has been drawn from.

[5] Eam si quis, ut Columella faciebat, reponat et post triennium in alia vasa eliquatam transfundat, deinde post alterum triennium decoquat usque ad partem tertiam, longe meliorem habebit condituram vini, nec ullum periculum erit, ne vina vitientur. Satis est autem sextarios singulos adicere salsae aquae in binas musti urnas, quamvis multi etiam binos inmisceant, nonnulli etiam ternos sextarios, idque [ego] facere non recusem, si genus vini tantum valeat, ut aquae salsae non intellegatur sapor.

[5] If anyone, as Columella used to do, should lay it up and, after three years, decant it—having been clarified—into other vessels, then after another three-year period decoct it down to a third part, he will have a far better seasoning for wine, and there will be no danger that the wines be vitiated. It is enough, moreover, to add single sextarii of salted water to each two urns of must, although many even mix in two, and some even three sextarii; and this I would not refuse to do, if the kind of wine be so potent that the flavor of the salted water is not perceived.

[6] Itaque diligens pater familiae, cum paraverit fundum, statim prima vindemia tres aut quattuor notas conditurae totidem amphoris musti experietur, ut exploratum habeat, quantum plurimum salsae vinum, quod fecerit, sine offensa gustus pati possit.

[6] And so, a diligent paterfamilias, when he has prepared the farm, immediately at the first vintage will test three or four standard formulas of seasoning with just as many amphorae of must, so that he may have it ascertained how much at the very most of salt-water the wine he has made can endure without offense to the taste.

XXII. ALTERUM MEDICAMEN, QUO[D] MUSTUM CONDIAS.

22. SECOND MEDICAMENT, BY WHICH YOU MAY CONDITE MUST.

Picis liquidae Nemeturicae metretam adde in labrum aut in alveum, et in eodem infundito cineri<s> lixivae congios duos, deinde permisceto spatha lignea; cum requieverit, eliquato lixivam. Deinde iterum tantundem lixivae addito, eodem pacto permisceto et eliquato; tertio quoque idem facito. Cinis autem odorem picis aufert et eluit spurcitiam.

Add a metretes of liquid Nemeturican pitch into a tub or into a trough, and into the same pour two congii of lye of ash, then thoroughly mix with a wooden spatha; when it has settled, strain off the lye. Then again add just as much lye, mix in the same manner and strain off; a third time also do the same. The ash, moreover, takes away the odor of the pitch and washes out the filth.

[2] Post eodem addito picis Bruttiae, si minus, alterius notae quam purissimae et quam optimae X pondo et resinae durae quam purissimae quinque libras; haec minute concidito et admisceto pici Nemeturicae. Tum aquae marinae quam vetustissimae, si erit, si minus, ad tertiam partem recentis aquae marinae decoctae congios duos inicito, apertum labrum sinito in sole[m] per Caniculae ortum et spatha lignea permisceto quam saepissime usque eo, dum ea, quae addideris, in pice conliquescant et unitas fiat; noctibus autem labrum operire conveniet, ne inroretur.

[2] Afterward, into the same add Bruttian pitch—if not, of another brand, as most pure and as best—10 pounds, and of hard resin, as most pure, five pounds; cut these finely and mix them with the Nemeturic pitch. Then throw in two congiuses of sea-water as old as possible, if there is; if not, of sea-water decocted from fresh sea-water to a third part, leave the open vat in the sun through the rising of the Dog-Star and stir with a wooden spatula as very often as possible until the things you have added melt together in the pitch and it becomes a unity; but at night it will be proper to cover the vat, lest it be bedewed.

[3] Deinde, cum aqua marina, quam addideris, sole consumpta videbitur, sub tectum vas totum ferre curabis; huius medicaminis quidam pondo quadrantem in sextarios quadraginta octo miscere soliti sunt et hac conditura contenti esse, alii cyathos tres eius medicamenti adiciunt in totidem sextarios, quot supra diximus.

[3] Then, when the sea-water which you have added seems to have been consumed by the sun, you will take care to carry the whole vessel under a roof; of this medicament some have been accustomed to mix a quarter‑pound by weight into forty‑eight sextarii and to be content with this mixture, others add three cyathi of this medicament into just as many sextarii as we have said above.

XXIII. CONDITURA VINI PICATI.

23. PREPARATION OF PITCHED WINE.

Pix corticata appellatur, qua utuntur ad condituras Allobroges. Ea sic conficitur, ut dura sit, et quanto facta est vetustior, eo melior in usu est: nam omni lentore misso facilius in pulverem resolvitur atque cribratur. Hanc ergo conteri et cribrari oportet; deinde, cum bis mustum deferbuerit, quod plerumque est intra quartum diem, quam de lacu sublatum est, diligenter manibus expurgatur et tum demum praedictae picis sextans et semuncia in sextarios quinque et quinquaginta adicitur, et rutabulo ligneo permiscetur, nec postea tangitur, dum confervescat.

Bark-pitch is the name given to the pitch which the Allobroges use for seasonings. It is made in such a way that it is hard, and the older it is after it has been made, by so much the better it is in use: for when all stickiness has departed, it is more easily resolved into powder and sifted. This, therefore, must be ground and sifted; then, when the must has ebullited twice, which is most often within the fourth day from when it was taken up out of the vat, it is carefully cleansed by hand, and then at last a sextans and a semuncia of the aforesaid pitch is added to 55 sextarii, and it is thoroughly mixed with a wooden paddle, and thereafter it is not touched, while it ferments together.

[2] Quod tamen non amplius diebus quattuordecim a conditura patiendum est: nam oportebit post hunc numerum dierum confestim vinum emundare et, si quid faecis aut labris vasorum aut lateribus inhaesit, eradi ac suffricari et protinus operculis inpositis oblini. At si ex eadem pice totam vindemiam condire volueris, ita ne gustus picati vini possit intellegi, sat erit eiusdem picis sex scripula in sextarios quinque et quadraginta tum demum miscere, cum mustum deferbuerit et faeces expurgatae fuerint.

[2] Yet this must not be allowed for more than fourteen days from the seasoning: for after this number of days it will be necessary to cleanse the wine at once, and, if any dregs have stuck to the rims of the vessels or to the sides, to scrape them off and to rub them down, and immediately, the lids having been put on, to plaster them over. But if from the same pitch you should wish to season the whole vintage, so that the gust of pitchy wine cannot be perceived, it will be enough to mix of the same pitch six scruples into forty-five sextarii only then when the must has ceased to seethe and the dregs have been expurgated.

[3] Oportebit autem salis decocti contritique semunciam in eundem modum musti adicere; nec solum huic notae vini sal adhibendus est, verum, si fieri possit, in omnibus regionibus omne genus vindemiae hoc ipso pondere salliendum est; nam ea res mucorem vino inesse non patitur.

[3] Moreover, it will be necessary to add to the must, in the same way, a half-ounce of salt, decocted and crushed; and salt is to be applied not only to wine of this note, but, if it can be done, in all regions every kind of vintage is to be salted with this very weight; for this practice does not allow mold to be present in the wine.

XXIV. ALITER VINUM CONDIRE.

24. ANOTHER WAY TO SEASON WINE.

Pix Nemeturica in Liguria conficitur. Ea deinde ut fiat condituris idonea, aqua marina quam longissime a litore de pelago sumenda est atque in dimidiam partem decoquenda, quae cum in tantum refrixerit, quantum ne contacta corpus urat, partem aliquam eius, quae satis videbitur, praedictae pici inmiscebimus et diligenter lignea spatha vel etiam manu peragitabimus, ut, si quid inest vitii, eluatur.

Nemeturic pitch is prepared in Liguria. Then, in order that it may become suitable for seasonings, sea water must be taken from the open sea as far as possible from the shore and decocted to one-half; when it has cooled so far that, on contact, it does not burn the body, we shall mix into it some portion of the aforesaid pitch, as much as will seem sufficient, and we shall diligently agitate with a wooden spatula or even with the hand, so that, if any defect is present in it, it may be washed out.

[2] Dein patiemur picem considere, et cum consederit, aquam eliquabimus. Postea bis aut ter ex reliqua parte aquae decoctae tamdiu lavabimus et subigemus eam, donec rutila fiat. Tum eliquatam in sole XIIII diebus patiemur esse, ut quisquis ex aqua umor remansit adsiccetur; noctibus autem vas tegendum erit, ne inroretur.

[2] Then we will allow the pitch to settle, and when it has settled, we will strain off the water. Afterward, twice or thrice from the remaining portion of the boiled-down water we will wash and work it until it becomes ruddy. Then we will allow the strained liquid to be in the sun for 14 days, so that whatever moisture from the water has remained may be dried out; at night, however, the vessel must be covered, lest it be bedewed.

Cum hoc modo picem praeparaverimus et vina, cum iam bis deferbuerint, condire voluerimus, in musti sextarios octo et quadraginta cyathos duos picis praedictae sic adiciemus.

When we have prepared the pitch in this way, and when we will have wished to season the wines, once they have now twice settled from fermentation, into 48 sextarii of must we will thus add 2 cyathi of the aforesaid pitch.

[3] Ex ea mensura, quam condituri sumus, sextarios duos musti sumere oportebit, deinde ex his sextariis in picis sextantem paulatim mustum infundere et manu tamquam mulsum subigere, quo facilius coeat; sed ubi toti duo sextarii cum pice coierint et quasi unitatem fecerint, tum eosdem in d vas, unde sumpseramus, perfundere et, ut permisceatur medicamen, rutabulo ligneo peragitare conveniet.

[3] From that measure, which we are about to season, it will be proper to take two sextarii of must; then from these sextarii to pour gradually into the pitch a sextans (a sixth-part) of must and with the hand to work it as if mulsum, so that it may more easily cohere; but when the full two sextarii have come together with the pitch and have, as it were, made a unity, then to pour these same into the d vas, whence we had taken them, and, in order that the medicament may be thoroughly mixed, it will be fitting to agitate with a wooden stirrer.

XXV. AQUAM DULCEM AD CONDITURAM VINI SALSAM FACERE.

25. TO MAKE SWEET WATER SALTY FOR THE SEASONING OF WINE.

Quoniam quidam, immo enim fere omnes, Graeci aqua salsa vel marina mustum condiunt, eam quoque partem curae non omittendam putavi. In mediterraneo, quo non est facilis aquae marinae invectio, sic erit ad condituras conficienda muria.

Since certain people—indeed, almost all—Greeks season must with salted or sea water, I have thought that that part of the care too should not be omitted. In the inland, where the importation of sea water is not easy, thus brine will be prepared for the seasonings.

[2] Huic rei maxime est idonea caelestis aqua, si minus, ex fonte liquidissimo profluens. Harum ergo alterutram curabis quam plurimam et quam optimis vasis conditam ante quinquennium in sole ponere, deinde, cum conputruerit, tamdiu pati, donec ad pristinum modum perveniat. Quod cum factum fuerit, alia vasa habeto et in ea sensim aquam eliquato, donec ad faecem pervenias; semper enim in requieta aqua crassamen aliquod in imo reperitur.

[2] For this purpose the most suitable is celestial water; if not, then that which flows from a most limpid spring. Therefore you will take care to set either of these, as much as possible and stored in the best vessels, out in the sun five years beforehand; then, when it has putrefied, allow it to stand until it returns to its former condition. When this has been done, have other vessels, and into them decant the water little by little, until you come to the dregs; for in water that has been left at rest some thickening, a sediment, is always found at the bottom.

[3] Sic curata cum fuerit, in modum defruti ad tertias decoquenda est. Adiciuntur autem in aquae dulcis sextarios quinquaginta salis candidi[s] sextarii sex et mellis optimi unus sextarius. Haec pariter decoqui et omnem spurcitiam expurgari oportet, deinde, cum refrixerit, tum quantumcumque umoris est, tantum in amphoram musti portionem adici.

[3] When it has been thus cared for, it must be boiled down, in the manner of defrutum, to one-third. Moreover, to fifty sextarii of fresh water there are added six sextarii of white salt and one sextarius of the best honey. These things ought to be boiled together and every impurity expurgated; then, when it has cooled, then however much liquid there is, just so much is to be added into a portion of an amphora of must.

DE AQUA MARINA DECOQUENDA.

ON BOILING DOWN SEA WATER.

[4] Quod si ager maritimus est, silentibus ventis de alto quam quietissimo mari sumenda est aqua et in tertiam partem decoquenda, adiectis, si videbitur, aliquibus aromatis ex is, quae supra rettuli, ut sit odoratior vini curatio. Mustum autem antequam de lacu tollas, vasa rore marino vel lauro vel myrto subfumigato et large repleto, ut in effervescendo vinum se bene purget; postea vasa nucibus pineis suffricato.

[4] But if the estate is maritime, with the winds silent, water must be taken from the deep, from the calmest open sea possible, and decocted to a third part, aromata being added, if it shall seem good, from those which I have set forth above, so that the cure of the wine may be more odorous. The must, moreover, before you take it from the vat, suffumigate the vessels with rosemary (sea-dew) or with laurel or with myrtle, and fill them liberally, so that while effervescing the wine may purge itself well; afterwards, rub the vessels with pine nuts.

[5] Quod vinum volueris dulcius esse, postero die, quod austerius, quinto die, quam sustuleris, condire oportebit et ita supplere et oblinire vasa. Nonnulli etiam suffumigatis seriis prius condituram addunt et ita mustum infundunt.

[5] The wine which you wish to be sweeter should be seasoned on the next day; that which you wish to be more austere, on the fifth day after you have drawn it off; and thus the vessels should be topped up and sealed over. Some also, after the seriae have been fumigated, first add the condiment (seasoning) and thus pour in the must.

XXVI. NE VINUM ACESCAT.

26. LEST THE WINE TURN SOUR.

In quo agro vinum acescere solet, curandum est, ut, cum uvam legeris et calcaveris, priusquam vinacea torculis exprimantur, mustum in cor<ti>nam defundas et aquae dulcis puteanae ex eodem agro partem decimam adicias et coquas, donec ea aqua, quam adieceris, decocta sit. Postea cum refrixerit, in vasa defundas et operias et oblinas; ita diutius durabit et detrimenti nihil fiet.

In a field where wine is wont to turn acid, care must be taken that, when you have gathered and trodden the grape, before the grape-marc is pressed in the presses, you decant the must into a cauldron and add a tenth part of sweet well-water from that same field, and boil it until that water which you have added has been boiled away. Afterwards, when it has cooled, you pour it into vessels and cover and daub them; thus it will last longer and no detriment will ensue.

[2] Melius est, si veterem servatam compluribus annis aquam addideris, longeque melius, si aquae nihil addideris et decimam musti decoxeris frigidumque in vasa transtuleris, et si in sextarios L musti heminam gypsi miscueris, posteaquam decoctum refrixerit. Reliquum mustum, quod e vinaceis fuerit expressum, primo quoque tempore absumito aut aere commutato.

[2] It is better, if you add water kept old for several years, and far better if you add no water and boil down a tenth of the must and transfer it cold into the vessels, and if, in 50 sextarii of must, you mix a hemina of gypsum after the boiled-down portion has cooled. The remaining must, which will have been pressed out from the marc, use up at the first opportunity, or else convert it into money.

XXVII. DE VINO DULCI FACIENDO.

27. ON MAKING SWEET WINE.

Vinum dulce sic facere oportet: uvas legito, in sole per triduum expandito, quarto die meridiano tempore calidas uvas proculcato; mustum lixivum, hoc est, antequam prelo pressum sit, quod in lacum musti fluxerit, tollito; cum deferbuerit, in sextarios quinquaginta irim bene pinsitam ne plus unciae pondere addito; vinum a faecibus eliquatum diffundito. Hoc vinum erit suave, firmum, corpori salubre.

Sweet wine ought thus to be made: gather the grapes, spread them in the sun for three days, on the fourth day at midday tread the warm grapes; take up the lixivial must, that is, before it has been pressed by the press, what has flowed into the must-vat; when it has defervesced, to fifty sextarii add no more than one ounce by weight of iris well pounded; decant the wine, clarified from the lees. This wine will be pleasant, sound, healthful to the body.

XXVIII. ALITER VINUM DULCE CONDIRE.

28. ANOTHER WAY TO SEASON SWEET WINE.

Alia medicaminum genera vini condituris et firmitati aptissima sic facito. Irim quam candidissimam pinsito; faenum Graecum vetere vino macerato, deinde in sole exponito aut in furno, ut siccescat; tum commolito minutissime. Item odoramenta trita, id est irim cribratam, quae sit instar pondo quincun<cem> et trientem, faeni Graeci pondo quincuncem et trientem, schoeni pondo quincuncem in unum permisceto; tum in serias singulas, quae sint amphorum septenum, addito medicaminis pondo unciam scripula octo.

Thus make other kinds of medicaments most apt for wine-condiments and for firmness. Pound orris (iris) as white as possible; soak fenugreek (Greek hay) in old wine, then expose it in the sun or in the oven so that it may dry; then grind it very finely. Likewise mix together the ground odoraments, that is, sieved orris, to the amount of weight 9 ounces (a quincunx and a triens), fenugreek to the weight of 9 ounces (a quincunx and a triens), and schoenus to the weight of 5 ounces (a quincunx); then into each jar, which is of the capacity of 7 amphorae, add of the medicament by weight 1 ounce and 8 scripula (i.e., 1 1/3 ounces).

[2] Gypsi, cum ex locis palustribus mustum erit, in serias singulas ternas heminas, cum de novellis vineis erit, sextarium, cum de veteribus et locis siccis, heminas singulas adicito. Tertio die, quam calcaveris, condituram infundito; sed antequam condias, musti aliquantum in seriam de seria transferto, ne in condiendo, cum medicamento effervescat, effluat.

[2] Gypsum: when the must is from marshy places, add to each jar three heminae; when it is from new vineyards, a sextarius; when from old vineyards and dry places, one hemina. On the third day after you have trodden, pour in the seasoning; but before you season, transfer some must from jar to jar, lest in the seasoning, when it effervesces with the medicament, it flow over.

[3] Sic autem curato: gypsum et medicamentum in labello permisceto, quantum seriis singulis fuerit necessarium, idque medicamentum musto diluito et ipsa ad serias addito et permisceto. cum deferbuerit, statim repleto et oblinito. Omne vinum cum condieris, nolito statim diffundere sed sinito in dolis liquescere; postea, cum de doliis aut de seriis diffundere voles, per ver florente rosa defaecatum quam liquidissimum in vasa bene picata et pura transferto.

[3] Thus, however, take care: mix together gypsum and the medicament in a little basin, as much as will be necessary for each jar, and dilute that medicament with must, and add this itself to the jars and mix thoroughly. cum deferbuerit, at once fill up and smear over (seal). When you have seasoned all the wine, do not immediately draw it off, but allow it to clarify in the casks; afterwards, when you wish to draw off from the casks or from the jars, through spring, with the rose in bloom, transfer it, defecated (clarified) and as limpid as possible, into vessels well pitched and clean.

[4] Si in vetustatem servare voles, in cado duarum urnarum quam optimi vini sextarium aut faecis generosae recentis sextarios tres addito; aut si vasa recentia, ex quibus vinum exemptum sit, habebis, in ea confundito; si horum quid feceris, multo melius et firmius erit vinum. Etiam, si bonos odores addideris, omnem malum odorem et saporem prohibueris; nam nulla res alienum odorem celerius ad se ducit quam vinum.

[4] If you wish to preserve into old age, in a cask of two urnae add one sextarius of the best wine, or three sextarii of noble fresh lees; or, if you will have recent vessels from which wine has been removed, mix it in them; if you shall have done any of these things, the wine will be much better and more firm. Also, if you shall have added good odors, you will have prevented every bad odor and taste; for nothing draws an alien odor to itself more quickly than wine.

XXIX. MUSTUM DULCE SERVARE, NE MUTET SAPOREM.

29. TO PRESERVE SWEET MUST, LEST IT CHANGE ITS SAVOR.

Mustum ut semper dulce tamquam recens permaneat, sic facito: antequam prelo vinacea subiciantur, de lacu quam recentissimum addito mustum in amphoram novam, eamque oblinito et inpicato diligenter, ne quicquam aquae introire possit. Tunc in piscinam frigidae et dulcis aquae totam amphoram mergito ita, ne qua pars exstet. Deinde post dies quadraginta eximito.

So that must may always remain sweet as if fresh, do thus: before the grape-pomace is subjected to the press, from the vat pour the freshest possible must into a new amphora, and plaster it over and pitch it carefully, so that no water can enter. Then in a piscina of cold and sweet water submerge the whole amphora, so that no part protrudes. Then after forty days take it out.

Sic usque in annum dulce permanebit.

Thus it will remain sweet for up to a year.

XXX. VINI CURATIO.

30. WINE CARE.

Ab eo tempore, quo primum dolia operculaveris, usque ad aequinoctium vernum semel in diebus XXXVI vinum curare satis est, post aequinoctium vernum bis; aut si vinum florere incipiet, saepius curare oportebit, ne flos eius pessum eat et saporem vitiet. Quanto maior aestus erit, eo saepius convenit vinum nutriri refrigerarique et ventilari; nam quamdiu bene frigidum erit, tamdiu recte manebit.

From the time when you have first covered the jars, up to the vernal equinox it is enough to tend the wine once every 36 days; after the vernal equinox, twice; or, if the wine begins to flower, it will be necessary to tend it more often, lest its bloom go to the bottom and vitiate its savor. The greater the heat is, the more often it is fitting for the wine to be nourished, cooled, and ventilated; for so long as it is well cold, so long will it remain in good condition.

[2] Labra vel fauces doliorum semper suffricari nucibus pineis oportebit, quotiens vinum curabitur.

[2] The lips or throats of the vats must always be rubbed with pine nuts, whenever the wine is tended.

REMEDIUM LANGUENTIS VINI.

REMEDY FOR LANGUISHING WINE.

Si qua vina erunt duriora aut minus bona, quod agri vitio aut tempestate sit factum, sumito faecem vini boni et panes facito et in sole arefacito et coquito in igne. Postea terito et pondo quadrantem amphoris singulis infricato et oblinito. Bonum fiet.

If any wines are harsher or less good, because it has been brought about by the field’s fault or by tempest, take the lees of good wine and make cakes, and dry them in the sun and cook them in the fire. Afterwards grind them, and, a quarter‑pound by weight, rub it into each amphora and smear it on. It will become good.

XXXI. SI QUOD ANIMAL IN MUSTUM CECIDERIT ET INTERIERIT.

31. IF ANY ANIMAL FALLS INTO MUST AND DIES.

<Si> serpens aut mus sorexve in mustum ceciderit, ne mali odoris vinum faciat, ita, ut repertum corpus fuerit, id igne adoleatur cinisque eius in vas, quo deciderat, frigidus infundatur atque rutabulo ligneo permisceatur. Ea res erit remedio.

<If> a serpent or a mouse or a shrew should fall into the must, lest it make the wine of bad odor, then, as soon as the body has been found, let it be burned with fire, and its ash, when cold, be poured into the vessel into which it had fallen, and be thoroughly mixed with a wooden stirrer. This will be a remedy.

XXXII. VINUM EX MARRUVIO.

32. WINE FROM MARRUVIUM.

Vinum marruvii multi utile putant ad omnia intestina vitia et maxime ad tussim. Cum vindemiam facies, marruvii caules teneros maxime de locis incultis et macris legito eosque in sole siccato, deinde fasciculos facito et tomice palmea aut iuncea ligato et in seriam mittito, ita ut vinculum exstet. In musti dulcis sextarios CC marruvii libras octo adicito, ut simul cum musto defervescat; postea eximito marruvium et purgatum vinum diligenter oblinito.

Many think wine of marrubium is useful for all intestinal vices and most of all for cough. When you do the vintage, gather the tender stalks of marrubium, preferably from uncultivated and lean places, and dry them in the sun; then make little bundles and tie them with a band of palm-fiber or of rush, and put them into a seria, in such a way that the binding sticks out. Into 200 sextarii of sweet must add eight pounds of marrubium, so that it may ferment down together with the must; afterwards take out the marrubium and, the wine having been clarified, seal it up carefully.

XXXIII. .

33. .

Vinum scilliten <ad con>coquendum et ad corpus reficiendum itemque ad veterem tussim et ad stomachum hoc modo condire oportet: primum ante dies quadraginta, quam voles vinum vindemiare, scillam legito eamque secato quam tenuissime, sicut raphani radicem, taleolasque sectas suspendere in umbra, ut adsiccentur; deinde, cum aridae erunt, in musti Aminei sextarios quadraginta octo scillae aridae adde pondo libram, eamque inesse patere diebus XXX; postea eximito et defaecatum vinum in amphoras bonas adicito.

Squill wine <for con>cocting and for restoring the body, likewise for an old cough and for the stomach, ought to be prepared in this way: first, forty days before you wish to vintage the wine, gather the squill and cut it as thinly as possible, like the root of a radish, and hang the sliced little pieces in the shade, so that they may dry; then, when they are dry, add to forty-eight sextarii of Aminean must one pound by weight of dried squill, and allow it to remain therein for 30 days; afterward remove it and pour the clarified wine into good amphoras.

[2] Alii scribunt in musti sextarios XLVIII scillae aridae pondo libram et quadrantem adici oportere, quod et ipsum non probo.

[2] Others write that into 48 sextarii of must one pound and a quarter of dried squill ought to be added, which I do not disapprove of either.

XXXIV. ACETUM SCILLITEN.

34. SQUILL VINEGAR.

Hoc ipsum scillae pondus, quod supra, in aceti duas urnas adiciunt et per quadraginta dies inesse patiuntur, qui scilliticum acetum facere volunt.

They add this same weight of squill, as above, into two urns of vinegar, and allow it to be in there for forty days, those who wish to make squill-vinegar.

DE EMBAMMATE.

ON EMBAMMA.

In tres amphoras musti mittis aceti acris congium aut duplum, si non est acre; et in olla[m], quae fert amphoras tres, decoquis ad palmum, id est ad quartas aut, si non est dulce mustum, ad tertias; despumatur. Sed mustum desub massa et limpidum sit.

Into three amphorae of must you put a congius of sharp vinegar, or double if it is not sharp; and in an olla, which holds three amphorae, you boil it down to a palm, that is, to fourths, or, if the must is not sweet, to thirds; let it be skimmed. But let the must be from beneath the mass and limpid.

XXXV. VINUM ABSENTHITEN ET RELIQUAS NOTAS FACERE.

35. TO MAKE WORMWOOD WINE AND THE REMAINING NOTES.

Vinum absinthiten et hyssopiten et abrotoniten et thymiten et marathriten et glechoniten sic condire oportet: Pontici absinthii pondo libram cum musti sextariis quattuor decoque usque ad quartam; reliquum quod erit, id frigidum adde in musti Aminei urnam. Idem ex reliquis rebus, quae supra scripta sunt, facito. Possint etiam pulei aridi tres librae cum congio musti ad tertias decoqui et, cum refrixerit liquor, exempto puleio in urnam musti adici.

Wine absinthite, hyssopite, abrotonite, thymite, marathrite, and glechonite ought to be seasoned thus: take a pound by weight of Pontic absinthium with four sextarii of must and boil down to a quarter; whatever remainder there is, add that cold into an urn of Amineian must. Do the same from the other things which are written above. Three pounds of dried pennyroyal (puleium) also can be boiled with a congius of must down to a third, and, when the liquor has cooled, the pennyroyal removed, add into an urn of must.

Idque mox tussientibus per hiemem recte datur vocaturque vini nota glechonites.

And this is soon rightly given to those coughing through the winter, and is called the wine-note glechonites.

XXXVI. AD TORMINA[M] ET OMNEM ALVI PROLUVIEM VINUM RORATUM SIC FACIES.

36. FOR GRIPINGS AND EVERY PROFLUVIUM OF THE BELLY, YOU WILL MAKE DEW-SPRINKLED WINE THUS.

Mustum tortivum est, quod post primam pressuram vinaceorum circumciso pede exprimitur. Idque mustum coicies in amphoram novam et inplebis ad summum. Tum adicies ramulos roris marini aridi lino colligatos; sed patieris una defervescere per dies septem.

Twist-pressed must is that which, after the first pressing of the grape-marc, is expressed with the foot trimmed round. And you will cast that must into a new amphora and fill it to the top. Then you will add little branches of dried rosemary tied with linen; but you will allow it to simmer down (defervesce) together for seven days.

Deinde eximes ramulorum fasciculum, et purgatum diligenter vinum gypsabis. Sat erit autem roris marini sesquilibram in duas urnas musti adicere. Hoc vino post duos menses possis pro remedio uti.

Then remove the fascicle of little branches, and clarify with gypsum the wine, diligently purified. But it will be enough to add 1½ pounds of rosemary to two urns of must. With this wine after 2 months you can use it as a remedy.

XXXVII. VINUM GRAECO SIMILE FACERE AD ALVUM MOLLIENDUM.

37. TO MAKE WINE SIMILAR TO GREEK, FOR SOFTENING THE BELLY.

Vvas praecoques quam maturissimas legito easque per triduum in sole siccato; quarto die calcato, et mustum, quod nihil habeat ex tortivo, coicito in seriam diligenterque curato, ut, cum deferbuerit, faeces expurgentur. Deinde quinto die, cum purgaveris mustum, salis cocti et cribrati duos sextarios vel, quod est minimum, adicito unum sextarium in sextarios musti XLVIII. Quidam etiam defruti sextarium miscent, nonnulli etiam duos adiciunt, si existimant vini notam parum esse firmam.

Pick early-ripening grapes as fully ripe as possible and dry them in the sun for three days; on the fourth day tread them, and cast the must, which has nothing from the press, into a seria, and take care diligently that, when it has stopped fermenting, the lees be cleared out. Then on the fifth day, when you have purified the must, add two sextarii of boiled and sifted (refined) salt, or, what is the minimum, add one sextarius to 48 sextarii of must. Some also mix in one sextarius of defrutum; some even add two, if they judge the wine’s character to be not sufficiently firm.

XXXVIII. VINUM MYRTITEM.

38. MYRTLE WINE.

Vinum myrtitem ad tormina et ad alvi proluviem et ad inbecillum stomachum sic facito: duo genera sunt myrti, quorum alterum est nigrum, alterum album. Nigri generis bacae, cum sunt maturae, leguntur, et semina earum eximuntur, atque ipsae sine seminibus in sole siccantur, et in fictili fidelia sicco loco reponuntur.

Myrtle-wine for tormina and for a flux of the belly and for a feeble stomach make thus: there are two kinds of myrtle, of which one is black, the other white. The berries of the black kind, when they are ripe, are gathered, and their seeds are removed, and they themselves, without the seeds, are dried in the sun, and are put away in an earthenware jar in a dry place.

[2] Deinde per vindemiam ex vetere arbusto vel, si id non est, ex vetustissimis vineis Amineae bene maturae uvae sole calido leguntur, et ex is mustum adicitur in seriam et statim primo die, antequam id ferveat, bacae myrti, quae fuerant repositae, diligenter conteruntur et totidem earum librae contusarum appenduntur, quot amphorae condiri debent; tum exiguum musti sumitur ex ea seria, quam medicaturi sumus, et tamquam farina conspargitur, quicquid contusum et appensum est. Post hoc complures ex ea massulae fiunt et ita per latera seriae in mustum demittuntur, ne altera offa super alteram perveniat.

[2] Then during the vintage, from an old arbustum or, if that is not available, from the most ancient vineyards, well-ripened Aminean grapes are gathered in warm sun, and from them must is added into a seria; and immediately on the first day, before it ferments, the myrtle berries which had been put aside are carefully pounded, and just as many pounds of them, pounded, are weighed out as there are amphorae that ought to be seasoned; then a small amount of must is taken from that seria which we are going to medicate, and, as if it were flour, whatever has been pounded and weighed out is sprinkled. After this several little masses are made from it and thus they are let down along the sides of the seria into the must, lest one lump come upon another.

[3] Cum deinde bis mustum deferbuerit et bis curatum est, rursus eodem modo et tantundem ponderis bacae, sicut supra, contunditur, nec iam, ut prius, massulae fiunt, sed in labello mustum de eadem seria sumitur, praedicto ponderi permiscetur, sicut sit instar iuris crassi; quod cum est permixtum, in eandem seriam confunditur et rutabulo ligneo peragitatur.

[3] Then, when the must has boiled down twice and has been tended twice, again in the same way an equal weight of berries is pounded, as above; and now, not, as before, are little masses made, but must is taken in a small basin from that same jar, is thoroughly mixed with the aforesaid weight, so that it be of the likeness of a thick sauce; and when this has been intermingled, it is poured back into the same jar and is worked with a wooden rutabulum (wooden stirrer).

[4] Deinde post nonum diem, quam id factum est, vinum purgatur et scopulis aridae myrti seria suffricatur operculumque superponitur, ne quid eo decidat. Hoc facto, post septimum diem rursus vinum purgatur et in amphoras bene picatas et bene olidas diffunditur; sed curandum est, ut, cum diffundis, liquidum et sine faece diffundas.

[4] Then, after the ninth day since that was done, the wine is clarified and the jar is rubbed with brushes of dried myrtle and a cover is placed over it, lest anything fall into it. This done, after the seventh day the wine is again clarified and is poured into amphoras well pitched and strongly odorous; but care must be taken that, when you pour it out, you pour it out clear and without lees.

[5] Vinum aliud myrtiten sic temperato. Mel Atticum ter infervere facito et totiens despumato. Vel si Atticum non habueris, quam optimum mel eligito et quater vel quinquies despumato, quoniam, quanto est deterius, tanto plus habet spurcitiae.

[5] Temper another myrtle-wine thus. Make Attic honey boil up three times and skim it off as many times. Or, if you do not have Attic, choose the best honey and skim it four or five times, since the worse it is, the more impurity it has.

Cum deinde mel refrixerit, bacas albi generis myrti quam maturissimas legito et perfricato, ita ne interiora semina conteras.

When thereafter the honey has cooled, select the berries of the white kind of myrtle as fully ripe as possible and rub them thoroughly, in such a way that you do not crush the interior seeds.

[6] Mox fiscello ligneo inclusas exprimito, sucumque earum, qui sit sextariorum sex, cum mellis decocti sextario misceto et in lagunculam diffusum oblinito. Sed hoc mense Decembri fieri debebit, quo fere tempore matura sunt myrti semina, custodiendumque erit, ut, antequam bacae legantur, si fieri potest, VII diebus, sin autem, ne minus triduum serenum fuerit aut certe non pluerit; et, ne rorulentae legantur, cavendum.

[6] Then enclose them in a little wooden basket (fiscella) and press them out, and the juice of them, which should be six sextarii, mix with one sextarius of boiled-down honey, and, once poured into a small flask (laguncula), seal it over. But this should be done in the month of December, at which time for the most part the myrtle seeds are ripe, and it must be observed that, before the berries are gathered, if it can be done, there shall have been 7 days; if not, not less than three days it shall have been clear, or at any rate it shall not have rained; and care must be taken that they not be gathered dewy.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[7] Multi nigram vel albam myrti bacam, cum iam maturuit, destringunt et, duabus horis eam cum paululum in umbra expositam siccaverunt, proterunt, ita ut, quantum fieri potest, interiora semina integra permaneant; tum per lineum fiscum, quod protriverant, exprimunt et per colum iunceum liquatum sucum lagunculis bene picatis condunt neque melle neque alia re ulla inmixta. Hic liquor non tam est durabilis, sed quamdiu sine nox[i]a manet, utilior est ad valitudinem quam alterius myrtitis notae compositio.

[7] Many strip off a black or a white berry of the myrtle, when it has now ripened, and, after for two hours they have dried it, having exposed it a little in the shade, they bruise it, in such a way that, as much as can be done, the inner seeds remain intact; then they squeeze what they have bruised through a linen bag, and, strained through a rush strainer, they store the juice in little flasks well pitched, with neither honey nor any other thing mixed in. This liquor is not so durable, but, so long as it remains without harm/spoilage, it is more useful for health than the composition of the other myrtitis variety.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[8] Sunt qui hunc ipsum expressum sucum, si sit eius copiosior facultas, in tertiam partem decoquant et refrigeratum picatis lagunculis condant; sic confectum diutius permanet. Sed et, quod non decoxeris, possit innoxium durare biennio, si modo munde et diligenter id feceris.

[8] There are those who boil this very expressed juice, if there is a more copious supply of it, down to a third part and, once cooled, store it in well‑pitched little flasks; thus prepared it lasts longer. But also that which you do not boil down can remain innocuous for two years, provided only that you do it cleanly and diligently.

XXXIX. PASSUM QUEMADMODUM FIAT.

39. HOW RAISIN-WINE IS MADE.

Passum optimum sic fieri Mago praecipit, ut et ipse feci: uvam praecoquem bene maturam legere; acina mucida aut vitiosa reicere; furcas vel palos, qui cannas sustineant, inter quaternos pedes figere et perticis iugare; tum insuper cannas ponere et in sole pandere uvas et noctibus tegere, ne inrorentur; cum deinde exaruerint, acina decerpere et in dolium aut in seriam coicere; eodem mustum quam optimum, sicut grana summersa sint, adicere; ubi conbiberit uva[s] seque impleverit, sexto die in fiscellam conferre et prelo premere passumque tollere;

Thus does Mago prescribe that the best passum be made, as I myself have done: pick early‑ripening grapes, well ripe; reject berries that are moldy or defective; set up forks or stakes, which shall support canes, at intervals of four feet and yoke them with poles; then place canes on top and spread the grapes in the sun and cover them at night, lest they be dewed; when thereafter they have dried out, pluck the berries and throw them into a dolium or into a jar; to the same add must of the best quality, so that the berries be submerged; when the grape[s] has drunk it in and filled itself, on the sixth day transfer into a little basket and press with the press, and take off the passum;

[2] postea vinaceos calcare, adiecto recentissimo musto, quod ex aliis uvis factum fuerit, quas per triduum insolaveris; tum permiscere, et subactam brisam prelo subicere; passumque secundarium statim vasis oblitis includere, ne fiat austerius; deinde post XX dies, cum deferbuerit, in alia vasa deliquare, et confestim opercula gypsare et pelliculare.

[2] afterward tread the press-cakes, with the freshest must added, which shall have been made from other grapes that you have insolated for three days; then thoroughly mix, and put the worked lees under the press; and immediately enclose the secondary passum in coated vessels, lest it become more austere; then after 20 days, when it has stopped fermenting, strain it off into other vessels, and straightway plaster the lids with gypsum and cover them with skins.

[3] Passum, si ex uva Apiana facere volueris, uvam Apianam integram legito; acina corrupta purgato et secernito; postea in perticis suspendito; perticae uti semper in sole sint, facito; ubi satis conrugata erunt acina, demito et sine scopionibus in dolium coicito pedibusque bene calcato; ubi unum tabulatum feceris, vinum vetus inspargito; postea alterum supercalcato; item vinum conspargito; eodem modo tertium calcato et infuso vino, ita supernatet, sinito dies V; postea pedibus proculcato et in fiscina nova uvas premito.

[3] If you will to make raisin-wine from the Apian grape, gather the Apian grape entire; purge and separate the corrupted berries; afterwards hang them on poles; see to it that the poles are always in the sun; when the berries have become sufficiently wrinkled, take them down and, without the stalks, throw them into a dolium and tread them well with the feet; when you have made one layer, sprinkle in old wine; afterwards tread another layer on top; likewise sprinkle wine; in the same manner tread a third, and, with wine poured in so that it floats above, leave it 5 days; afterwards tread it down with the feet and press the grapes in a new fiscina.

ALIO MODO.

ANOTHER METHOD.

[4] Quidam aquam caelestem veterem ad hunc usum praeparant et ad tertias decoquunt; deinde, cum uvas, sicut supra scriptum est, passas fecerunt, decoctam aquam pro vino adiciunt et cetera similiter administrant. Hoc, ubi lignorum copia est, u[t]ilissime constat et est in usu vel dulcius quam superiores notae passi.

[4] Some prepare aged rainwater for this use and boil it down to one-third; then, when they have made the grapes into raisins, as written above, they add the decocted water in place of wine and administer the rest similarly. This, where there is an abundance of firewood, proves most advantageous, and is in use as even sweeter than the foregoing grades of passum.

XL. LORA OPTIMA SIC FIERI OPORTET.

40. THE BEST LORA OUGHT TO BE MADE THUS.

Quantum vini uno die feceris, eius partem decimam, quot metretas efficiat, considerato, et totidem metretas aquae dulcis in vinaceos, ex quibus unius diei vinum expressum erit, addito. Eodem spumas defruti sive sapae et faecem ex lacu confundito et permisceto, eamque intritam macerari una nocte sinito; postero die pedibus proculcato et sic permixtam prelo subicito; quod deinde fluxerit, aut dolis aut amphoris condito et, cum deferbuerit, opturato; commodius autem servatur in amphoris.

Consider how many metretas the tenth part of the wine you have made in one day amounts to, and add just so many metretas of fresh water into the marc from which the wine of that one day will have been pressed. Into the same, blend the froths of defrutum or sapa and the lees from the vat, and mix them together, and allow that bruised mixture to macerate for one night; on the following day trample it with the feet and, thus mixed, subject it to the press; what then has flowed off, store either in casks or in amphorae, and, when it has ceased seething, stopper it; however, it is kept more conveniently in amphorae.

[2] Hanc ipsam loram Marcus Columella ex aqua vetere faciebat et nonnumquam plus biennio innoxiam servabat.

[2] This very lora Marcus Columella used to make from old water and sometimes kept innoxious for more than two years.

XLI. MULSUM OPTIMUM SIC FACIES.

41. THUS YOU WILL MAKE THE BEST MULSUM.

Mustum lixivum de lacu statim tollito. Hoc autem erit, quod destillaverit, antequam nimium calcetur uva; sed de arbustivo genere, quod sicco die legeris, id facito. Conicies in urnam musti mellis optimi pondo X et diligenter permixtum recondes in lagonam eamque protinus gypsabis iubebisque in tabulatum poni.

At once take up the free-run must from the vat. This, moreover, will be what has distilled off before the grape is too much trodden; but do this from the arbustive kind, which you have gathered on a dry day. You will throw into an urn of must 10 pounds of the best honey, and, after it has been carefully commixed, you will store it in a flagon, and you will immediately gypsum-seal it and order it to be set on the loft.

Si plus volueris facere, pro portione, qua supra, mel adicies; post vicensimum et alterum diem lagonam aperire oportebit et in aliud vas mustum eliquatum oblinire atque in fumum reponere.

If you should wish to make more, you will add honey in proportion, as above; after the twenty-first day it will be necessary to open the flagon and to seal the strained must in another vessel and to put it back into the smoke.

XLII. COMPOSITIO MEDICAMENTI AD TORMINA, QUOD VOCATUR DIA OPORAS.

42. COMPOSITION OF A MEDICAMENT FOR COLICS, WHICH IS CALLED DIA OPORAS.

In caccabo fictili novo vel in stagneo coquitur musti arbustivi Aminei urna et mala cydonea grandia expurgata XX et integra mala dulcia granata, quae Punica vocantur, et sorba non permitia divisa exemptis seminibus, quae sit instar sextariorum trium.

In a new earthenware cauldron or in a tin vessel there is cooked an urn of Aminean arbustum-must, and 20 large cleansed quinces, and whole sweet pomegranates, which are called Punic apples, and service-berries not overripe, split with the seeds removed, which should be to the measure of three sextarii.

[2] Haec ita coquuntur, ut omnia poma deliquescant cum musto; et sit puer, qui spatha lignea vel harundine permisceat poma, ne possint aduri. Deinde, cum fuerint decocta, ut non multum iuris supersit, refrigerantur et percolantur, eaque, quae in colo subsederunt, diligenter contrita levigantur, et iterum in suo sibi iure lento igni, ne adurantur, carbonibus decoquuntur, donec crassamen in modum faecis existat.

[2] These things are cooked thus, so that all the fruits may liquefy with the must; and let there be a boy who, with a wooden spatula or with a reed, mixes through the fruits, lest they scorch. Then, when they have been boiled down so that not much juice remains, they are cooled and percolated, and the things which have settled upon the sieve are carefully crushed and levigated, and again in their own juice, on a slow fire, lest they scorch, over coals they are cooked down, until a thickening (crassament), in the manner of lees, comes to be.

[3] Prius tamen, quam de igne medicamentum tollatur, III heminae roris Syriaci contriti et cribrati super omnia adiciuntur et spatha permiscentur, ut coeant cum ceteris; tum refrigeratum medicamentum adicitur in vas fictile novum picatum, idque gypsatum alte[r] suspenditur, ne pallorem trahat.

[3] Before, however, the medicament is taken off the fire, 3 heminae of Syriac dew, crushed and sieved, are added over everything and are mixed with a spatula, so that they may cohere with the rest; then the cooled medicament is put into a new pitched earthenware vessel, and this, gypsum-coated, is hung up high, lest it take on pallor.

XLIII. CASEUM SIC CONDIEMUS.

43. CHEESE WE WILL SEASON THUS.

Caesi aridi ovil<l>i proximi anni frusta ampla facito et picato vase componito. Tum optimi generis mustum adimpleto, ita ut superveniat; et sit ius aliquanto copiosius, quoniam caseus combibit et fit vitiosus, nisi mustum semper supernatet eum. Vas autem, cum impleveris, statim gypsabis.

Make large pieces of dry sheep-cheese of the previous year and arrange them in a pitched vessel. Then fill up with must of the best kind, so that it comes over; and let the liquor be somewhat more copious, since the cheese drinks it in and becomes faulty, unless the must always floats above it. But the vessel, when you have filled it, you will gypsum-seal at once.

Deinde post dies XX licet aperias et utaris qua voles adhibita conditura; est [autem] etiam per se non iniucundus.

Then after 20 days you may open it and use it with whatever seasoning you wish to apply; it is [moreover] also by itself not unpleasant.

XLIV. UVAS, UT SINT VIRIDES USQUE AD ANNUM, SIC CUSTODIES.

44. GRAPES, THAT THEY MAY BE GREEN UP TO A YEAR, THUS YOU WILL PRESERVE THEM.

uvas bumastos vel duracinas vel purpureas cum desecueris a vite, continuo pediculos earum inpicato dura pice; deinde labellum fictile novum inpleto paleis quam siccissimis cribratis, ut sine pulvere sint, et ita uvas superponito; tum labello altero adoperito et circumlinito luto paleato atque ita in tabulato siccissimo composita labra paleis siccis obruito.

grapes of the bumastos or duracina or purple varieties—when you have cut them off from the vine—immediately pitch their pedicles with hard pitch; then fill a new fictile little basin with chaff as dry as possible, sifted so that it is without dust, and so place the grapes on top; then cover with another little basin and smear all around with clay luted with chaff, and thus, on a very dry boarded floor, when the basins have been set in place, cover them over with dry chaff.

[2] Omnis autem uva sine noxa servari potest, si luna decrescente et sereno caelo post horam quartam, cum iam insolata est nec roris quicquam habet, viti detrahatur; sed ignis in proximo decumano fiat, ut pix ferveat, in qua pediculi uvarum statim demittantur.

[2] Moreover, any grape can be preserved without harm, if, with the moon waning and the sky serene, after the fourth hour, when it has already been sunned and has nothing of dew, it be taken down from the vine; but let a fire be made on the nearby decumanus, so that the pitch may boil, into which the little stalks of the grapes are immediately let down.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

In dolium bene picatum defruti amphoram coicito, deinde transversos fustes spisse artato, ita ut defrutum non contingant; tum superponito fictiles novas patinas et his sic uvam disponito, ut altera alteram non contingat; tum opercula patinis inponito et linito. Deinde alterum tabulatum et tertium, et quamdiu magnitudo patitur dolii, similiter super instruito et eadem ratione uvas componito; deinde picatum operculum dolii defruto large linito et ita inpositum [in] cinere opturato.

Into a well-pitched dolium cast an amphora of defrutum; then pack crosswise sticks densely, narrowed so that they do not touch the defrutum; then place new earthen platters on top, and on these arrange the grape so that one does not touch another; then place lids upon the platters and smear/seal them. Then a second tier and a third, and for as long as the size of the dolium allows, build up similarly above and arrange the grapes by the same method; then smear the pitched lid of the dolium liberally with defrutum, and thus, once it has been placed, stop it up [in] ash.

[3] Nonnulli adiecto defruto contenti sunt transversas perticas artare et ex his uvas ita suspendere, ne defrutum contingant, deinde operculum inpositum oblinire.

[3] Some, with defrutum added, are content to fit crosswise poles tightly and from these to suspend the grapes in such a way that they do not touch the defrutum, then to smear over the lid once it has been set in place.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

Quidam uvas cum ita, ut supra dixi, legerunt, doliola nova sine pice in sole siccant; deinde, cum ea in umbra refrigeraverunt, furfures hordeaceos adiciunt et uvas ita superponunt, ut altera alteram non comprimat. Tum generis eiusdem furfures infundunt et alterum tabulatum uvarum eodem modo collocant, idque faciunt usque, dum dolium alternis furfuribus et uvis compleant; mox opercula inposita linunt, et uvas siccissimo frigidissimoque tabulato reponunt.

Certain people, when they have gathered the grapes thus as I said above, dry new little casks without pitch in the sun; then, when they have cooled them in the shade, they add barley bran and place the grapes above in such a way that one does not compress another. Then they pour in bran of the same kind and set another tier of grapes in the same way, and they do this until they fill the cask with alternating bran and grapes; soon they smear the lids once they have been put on, and they store the grapes on the driest and coldest boarded floor.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[4] Quidam eadem ratione arida populnea vel abiegnea scobe et virides uvas custodiunt; nonnulli sicco flore gypsi obruunt uvas, quas non nimium maturas vitibus detraxerunt. Alii cum legerunt uvam, si qua sunt in ea vitiosa grana, forficibus amputant atque ita in horreo suspendunt, in quo triticum positum est, sed haec ratio rugosa facit acina et paene tam dulcia, quam est uva passa.

[4] Some, by the same method, preserve green grapes with dry poplar- or fir-sawdust; some bury grapes, which they have plucked from the vines not overly ripe, in dry flower of gypsum; others, when they have gathered the grapes, if there are any faulty berries in them, cut them off with shears and thus hang them up in the granary in which wheat is stored; but this method makes the berries wrinkled and almost as sweet as a raisin.

ALIO MODO.

IN ANOTHER WAY.

[5] Marcus Columella patruus meus ex ea creta, qua fiunt amphorae, lata vasa in modum patinarum fieri iubebat eaque intrinsecus et exterius crasse picari; quae cum praeparaverat, tum demum purpureas et bumastos et Numisianas et duracinas uvas legi praecipiebat pediculosque earum sine mora in ferventem picem demitti et in praedictis patinis separatim sui cuiusque generis ita componi, ne uvae inter se contingerent;

[5] Marcus Columella, my uncle, used to order broad vessels to be made from that clay of which amphorae are made, in the fashion of dishes, and that these be thickly pitched within and without; and when he had prepared these, then at last he directed that purple, bumast, Numisian, and duracinan grapes be gathered, and that their little stalks be without delay dipped into seething pitch, and that in the aforesaid dishes they be arranged separately, each of its own kind, in such a way that the grapes should not touch one another;

[6] post hoc opercula superponi et oblini crasso gypso, tum demum pice dura, quae igni liquata esset, sic picari, ne quis umor transire possit; tota deinde vasa in aqua fontana vel cisternina ponderibus inpositis mergi nec ullam partem eorum pati extare. Sic optime servatur uva, sed, cum est exempta, nisi eo die consumitur, acescit.

[6] after this, lids are to be placed on and smeared over with thick gypsum, then finally with hard pitch, which has been liquefied by fire, to be thus pitched, so that no moisture can pass through; then the whole vessels are to be submerged in spring or cistern water, with weights imposed, and to allow no part of them to protrude. Thus the grape is preserved best; but, when it has been taken out, unless it is consumed on that day, it turns sour.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[7] Nihil est tamen certius quam vasa fictilia facere, quae singulas uvas laxe recipiant. Ea debent quattuor ansas habere, quibus inligata viti dependeat, itemque opercula eorum sic formari, ut media divisa sint, ut, cum suspensa vasa singulas uvas receperint, ex utroque latere adpositae operculi duae partes coeant et contegant uvas. Et haec vasa et opercula extrinsecus et intra diligenter picata esse debebunt, deinde, cum contexerunt uvas, luto paleato multo adoperiri.

[7] Nevertheless, nothing is more certain than to make earthenware vessels that may loosely receive individual grapes. These ought to have four handles, by which, bound to the vine, they may hang; likewise their lids should be formed thus, that they are divided in the middle, so that, when the suspended vessels have received the individual grapes, the two parts of the lid, set on from either side, meet and cover the grapes. And these vessels and lids must be carefully pitched both outside and inside; then, when they have woven-in/enclosed the grapes, they are to be covered over with a great deal of mud mixed with chaff.

Sed uvae dependentes a matre sic in pultarios condi debebunt, ne qua parte vasa contingant.

But the grapes hanging from the mother must be stored in pultarii jars in such a way that they do not touch the vessels at any point.

[8] Tempus autem, quo includi debent, id fere est, quo[d] adhuc siccitatibus et sereno caelo grossa variaque sunt acina. Illud in totum maxime praecipimus, ne in eodem loco mala et uvae conponantur neve in vicino[s], unde odor malorum possit ad eas pervenire; nam huiusmodi halitus celeriter acina corrumpunt. Eae tamen custodiendorum pomorum rationes, quas rettulimus, non omnes omnibus regionibus aptae sunt, sed pro conditione locorum et natura uvarum aliae aliis conveniunt.

[8] The time, moreover, at which they ought to be enclosed is generally that when, under spells of dryness and a serene sky, the berries are still plump and varied. This, above all, we most emphatically prescribe: that apples and grapes not be set in the same place nor in neighboring ones, from which the odor of apples can reach them; for exhalations of this kind quickly spoil the berries. Yet those methods for the safeguarding of fruits which we have recounted are not all suited to all regions, but, according to the condition of places and the nature of the grapes, some are fitting for some, others for others.

XLV. DE OLLARIBUS UVIS.

45. ON JAR-GRAPES.

Antiqui plerumque scirpiculas et ven<n>uculas et maiores Amineas et Gallicas, quaeque maiores et duri et rari acini erant, vasis condebant; nunc autem circa urbem maxime ad hunc usum Numisianae probantur. Hae[c] sereno caelo, cum iam sol rorem sustulit, IIII vel V hora[s], si modo luna decrescit et sub terris est, modice maturae rectissime leguntur; statim pediculi earum picantur, deinde in cratibus ita ponuntur, ne alter<a> alteram collidat.

The ancients for the most part put up Scirpiculae and Ven<n>uculae and the larger Amineae and Gallicae, and whatever had larger and hard and sparse berries, in vessels; but now, around the city especially, Numisianae are approved for this use. These, in clear weather, when the sun has already lifted the dew, at the 4 or 5 hour[s], if only the moon is waning and is under the earth, being moderately mature, are most rightly gathered; immediately their little stalks are pitched, then they are placed on lattices in such a way that the one may not collide with the other, ne alter<a> alteram collidat.

[2] Tum demum sub tectum referuntur et ucida vel vitiosa grana forpicibus amputantur et, cum paululum sub umbra refrixerint, ternae aut etiam quaternae, pro capacitate vasorum, in ollas demittuntur et opercula diligenter pice opturantur, ne umorem transmittant; tum vinaceorum pes bene prelo expressus proruitur et modice separatis scopionibus resoluta intrita folliculorum in dolio substernitur et deorsum versus spectantes ollae componuntur, ita distantes, ut intercalcari possint vinacea.

[2] Then at last they are brought back under a roof, and the moldy or defective berries are cut off with forceps (shears); and, when they have cooled a little under shade, three or even four, according to the capacity of the vessels, are let down into the jars, and the lids are carefully obturated with pitch, lest they transmit moisture; then a bed (footing) of grape-pomace, well expressed by the press, is poured in, and—with the little props (scopiones) moderately spaced—the loosened, triturated skins (follicles) are underlaid in a cask, and the jars are arranged facing downward, spaced so that the grape-pomace can be intercalated between.

[3] Quae cum diligenter conspissata primum tabulatum fecerunt, aliae ollae eodem modo componuntur exple[n]turque secundum tabulatum; deinde similiter doliis exstruuntur ollae et spisse incalcantur. Mox usque ad summum labrum vinacea[e] condensantur et statim operculo superposito cinere in modum gypsi temperato dolium linitur. Monendus autem erit, qui vasa empturus est, ne bibulas aut male coctas ollas emat: nam utraque res, transmisso umore, vitiat uvam.

[3] When these, carefully compacted, have made the first tier, other jars are arranged in the same way and are filled to complete the second tier; then likewise the jars are built up in the casks and are tightly wedged. Soon the grape-marc is packed up to the top rim, and immediately, with the lid placed on, the cask is coated with ash tempered in the manner of gypsum. He who is about to buy the vessels must, however, be warned not to buy bibulous or ill-fired jars: for either condition, with moisture passing through, spoils the grape.

Quin etiam oportebit, cum ad usum promuntur ollae, tota singula tabulata detrahi: nam conspissata vinacea, si semel mota sunt, celeriter acescunt et uvas corrumpunt.

Moreover, it will be needful that, when the jars are brought out for use, each whole tier be taken down: for the compacted wine-pressings, if once they have been moved, quickly turn acid and corrupt the grapes.

XLVI. CONDITURA MENSE OCTOBRI ET NOVEMBRI.

46. PRESERVING IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER.

Sequuntur vindemiam rerum autumnalium compositiones, quae et ipsae curam vilicae distendunt; nec ignoro plurima <in> hunc librum non esse conlata, quae Gaius Matius diligentissime persecutus. Illi enim propositum fuit urbanas mensas et lauta convivia instruere; libros tres edidit, quos inscripsit nominibus <pistoris>, coci et salgamari. Nobis tamen abunde sunt ea, quae ex facili rusticae simplicitati non magna inpensa possunt contingere, uti sunt in primis omnium generum mala.

Following the vintage come the compositions of autumnal things, which also themselves stretch the care of the farm-mistress; nor am I unaware that very many things have not been brought this book, which Gaius Matius has most diligently pursued. For his purpose was to furnish urban tables and lavish convivial banquets; he published three books, which he inscribed with the names of the , the cook, and the brine-man. For us, however, those things are abundantly sufficient which can readily fall to rustic simplicity with no great expense, such as, in the first place, apples of every kind.

MALA GRANATA PUNICA SERVARE VIRIDIA.

TO KEEP PUNIC POMEGRANATES GREEN.

[2] Quidam, ut a granatis incipiam, pediculos Punicorum, sicuti sunt in arbore, intorquent, ne pluviis mala rumpantur et hiantia dispereant, eaque ad maiores ramos religant, ut inmota permaneant. Deinde sparteis re[s]tibus arborem cludunt, ne aut corvis aut cornicibus aliisve avibus pomum laceretur. Nonnulli vascula fictilia dependentibus mali aptant et inlita luto paleato arboribus haerere patiuntur; alii faeno vel culmo singula involvunt et insuper luto paleato crasse linunt, atque ita maioribus ramis inligant, ne, ut dixi, vento commoveantur.

[2] Certain people, to begin with the pomegranates, twist the pedicels of the Punic fruits, just as they are on the tree, lest by rains the fruits burst and, gaping, perish, and they tie them back to the larger branches, so that they remain unmoved. Then they enclose the tree with esparto re[s]ts, lest the fruit be torn by ravens or crows or other birds. Some fit little earthenware vessels to the hanging fruit>, and, smeared with chaffed mud, they allow them to adhere to the trees; others wrap each one in hay or straw and over it they thickly coat with chaffed mud, and thus they tie them to the larger branches, lest, as I said, they be stirred by the wind.

[3] Sed haec omnia, ut dixi, sereno caelo administrari sine rore debent; quae tamen aut facienda non sunt, quia laeduntur arbusculae, aut certe non continuis annis usurpanda, praesertim cum liceat etiam detracta arboribus eadem innoxia[e] custodire: nam et sub tecto fossulae tripedaneae siccissimo loco fiunt, eoque cum aliquantulum terrae minutae repositum est, infiguntur sabuci ramuli; deinde sereno caelo granata leguntur cum suis pediculis inseruntur, [quoniam sabucus tam apertam et laxam medullam habet, ut facile malorum pediculos recipiat].

[3] But all these things, as I said, ought to be administered under a clear sky without dew; which, however, either ought not to be done, because the young trees are harmed, or at any rate are not to be usurped in consecutive years, especially since it is permitted even, with them removed from the trees, to keep the same innoxious[e]: for also under a roof little trenches three feet long are made in the driest place, and into that, when a small amount of fine earth has been deposited, twigs of elder are fixed; then under a clear sky pomegranates are gathered with their little stalks and are inserted, [since the elder has so open and lax a pith that it easily receives the little stalks of the fruits].

[4] Sed cavere oportebit, ne minus quattuor digitis a terra absint et ne inter se poma contingant; tum factae scrobi operculum inponitur et paleato luto circumlinitur, eaque humus, quae fuerat egesta, superaggeratur. Hoc idem etiam in dolio fieri potest, sive quis volet resolutam terram usque ad dimidium vas adicere seu, quod quidam malunt, fluviatilem harenam, ceteraque eadem ratione peragere.

[4] But one ought to beware that they be not less than four finger-breadths away from the ground and that the fruits do not touch one another; then a cover is placed on the made pit and it is plastered around with chaff-tempered mud, and the soil which had been dug out is heaped up over it. This same thing can also be done in a jar, whether one will add loosened earth up to half the vessel or, which some prefer, river sand, and carry out the rest by the same method.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[5] Poenus quidem Mago praecipit aquam marinam vehementer calefieri et in ea mala granata, lino vel sparto ligata, paululum demitti, dum decolorentur, et exempta per triduum in sole siccari, postea loco frigido suspendi, et, cum res exegerit, una nocte et postero die usque in eam horam, qua fuerit utendum, aqua frigida dulci macerari. Sed et idem auctor est creta figulari bene subacta recentia mala crasse inlinire et, cum argilla exaruit, frigido loco suspendere, mox, cum exegerit usus, in aqua demittere et cretam resolvere. Haec ratio tamquam recentissimum pomum custodit.

[5] Indeed the Punic Mago prescribes that sea-water be heated vehemently, and that in it pomegranates, tied with linen or esparto, be lowered a little, until they are discolored; and, once taken out, that they be dried in the sun for three days, afterwards be hung in a cold place, and, when the need shall require, be macerated in cold fresh water for one night and on the next day up to the very hour at which they are to be used. But he is likewise an authority to smear fresh pomegranates thickly with potters’ clay well kneaded, and, when the clay has dried, to hang them in a cold place, then, when use requires, to let them down into water and dissolve the clay. This method preserves the fruit as though it were the very freshest.

[6] Idem iubet Mago in urceo novo fictili substernere scobem populneam vel ilignea et ita disponere, ut scobis inter se calcari possit, deinde facto primo tabulato rursus scobem substernere et similiter mala disponere, itaque sic facere, donec urceus inpleatur; qui cum fuerit repletus, operculum inponere et crasso luto diligenter oblinire.

[6] The same Mago bids, in a new fictile earthen pitcher, to strew poplar or holm‑oak shavings beneath, and so to arrange the apples that the shavings can be compacted by treading among them; then, the first tier having been made, again to strew shavings beneath and similarly arrange the apples, and thus to do until the pitcher is filled; and when it has been filled, to place a lid upon it and carefully lute it over with thick clay.

[7] Omne autem pomum, quod in vetustatem reponitur, cum pediculis suis legendum est, sed, si sine arboris noxa fieri possit, etiam cum ramulis; nam ea res plurimum ad perennitatem confert.

[7] Moreover, every fruit that is laid by for long keeping should be gathered with its own pedicels; but, if it can be done without harm to the tree, even with little ramules; for that contributes very greatly to perennity.

MALA CYDONEA QUEMADMODUM SERVENTUR.

HOW CYDONIAN APPLES SHOULD BE KEPT.

Multi cum ramulis suis arbori detrahunt et, creta figulari cum diligenter mala obruerunt, in sole siccant, deinde, si qua rimam creta fecit, luto linunt et adsiccata frigido loco suspendunt.

Many detach them from the tree with their twigs, and, when they have carefully covered the quinces with potter’s clay, they dry them in the sun; then, if the clay has made any crack, they smear it with mud and, once dried, they hang them in a cool place.

XLVII. ALITER.

47. OTHERWISE.

Multi eadem ratione, qua granata, in scrobibus vel dolis servant cydonea, nonnulli foliis ficulneis inligant, deinde cretam figularem cum amurca subigunt et ea linunt mala, quae, cum siccata sunt, in tabulato frigido loco et sicco reponunt. Nonnulli haec eadem in patinas novas sicco gypso ita obruunt, ut altera alteram non contingat.

Many, by the same method as for pomegranates, keep Cydonian quinces in pits or in jars, some tie them up with fig-leaves, then knead potter’s clay with amurca (olive-lees) and with it coat the fruits, which, when they have been dried, they store on a boarded floor in a cold and dry place. Some likewise bury these same in new dishes with dry gypsum in such a way that one does not touch another.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[2] Nihil tamen certius aut melius experti sumus, quam ut cydonea maturissima integra sine macula et sereno caelo decrescente luna legantur et in lagona nova, quae sit patentissimi oris, detersa lanugine, quae malis inest, conponantur leviter et laxe, ne collidi possint; deinde, cum ad fauces usque fuerint composita, vimineis surculis sic transversi ~~artentur, ut modice mala comprimant nec patiantur ea, cum acceperunt liquorem, sublevari; tum quam optimo et liquidissimo melle vas usque ad summum ita repleatur, ut pomum summersum sit.~~

[2] Nevertheless, we have experienced nothing more certain or better than this: that quinces, very ripe, whole, without blemish, and with the sky serene and the moon waning, be gathered, and that, in a new jar (lagona) which has the widest possible mouth, the down which is on the fruits having been wiped off, they be arranged lightly and loosely, so that they cannot be bruised; then, when they have been set in place up to the very throat, let them be thus braced crosswise with osier twigs, transversi, so that they compress the fruits moderately and do not allow them, when they have received the liquid, to be lifted up; then let the vessel be filled to the very top with the best and most limpid honey, so that the fruit is submerged.

[3] Haec ratio non solum ipsa mala custodit sed etiam liquorem mulsi saporis praebet, qui sine noxa possit inter cib[i]um dari febricitantibus; isque vocatur melomeli. Sed cavendum est, ne, quae in melle custodire volueris, inmatura mala condantur, quoniam grossa si lecta sunt, ita indurescunt, ut usui non sint.

[3] This method not only preserves the apples themselves but also provides a liquor of mulsum flavor, which without harm can be given among the food to the feverish; and this is called melomeli. But care must be taken lest unripe apples be stored among those which you wish to preserve in honey, since, if they are gathered green, they harden in such a way that they are not for use.

[4] Illud vero, quod multi faciunt, ut ea dividant osseo cultro et semina eximant, quod putent ex eis pomum vitiari, supervacuum esse nun docui, adeo quidem, ut, etiam si vermiculus inest, non amplius tamen corrumpantur mala, cum praedictum liquorem acceperint; nam ea mellis est natura, ut coerceat vitia nec serpere ea patiatur, qua ex causa etiam exanimum corpus hominis per annos plurimos innoxium conservat. De malis Cesianis, orbiculatis, melimelis, Matianis.

[4] That practice indeed, which many do, of cutting them with a bone knife and removing the seeds, because they think that from these the fruit is vitiated, I have now shown to be superfluous—so much so that, even if a little worm is inside, nevertheless the apples are not corrupted any further once they have received the aforesaid liquor; for such is the nature of honey, that it coerces defects and does not allow them to creep, for which cause it even preserves a lifeless human body for very many years without harm. On Cestian apples, round ones, melimela, Matian ones.

[5] Itaque possunt etiam alia genera malorum, sicuti orbiculata, Cesiana, melimela, Matiana[s], hoc liquore custodiri; sed quia videntur in melle dulciora fieri sic condita nec proprium saporem conservare, arculae fagineae vel etiam tiliagineae, quales sunt, in quibus vestimenta forensia conduntur, huic rei paulo ampliores praeparari debent, aeque tabulato frigidissimo et siccissimo, quo neque fumus neque taeter perveniat odor, conlocantur, deinde carta substrata praedicta poma sic conponi, ut flosculi susum, pediculi deorsum spectent, quemadmodum etiam in arbore nata sunt, et ne inter se, alterum ab altero, contingantur.

[5] And so other kinds of apples also can be guarded by this liquor, such as the orbicular/round, the Cesian, the melimela, the Matian[s]; but because, when thus preserved in honey, they seem to become sweeter and not to conserve their proper savor, little chests of beech-wood or even of linden-wood, such as are those in which forensic garments are stored, ought to be prepared somewhat larger for this purpose, and they are placed on a flooring most cold and most dry, where neither smoke nor foul odor may reach; then, paper having been spread beneath, the aforesaid fruits are to be arranged thus, that the little flower-ends look upward, the pedicels downward, just as they are born on the tree, and that they do not, one from another, touch each other.

[6] Item observandum est, ut unumquodque genus separatim propriis arculis repona[n]tur; nam cum una clausa sunt diversa genera, inter se discordant et celerius vitiantur. Propter quod etiam conseminalium vinearum non tam[en] est firmum vinum quam si per se sincerum Amineum vel Apianum aut etiam faecinum condideris. Verum, sicut supra dixi, cum diligenter mala fuerint composita, operculis arcularum contegantur, et luto paleato linantur opercula, ne introire spiritus possit.

[6] Likewise it must be observed that each kind be stored separately in its own little chests; for when different kinds are shut up in one, they disagree among themselves and are vitiated more quickly. On which account, too, the wine of co-planted vineyards is not so firm as if you had stored by itself pure Aminean or Apian, or even Faecinum. But, as I said above, when the apples have been carefully arranged, let them be covered with the lids of the little chests, and let the lids be daubed with straw-mixed clay, so that no air can enter.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

Atque ea ipsa nonnulli, sicut in aliis generibus supra iam diximus, populnea, quidam etiam abiegnea scobe interposita, mala custodiunt; haec tamen poma non matura sed acerbissima legi debent.

And those very ones, as in other kinds we have already said above, some keep apples with poplar sawdust interposed, certain even with fir-wood sawdust; yet these fruits ought to be gathered not ripe but most acerbic.

XLVIII. INULAE CURATIO.

48. TREATMENT OF INULA.

Cum eius radicem mense Octobri, quo[d] maxime matura est, e terra erueris, aspero linteolo, vel etiam cilicio, detergeto, quidquid harenae inhaerebit; deinde acutissimo cultello summatim eradito et, quae plenior radicula fuerit, pro modo crassitudinis in duas vel plures <partes> digiti longitudine diffindito; deinde ex aceto modice in caccabulo aeneo coquito ita, ne taleolae semicrudae sint. Post hoc in umbra triduo siccentur et ita in fideliam picatam recondantur, adiecto passo vel defruto, quod supernatet, spissamentoque cunelae inposito contectum vas pelliculetur.

When you have dug its root from the earth in the month of October, when it is most mature, with a rough little linen cloth, or even with haircloth, wipe off whatever sand will adhere; then with a very sharp little knife scrape it summarily, and whatever little root shall be fuller, split according to the measure of its thickness into two or more <parts> of a finger’s length; then cook it with moderate vinegar in a bronze little pot in such a way that the little slips be not half-raw. After this let them be dried in the shade for three days and thus be stored away in a pitch-smeared earthenware jar, with passum or defrutum added so that it stands floating above, and, a thickening of cunela having been placed in, let the covered vessel be skinned over with a membrane.

ALITER CRUDAM INULAM CONDIRE.

OTHERWISE TO CONDITE RAW INULA.

[2] Cum radices eius eraseris, taleolas, ut supra, facito et in umbra triduo vel etiam quatriduo siccato, deinde siccatas in vasis sine pice, interiecta cunela, coicito; ius infundito, quod eam compositionem habeat, ut sex partibus aceti una pars sapae misceatur cum hemina salis cocti; eo iure macerentur taleolae, donec quam minimum amaritudinis resipiant.

[2] When you have scraped its roots, make little slices, as above, and dry them in the shade for three days or even four; then, the slices having been dried, cast them into vessels without pitch, with cunela interposed; pour in a liquor which has this composition: to six parts of vinegar one part of sapa is mixed with a hemina of boiled salt; in that liquor let the slices be macerated until they taste of as little bitterness as possible.

[3] Postea exempta iterum siccentur per dies quinque in umbra; tum crassamen vini faeculenti, nec minus, sit, mulsi et utriusque eorum quartam partem boni defruti confundito in ollam, quae cum inferbuerit, taleolas inulae adicito et statim ab igne removeto ac rudicula lignea peragitato, donec perfecte refrigescant; postea transfundito in fideliam picatam, operculo tegito tumque pelliculato.

[3] Afterwards, once taken out, let them again be dried for five days in the shade; then confound the thickening of leesy wine, and likewise, if there be, of mulsum, and for each of the two a fourth part of good defrutum, into a pot; when this has boiled up, add the inula slices and at once remove from the fire and thoroughly agitate with a little wooden stirrer until they are perfectly cooled; afterwards decant into a pitched storage-jar, cover with a lid, and then seal it with a pellicle.

ALITER INULAM CONDIRE.

ANOTHER WAY TO SEASON ELECAMPANE.

[4] Cum radiculas diligenter eraseris, minute concisas in muria dura macerato, donec amaritudinem dimittant; deinde effusa muria sorba quam optima et maturissima, semine detracto, contere et cum inula misce; tum sive passum seu quam optimum defrutum adicito et vas opturato.

[4] When you have carefully scraped the little roots, soak them, finely chopped, in strong brine until they give up their bitterness; then, the brine poured off, pound the best and ripest sorb-apples, the seed removed, and mix with the inula; then add either passum or the very best defrutum, and stopper the vessel.

ALITER.

ANOTHER WAY.

[5] Quidam cum condiverunt inulam muriaque maceraverunt, exsiccant et malis cydoneis tritis, quae in defruto vel melle decoxerant, miscent atque ita superfundunt passum vel defrutum et vas operculatum pelliculant.

[5] Some, when they have seasoned the inula and soaked it in brine, dry it, and mix it with ground Cydonian apples (quinces), which they had boiled down in defrutum or in honey; and thus they pour over passum or defrutum and skin-seal the lidded vessel.

XLIX. OLIVARVM CONDITURAE.

49. PICKLINGS OF OLIVES.

Acerbam pauseam mense Septembri vel Octobri, dum adhuc vindemia est, contundere; et aqua calida paululum maceratam exprime faeniculique seminibus et lentisci cum cocto sale modice permixta<m> reconde in fideliam et mustum quam recentissimum infunde; tum fasciculum viridis faeniculi superpositum merge, ut olivae premantur et ius superemineat. Sic curata oliva tertio die possis uti.

Bruise the unripe Pausia olive in the month of September or October, while the vintage is still on; and, after it has been slightly macerated in warm water, squeeze it out, and, moderately mixed with fennel seeds and mastic with boiled brine, pack it back into an earthenware jar and pour in must as fresh as possible; then sink a little bundle of green fennel placed on top, so that the olives are pressed down and the liquor stands above. Thus cured, you can use the olive on the third day.

ALITER.

ANOTHER WAY.

[2] Albam pauseam vel orchitem vel radiolum vel regiam dum contundes, primam quamque, ne decoloretur, in frigidam muriam demerge. Cuius cum tantum paratae habueris, quantum satis fuerit implendae amphorae, faeniculi aridi fasciculum substerne in imo; deinde viridis faeniculi semina et lentisci destricta et purgata in urceolo habeto; tum exempta de muria olivam exprimito et permixta praedictis seminibus in vas adicito; deinde, cum ad fauces pervenerit eius, faeniculi aridi fasciculos superponito et ita recentis musti duas partes et unam durae muriae permixtas adicito. Hac conditura compositis olivis toto anno commode uteris.

[2] While you are bruising the white pausea or the orchites or the radiolum or the royal, plunge each one as soon as it is ready, so that it not be decolored, into cold brine. When you have so many prepared of these as will be sufficient for filling an amphora, lay a little bundle of dried fennel underneath at the very bottom; then have in a small pitcher the seeds of green fennel and of the mastic-tree, stripped off and cleansed; then, the olive removed from the brine, squeeze it out and, mixed with the aforesaid seeds, add it into the vessel; then, when it has come up to its throat, place little bundles of dried fennel on top, and so add two parts of fresh must and one of strong brine mixed. With this condimentary preparation, you will use the olives, once set in order, conveniently for the whole year.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[3] Quidam olivam non contundunt sed acuta harundine insecant; idque operosius quidem, sed melius est, quia haec candidior est oliva quam ea, quae ex contusione livorem contrahit.

[3] Some do not bruise the olive but incise it with a sharp reed; and this is indeed more laborious, but better, because this olive is whiter than that which, from contusion, contracts a livid discoloration.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

Alii sive contuderunt sive inliserunt olivas, modico sale cocto et praedictis seminibus inmiscent, deinde sapam vel passum vel, si est facultas, mella<m> infundunt. Mella autem quomodo fiat, paulo ante hoc ipso libro praecepimus. Cetera omnia similiter administrant.

Others, whether they have crushed or have pounded the olives, mix in a modest amount of cooked salt and the aforesaid seeds, then they pour in sapa or passum or, if there is means, honey<m>. Moreover, how honey is made, a little earlier in this very book we have prescribed. All the rest they administer similarly.

OLIVA ALBA EX MURIA.

WHITE OLIVE FROM BRINE.

[4] Posias olivas vel regias sine macula quam candidissimas manu tringito et eligito; deinde, substrato faeniculo, in amphoram coicito, intermixti seminibus lentisci nec minus faeniculi, et, cum ad fauces [u]vas repleveris, adicito muriam duram; tum, spissamento facto de harundinum foliis, olivam premito, ut infra ius mersa sit, et iterum infundito muriam duram, dum ad summum amphorae labrum perveniat.

[4] Take Posian olives or royal ones, without blemish and as white as can be; hand-pick and select them; then, with fennel spread beneath, cast them into an amphora, with the seeds of the mastic (lentisk) intermixed, and likewise of fennel; and, when you have filled the vessel up to the mouth, add strong brine; then, a packing having been made from reed leaves, press the olive, so that it is submerged beneath the brine, and again pour in strong brine, until it reaches the top rim of the amphora.

[5] At haec oliva per se parum iucunda est, sed ad eas condituras, quae lautioribus mensis adhibentur, idonea maxime est: nam cum res exegit, de amphora promitur et contusa recipit quamcumque volueris condituram. Plerumque tamen sectivum porrum et rutam cum apio tenero et mentam minute concidunt et contusis olivis miscent[ur], deinde exiguum aceti piperati et plusculum mellis aut mulsi adiciunt oleumque viride inrorant[ur]. Atque ita fasciculo apii viridis contegitur.

[5] But this olive by itself is not very agreeable, yet for those condiments which are applied to more elegant tables it is most suitable: for when the occasion demands, it is brought out from the amphora and, once crushed, it takes on whatever seasoning you wish. For the most part, however, they finely chop scallion-leek and rue with tender celery and mint, and are mixed with the crushed olives; then they add a small measure of peppered vinegar and a somewhat larger one of honey or of mulsum (honeyed wine), and are sprinkled with green oil. And thus it is covered with a little bundle of green celery.

ALITER EX DULCI.

ALTERNATIVELY FROM SWEET.

[6] Quidam si lectae olivae in modios singulos ternas heminas salis permiscent et, adiectis seminibus lentisci faeniculoque substrato, amphoram usque ad fauces replent olivis; deinde aceto non acerrimo infundunt et, cum iam paene amphoram inpleverunt, faeniculi spissamento deprimunt bacam et rursus acetum usque ad summum labrum adiciunt; postea quadragesimo die omne ius defundunt et sapae vel defruti tres partes cum aceti una permiscent et amphoram replent.

[6] Some thus, for selected olives, mix into each modius three heminae of salt, and, with seeds of mastic added and fennel laid underneath, they fill an amphora with olives up to the throat; then they pour in vinegar not very sharp, and, when they have now almost filled the amphora, with a thick packing of fennel they press down the berry (the olive), and again they add vinegar up to the very top rim; afterward, on the 40th day they pour off all the liquor, and they mix three parts of sapa or defrutum with one part of vinegar and refill the amphora.

DE OLIVIS EX DULCI CONDIENDIS.

ON PICKLING OLIVES FROM FRESH WATER.

[7] Est et illa probata compositio, ut, cum in muria dura pausea alba uti conmaturuerit, omne ius defundatur, et mixtis duabus partibus defruti cum aceti una repleatur amphora. Eadem conditura possit etiam regia conponi vel orchita.

[7] There is also that approved composition, namely, that when in strong brine the white Pausea has certainly fully matured, all the liquor is poured off, and, two parts of defrutum mixed with one of vinegar, the amphora is refilled. By the same pickling the Regia can likewise be prepared, or the Orchita.

ALITER ALBAE COLYMBADES SINE DULCI.

OTHERWISE WHITE COLYMBADES WITHOUT SWEET MUST.

[8] Quidam unam partem muriae et duas aceti miscent eoque iure olivas poseas colymbadas faciunt, quibus si per se quis uti velit, satis iucundas experietur, quamvis et hae, cut de muria, condituram qualemcumque recipere possit.

[8] Some mix one part of brine and two of vinegar, and with that liquor they make poseae colymbades olives; and if anyone should wish to use them by themselves, he will find them quite pleasant, although these too, when they come out from the brine, can receive whatever seasoning.

DE OLIVIS FUSCIS.

ON BROWN OLIVES.

Olivae poseae, cum iam decolorantur, antequam mitescant, <cum> petiolis leguntur et in oleo quam optimo servantur; haec maxime nota etiam post annum repraesentat viridem saporem olivarum. Nonnulli etiam, cum de oleo exemerunt, eas trito sale aspersas pro novis adponunt.

Poseae olives, when they are already becoming discolored, before they ripen, are gathered with the petioles and are preserved in the best possible oil; this most notable trait even after a year re-presents the green savor of olives. Some also, when they have taken them out of the oil, serve them, sprinkled with ground salt, as if new.

DE EPITYRIS FACIENDIS.

ON MAKING EPITYRIS.

[9] Est et illud conditurae genus, quod in civitatibus Graecis plerumque usurpatur, idque vocant epityrum: oliva pausea vel orchia, cum primum ex albo decolora[n]tur fitque luteola, sereno caelo manu destringitur et in cannis uno die sub umbra expanditur et, si qui adhaerent pediculi foliaque aut surculi, leguntur; postero die cribratur et novo fisco inclusa prelo supponitur vehementerque premitur, ut exsudet, quantulumcumque habet amurcae.

[9] There is also that kind of preserving, which in the Greek cities is for the most part employed, and they call it epityrum: the Pausea olive or orchia, when first they are decolorized from white and become yellowish, in clear weather is stripped by hand and on reed-mats for one day is spread out under shade, and, if any little stalks adhere and leaves or small shoots, they are picked off; on the next day it is sifted, and, enclosed in a new basket, it is put under the press and pressed vigorously, so that it may sweat out whatever little amurca it has.

[10] Patimur autem nonnumquam tota nocte et postero die pondere pressam bacam velut exsaniari; tum, resolutis corticulis, eximimus eam, et in singulos modios olivae triti salis cocti singulos sextarios infundimus, itemque lentisci semen rutaeque et faeniculi folia sub umbra siccata, quanta satis videntur, concisa minute admiscemus; patimurque horis tribus, dum aliquatenus baca salem conbibat; tum superfundimus boni saporis oleum, ita ut obruat olivam, et faeniculi aridi fasciculum deprimimus, ut ius supernatet.

[10] We allow, moreover, sometimes the berry pressed by weight to be, as it were, made wholesome through the whole night and the next day; then, the little skins loosened, we take it out, and for each modius of olives we pour in one sextarius of ground boiled salt, and likewise we mix in, finely chopped, mastic-tree seed and rue, and fennel leaves dried under shade, as much as seems sufficient; and we allow it for 3 hours, until the berry has to some extent imbibed the salt; then we pour over oil of good savor, so that it covers the olive, and we press down a bundle of dried fennel, so that the juice floats above.

[11] Huic autem conditurae vasa nova fictilia sine pice praeparantur; quae ne[c] possit oleum sorbere, tamquam olivariae metretae imbuuntur liquida gum et adsiccatur.

[11] For this seasoning, new earthenware vessels without pitch are prepared; so that they cannot absorb oil, they are imbued, as olive-oil metretai are, with liquid gum, and they are dried.

L. NIGRARUM OLIVARUM CONDITURA.

50. PRESERVATION OF BLACK OLIVES.

Sequitur autem frigus hiemis, per quod olivitas, sicut vindemia, curam vilicae repetit. Prius itaque, quia iam inchoavimus, de condituris olivarum praecipiemus, ac statim conficiendi olei rationem subiciemus.

But the cold of winter follows, during which the olive-season, just like the vintage, calls again for the care of the farm-stewardess. Therefore first, since we have already begun, we will give directions about the picklings of olives, and immediately we will subjoin the method of making oil.

NIGRARUM OLIVARUM COMPOSITIO.

COMPOSITION OF BLACK OLIVES.

Paus<e>ae bacae vel orchitae, nonnullis regionibus etiam Naeviae, conviviorum epulis praeparantur; has igitur, cum iam nigruerint nec adhuc tamen permaturae fuerint, sereno caelo destringere manu convenit lectasque cribrare et secernere, quaecumque maculosae, vitiosae minorisve incrementi videbuntur.

Paus<e>ae berries or orchitae, in some regions also Naeviae, are prepared for banquet courses; these, therefore, when they have already blackened and yet are not, however, fully mature, it is fitting to strip off by hand under a clear sky, and the gathered ones to sift and to separate whatever shall appear maculate, vitiated, or of lesser increment.

[2] Deinde in singulos modios olivae salis integri ternas heminas adicere et in vimineos qualos confundere et, superposito copioso sale, ita uti olivam contegat, XL dies pati consudescere atque omnem amurcam exstillare; postea in alveum diffundere mundaque spongea salem, ne perveniat, detergere; tum in vas adicere e sapa vel defruto amphoram replere, superposito spissamento aridi faeniculi, quod olivam deprimat.

[2] Then for each modius of olives add three heminae of whole salt and mix them into wicker baskets, and, a copious amount of salt placed on top, so that it covers the olives, allow them to sweat for 40 days and for all the amurca to drip out; afterward pour them into a trough and, with a clean sponge, wipe off the salt so that it does not penetrate; then put them into a vessel and fill the amphora with sapa or with defrutum, a thick packing of dried fennel placed on top, to press the olives down.

[3] Plerique tamen tres partes defruti aut mellis et unam miscent aceti, aliqui duas partes et unam aceti, et eo [que] condiunt iure.

[3] Most, however, mix three parts of defrutum or of honey and one of vinegar; some two parts and one of vinegar; and with that sauce they season.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

Quidam cum olivam nigram legerunt, eadem portione[m], qua supra, salliunt et sic collocant in qualis, ut, inmixtis seminibus lentisci, alterna tabulata olivarum et similiter deinde salis, tum iterum olivarum et similiter supra salis usque in summum componant. Deinde post XL dies, cum oliva quicquid habuit amurca<e> exsudavit, in alveum defundunt et iam cribratam separant ab seminibus lentisci, spongia[m]que detergent, ne quid adhaereat salis, tum in amphoram confundunt, adiecto defruto vel sapa vel etiam mella, si est copiosa, ceteraque similiter faciunt.

Certain people, when they have gathered the black olive, salt them in the same proportion as above and thus place them in baskets, so that, with seeds of the lentisk mixed in, they arrange alternate layers of olives and likewise then of salt, then again of olives and similarly above of salt, all the way to the top. Then after 40 days, when the olive has exuded whatever amurca<e> it had, they pour them out into a trough and, now sifted, separate them from the seeds of the lentisk, and wipe with a sponge, lest any salt adhere; then they commingle them into an amphora, with defrutum added or sapa or even honey, if it is plentiful, and they do the rest similarly.

OLIVA NIGRA SINE DULCI.

BLACK OLIVE WITHOUT SWEETENING.

[4] In singulos modios olivae singulos sextarios maturi seminis lentisci et ternos cyathos seminis faeniculi, si id non est, ipsum faeniculum concisum, quantum satis videbitur, adici oportet; deinde in singulis modis olivarum salis cocti sed non moliti ternas heminas admisceri et ita in amphoris condi; easque fasciculis faeniculi obturari et cottidie per terram volutari, deinde tertio quoque aut quarto die, quidquid amurcae inest, emitti;

[4] For each modius of olives, one sextarius of ripe mastic seed and three cyathi of fennel seed ought to be added; if that is not available, the fennel itself, chopped, as much as will seem sufficient; then in each modius of olives three heminae of boiled salt, but not ground, are to be mixed in and thus stored in amphorae; and these are to be stoppered with bundles of fennel and rolled along the ground daily, then on every third or fourth day whatever amurca is present is to be let out;

[5] post XL dies in alveum diffundi et a sale tantummodo separari, sicut non spongea detergatur olivae sed ita, ut erunt exempta, maximi ~~salis micis in amphoram condantur et, spissamentis inpositis, ad usus in cellam reponantur.~~

[5] after 40 days they are to be poured out into a trough and separated only from the salt, namely, the olives are not to be wiped with a sponge, but thus: when they have been removed, they are to be stored in an amphora with the largest grains of salt, and, with compressing weights placed on, they are to be put back in the cellar for use.

OLIVAM CILICIENSEM SIC CONDITO.

PRESERVE THE CILICIAN OLIVE THUS.

Maturam olivam in muria[m] factam colymbadem de muria tollito, spongea tergeto; dein canna viridi scindito duobus vel tribus locis et triduo in aceto habeto, quarto die spongia extergeto, in vas, id est in urceum aut caccabum novum, mittito, substrato apio et modica ruta. Concis deinde pleno vase olivis inmitte defrutum usque ad os; lauri turiones in hoc vas mittito, ut olivas deprimant; post dies XX utere.

Take up from the brine the ripe olive prepared as a colymbas, wipe with a sponge; then split a green reed in two or three places and keep for three days in vinegar, on the fourth day wipe off with a sponge, put into a vessel, that is, into a jug or a new pot, with celery laid underneath and a small amount of rue. Then, with the vessel full of olives, pour in defrutum up to the mouth; put sprigs of laurel into this vessel, so that they press the olives down; after 20 days, use.

LI. SAMSA QUEMADMODUM FIA[N]T.

51. SAMSA HOW THEY MAY BE MADE.

Oliva nigra maturissima sereno caelo legitur eaque sub umbra uno die in cannis porrigitur, et quaecumque est vitiosa baca separatur. item si qui adhaeserunt pediculi, adimuntur foliaque <et> surculi quicumque sunt intermixti, eliguntur. Postero die diligenter cribratur, ut, si quid inest stercoris, separetur.

The very ripest black olive is gathered in serene weather, and it is spread out under shade for one day on reeds; and any berry that is vitiated is separated. Likewise, if any lice have adhered, they are taken away, and the leaves <and> shoots, whatever are intermixed, are selected out. On the next day it is carefully sifted, so that, if any dung is present, it may be separated.

Deinde int<eg>ra oliva novo fisco includitur et prelo subicitur, ut tota nocte exprimatur.

Then the whole olive is enclosed in a new basket and put under the press, so that it may be expressed for the whole night.

[2] Postero die inicitur quam mundissimis molis suspensis, ne nucleus frangatur, et, cum est in samsam redacta, tunc sal coctus tritusque manu permiscetur cum ceteris aridis condimentis; haec sunt autem careum, cyminum, semen faeniculi, anesum Aegyptium. Sat erit autem totidem heminas salis adicere, quot sunt modi olivarum, et oleum superfundere, ne exarescat; idque fieri debebit, quotiensque videbitur adsiccari.

[2] On the next day it is set to the very clean suspended millstones, lest the kernel be broken, and, when it has been reduced into samsam, then refined salt, ground by hand, is thoroughly mixed with the other dry condiments; these, moreover, are caraway, cumin, fennel seed, Egyptian anise. It will be sufficient, furthermore, to add as many heminae of salt as there are modii of olives, and to pour oil over it, lest it dry out; and this will have to be done whenever it shall seem to be drying.

[3] Nec dubium est, quin optimi saporis sit, quae ex oliva posia facta est. Ceterum supra duos menses sapor eius non permanet integer. Videntur autem alia genera huic rei magis esse idonea, sicut Liciniae et Culminiae, verumtamen habetur praecipua in hos usus olea Calabrica, quam quidam propter similitudinem oleastellum vocant.

[3] There is no doubt that the one which is made from olive posia is of the best savor. However, beyond two months its flavor does not remain entire. Other kinds, moreover, seem to be more suitable for this matter, such as the Licinian and the Culminian; nevertheless, the Calabrian olive is held as preeminent for these uses, which some, on account of its similitude, call oleastellum.

LII. DE OLEO CONFICIENDO.

52. ON PREPARING OIL.

Media est olivitas plerumque initium mensis Decembris: nam et ante hoc tempus acerbum oleum conficitur, quod vocatur aestivum, et circa hunc mensem viride[m] premitur, deinde postea maturum; sed acerbum oleum facere patris familiae rationibus non conducit, quoniam exiguum fluit, nisi si baca tempestatibus in terram decidit et necesse est eam sublegere, ne a domesticis pecudibus ferisve consumatur.

The olive-harvest commonly reaches its midpoint at the beginning of the month of December: for even before this time unripe/acerb oil is produced, which is called “summer” oil; and around this month green [oil] is pressed, then afterward ripe. But to make unripe oil does not conduce to the paterfamilias’s accounts, since little flows, unless the berry has fallen to the ground through storms and it is necessary to glean it, lest it be consumed by domestic herd-animals or by wild ones.

[2] Viridis autem notae conficere vel maxime expedit, quoniam et satis fluit et pretio paene duplicat domini reditum. Sed si vasta sunt oliveta, necesse est aliqua pars eorum maturo fructui reservetur. Locus autem, in quo confici oleum debet, etiam descriptus est priore volumine; pauca tamen ad rem pertinentia commemoranda sunt, quae prius omiseram.

[2] It is, however, most expedient to prepare the green-grade oil, since it both flows sufficiently and by its price nearly doubles the owner’s revenue. But if the olive-groves are vast, it is necessary that some part of them be reserved for ripe fruit. The place, moreover, in which the oil ought to be prepared has also been described in the prior volume; yet a few things pertinent to the matter must be commemorated, which I had previously omitted.

[3] Tabulatum, quo inferatur olea, necessarium est, quamvis praeceptum habeamus uniuscuiusque diei fructus molis et prelo statim subiciatur. Verumtamen, quia interdum multitudo bacae torculariorum vincit laborem, sit [laborem] oportet pensile horreum, quo inportentur fructus, idque tabulatum simile esse debet granario et habere lacusculos tam multos, quam postulabit modus olivae, ut separetur et seorsum reponatur uniuscuiusque die coactura.

[3] A platform onto which the olives may be brought in is necessary, although we have the precept that the fruits of each day be subjected to the mill and the press immediately. Nevertheless, because sometimes the multitude of berries overcomes the labor of the pressers, there ought to be a hanging granary [labor], into which the fruits are carried; and that platform ought to be like a granary and to have small basins as many as the measure of the olive will require, so that the batch of each day pressing may be separated and set apart.

[4] Horum lacusculorum solum lapide vel tegulis oportet consterni et ita declive fieri, ut celeriter omnis umor per canales aut fistulas defluat; nam est inimicissima oleo amurca; quae si remansit in baca, saporem olei corrumpit. Itaque, cum lacus, quemadmodum diximus, exstruxeris, asserculos inter se distantes semipedalibus spatiis supra solum ponito et cannas diligenter spisse textas inicito, ita ut ne bacam transmittere queant et olivae pondus possint sustinere.

[4] The floor of these little basins ought to be paved with stone or tiles and made so sloping that all moisture may quickly drain off through channels or pipes; for amurca is most inimical to oil; if it has remained in the berry, it corrupts the savor of the oil. And so, when you have constructed the basins, as we have said, place little planks above the floor, separated from one another by half‑foot spaces, and lay on canes carefully woven thick, so that they cannot let the berry pass through and can sustain the weight of the olive.

[5] Iuxta omnis autem lacusculos ea parte, qua defluet amurca, sub ipsis fistulis in modum fossularum concavum pavimentum vel canalem lapideum esse oportebit, in quo consista[n]t et unde exhauriri possit quidquid defluxerit; praeterea lacus vel dolia praeparata sub tecto haberi oportebit, quae seorsum recipiant sui cuiusque generis amurcam, sive quae sincera fluxerit, sive etiam quae salem receperit; nam utraque usibus plurimis idonea est.

[5] Alongside all the little basins, on the side where the amurca will flow off, beneath the very pipes there ought to be a concave pavement in the manner of little trenches or a stone canal, in which whatever has flowed off may settle and from which it can be bailed out; moreover, vats or dolia prepared under a roof should be kept, which may receive separately the amurca of each kind, whether that which has flowed off pure, or even that which has taken salt; for each is suitable for very many uses.

[6] Oleo autem conficiendo molae utiliores sunt quam trapetum, trapetum quam canalis et solea. Molae quam facillimam patiuntur administrationem, cum pro magnitudine bacarum vel summitti vel etiam elevari possint, ne nucleus, qui saporem olei vitiat, confringatur. Rursus trapetum plus operis faciliusque quam solea et canalis efficit.

[6] For producing oil, the mills are more useful than the trapetum, and the trapetum than the canalis and the solea. The mills admit the very easiest management, since according to the size of the berries they can be lowered or even raised, lest the kernel, which vitiates the flavor of the oil, be broken. In turn, the trapetum does more work, and more easily, than the solea and the canalis.

[7] Est et organum erectae tribulae simile, quod tudicula vocatur, idque non incommode opus efficit, nisi quod frequenter vitiatur et, si bacae plusculum ingesseris, inpeditur. Pro conditione tamen et regionum consuetudine praedictae machinae exercentur, sed est optima molarum, tum etiam trapeti. Haec, antequam de oleo conficiendo dissererem, praefari necesse habui.

[7] There is also a device like an upright tribulum, which is called a tudicula, and it not incommodiously effects the work, except that it is frequently vitiated and, if you have loaded the berries a little too much, it is impeded. According to circumstance and the custom of the regions, however, the aforesaid machines are employed; but the best is that of the molae, then also that of the trapetum. These things I found it necessary to preface before I should discourse on the making of oil.

[8] Nunc ad ipsam rem veniendum est, quamquam multa omissa sint, quae sicut ante vindemiam, sic et ante olivitatem praeparanda sunt, tamquam lignorum copia, quae multo ante apportanda est, ne, cum res desideraverit, opere avocentur, tum scalae, corbulae decemmodiae, trimodiae, satoriae, quibus destricta baca suscipitur, fisci, funes cannabini vel spartei[s], conchae ferreae, quibus depletur oleum, opercula, quibus vasa olearia conteguntur, spongeae maiores et minores, urcei, quibus oleum progeritur, cannae tegetes, quibus oliva excipitur, et si qua sunt alia, quae nunc memoriam meam fugiunt.

[8] Now we must come to the matter itself, although many things have been omitted which, just as before the vintage, so also before the olive-harvest, must be prepared: for instance a supply of wood, which must be brought long beforehand, lest, when the need arises, they be diverted from the work; then ladders, little baskets of ten modii, of three modii, “sowing-baskets,” by which the stripped berry is received; fisci (wicker-baskets); hempen or esparto rope[s]; iron scoops, with which the oil is drawn off; lids, with which the oil-vessels are covered; larger and smaller sponges; pitchers, by which the oil is carried out; reed mats, on which the olive is received; and whatever other things there are, which now escape my memory.

[9] Haec omnia multo plura esse debent, quoniam in usu depereunt et pauciora fiunt; quorum si quid suo tempore defueri[n]t, opus intermittetur. Sed iam, quod pollicitus sum, exsequar.

[9] All these things ought to be much more numerous, since in use they perish and become fewer; of which, if anything should be lacking at its proper time, the work will be intermitted. But now I will carry out what I have promised.

DE OLEO VIRIDI CONFICIENDO.

ON PREPARING GREEN OIL.

Cum primum bacae variare coeperint et iam quaedam nigrae fuerint, plures tamen albae, sereno caelo manibus destringi olivam oportebit et, substratis tegetibus aut cannis, cribrari et purgari;

When first the berries begin to variegate and some already have become black, yet more are white, it will be proper, under a serene sky, for the olive to be stripped by hand; and, with mats or reeds spread beneath, to be sifted and purged;

[10] tum diligenter emundatam protinus in torcular deferri et integram in fiscis novis includi prelisque subici, ut, quantum possit, paulisper exprimatur. Postea, resolutis torculis, emoli debebunt, adiectis binis sextariis integri salis singulos modios, et aut regulis, si consuetudo erit regionis, aut certe novis fiscis samsae exprimi. Quod deinde primum defluxerit in rotundum labrum - nam id melius est quam plumbeum quadratum vel structile gemellar - protinus capulator depleat et in fictilia labra, huic usui praeparata, defundat.

[10] then, having been carefully cleaned, it should straightway be carried into the press and, whole, enclosed in new baskets (fiscinae) and subjected to the presses, so that, as much as it can, it may be expressed for a little while. Afterwards, the presses having been loosened, they ought to remill and break up the mass, with two sextarii of pure salt added to each modius, and either with small laths (regulae), if that is the custom of the region, or certainly the samsa should be pressed out in new baskets. What then first has flowed down into a round basin - for that is better than a square leaden one or a constructed twin-vat - let the skimmer (capulator) immediately draw off and decant into fictile earthen basins prepared for this use.

[11] Sin autem in cella olearia tres labrorum ordines, ut unus primae notae, id est primae pressurae, oleum recipiat, alter secundae, tertius tertiae; nam plurimum refert non miscere iterationem, multoque minus tertiationem, cum prima pressura, quoniam longe melioris saporis est, quod minore vi preli, quasi lixivum, defluxerit. Cum deinde paulum in labris primis constiterit oleum, eliquare id capulator in secunda labra debebit et deinde in sequentia usque ad ultima[m]. Nam quanto saepius translatione ipsa ventilatur et quasi exercetur, tanto fit liquidius et amurca liberatur.

[11] But let there be in the oil-cellar three rows of basins, so that one may receive oil of the first grade, that is, of the first pressing; another, of the second; the third, of the third; for it matters very much not to mix the second pressing, and much less the third pressing, with the first, since the first pressing is by far of better savor, inasmuch as, with less force of the press, it has flowed off, as if a lye. When then the oil has stood a little in the first basins, the collector should clarify it into the second basins, and then into the subsequent ones up to the last. For the more often, by the very transferral, it is ventilated and, as it were, exercised, the more limpid it becomes, and it is freed from amurca.

[12] Sat erit autem in singulis ordinibus tricena componi labra, nisi si vasta fuerint oliveta et maiorem numerum desideraverint. Quod si frigoribus oleum cum amurca congelabitur, plusculo sale cocto utique utendum erit; ea res resolvit oleum et separat ab omni vitio. Neque rendum est, ne salsum fiat; nam quantumcumque adieceris salis, nihilominus saporem non recipit oleum.

[12] But it will be enough to set up thirty basins in each order, unless the olive-groves are vast and require a greater number. If, however, in cold weather the oil together with the amurca congeals, one must certainly use a somewhat larger quantity of boiled salt; this loosens the oil and separates it from every flaw. Nor need it be feared that it becomes salty; for however much salt you add, nonetheless the oil does not take on the flavor.

Solet autem ne si<c> quidem resolvi, cum maiora frigora incesserunt; itaque nitrum torretur et contritum inspargitur et conmiscetur; ea res eliquat amurcam.

However, it is wont not even thus to be resolved, when greater colds have set in; and so nitre (natron) is torrefied and, crushed, is sprinkled in and commixed; this thing eliquates (strains off) the amurca.

[13] Quidam quamvis diligentes olearii bacam integram prelo non subiciunt, quod existimant aliquid olei deperire; nam cum preli pondus accepit, non sola exprimitur amurca, sed et aliquid secum pinguedinis attrahit. Illud autem in totum praecipiendum habeo, ut neque fumus neque fuligo, quamdiu viride oleum conficitur, in torcular admittatur aut in cellam oleariam: nam est utraque res inimica huic rei. Peritissimique olearii vix patiuntur ad unam lucernam opus fieri, quapropter ad eum statum caeli et torcular et cella olearia constituenda est, qui maxime a frigidis ventis aversus est, ut quam minime vapor ignis desideretur.

[13] Certain, albeit diligent, oil-men do not submit the berry whole to the press, because they suppose some oil is lost; for when the press has taken the weight, not only is the amurca squeezed out, but it also drags along with it some portion of fattiness. But this I have to prescribe entirely: that neither smoke nor soot, so long as the green oil is being produced, be admitted into the press or into the oil-cellar; for both things are inimical to this matter. And the most expert oil-men scarcely allow the work to be done by a single lamp, wherefore both the press and the oil-cellar should be set in that aspect of the sky which is most turned away from cold winds, so that the heat-vapor of fire be desired as little as possible.

[14] Dolia autem et seriae, in quibus oleum reponitur, non tantum eo tempore curanda sunt, cum fructus necessitas cogit, sed ubi fuerint a mercatore vacuata, confestim vilica debet adhibere curam, ut, si quae faeces aut amurcae in fundis vasorum subsederint, statim emundentur et non calidissima lixiva, ne vasa ceram remittant, semel atque iterum eluantur, deinde aqua tepida leviter manibus defricentur et saepius eluantur, atque ita spongia omnis umor adsiccetur.

[14] The dolia and the seriae, in which oil is stored, must be cared for not only at that time when the necessity of the harvest compels, but, when they have been emptied by the merchant, the vilica ought at once to apply care, so that, if any dregs or amurca have settled on the bottoms of the vessels, they may immediately be cleaned and, with lye not the very hottest, lest the vessels release their wax, be rinsed once and again; then with tepid water let them be lightly rubbed by hand and be rinsed rather often, and thus with a sponge let all moisture be dried off.

[15] Sunt qui cretam figularem in modum liquidae faecis aqua resolvant et, cum vasa laverint, hoc quasi iure intrinsecus oblinant et patiantur arescere; postea, cum res exigat, ali pura aqua, nonnulli prius amurca, deinde aqua vasa perluunt et adsiccant; tum considerant, numquid ceram novam dolia desiderent: nam fere sexta quaque olivitate cerari oportere antiqui dixerunt.

[15] There are those who resolve potter’s chalk in water in the manner of liquid dregs, and, when they have washed the vessels, they smear the inside with this as if with a liquor and allow it to dry; afterward, when need requires, some rinse the vessels with pure water, others first with amurca and then with water, and dry them; then they consider whether the casks require new wax: for the ancients said that about every sixth olive-harvest they ought to be waxed.

[16] Quod fieri posse non intellego: nam quemadmodum nova vasa, si calefiant, liquidam ceram facile recipiant, sic vetera non crediderim propter olei sucum ceraturam pati. Quam tamen et ipsam ceraturam nostrorum temporum agricolae repudiaverunt existimaveruntque satius esse nova dolia liquida gummi perluere siccataque subfumigare alba cera, ne pallorem aut malum odorem capiant. Eamque suffitionem semper faciendam iudicant, quotiensque vel nova vel vetera vasa curantur oleo novo praeparantur.

[16] I do not understand that this can be done: for just as new vessels, if they are warmed, readily receive liquid wax, so I would not believe that old ones, on account of the oil’s juice, would allow waxing. Yet even this waxing itself the farmers of our time have repudiated, and have thought it better to rinse new casks with liquid gum and, once dried, to fumigate them with white wax, lest they take on pallor or a bad odor. And they judge that this fumigation must always be done, as often as either new or old vessels are cared for are prepared for new oil.

[17] Multi cum semel nova dolia vel serias crasse gummi liverunt, una in perpetuum gummitione contenti sunt; et sane, quae semel oleum testa conbibit, am alteram gummitionem non recipit: respuit enim olei pinguitudo talem materiam, qualis est gummis.

[17] Many, when once they have thickly smeared new casks or storage-jars with gum, are content with a single gumming forever; and indeed, earthenware which has once imbibed oil, am does not receive a second gumming: for the fattiness of the oil rejects such a material as gum is.

OLEUM MATURUM QUEMADMODUM BONI FIAT SAPORIS.

HOW MATURE OIL MAY BE MADE OF GOOD SAVOR.

Post mensem Decembrem circa Kalendas Ianuarias eadem ratione, qua superius, destringenda erit olea et statim exprimenda; nam si reposita in tabulatum fuerit, celeriter concalescet, quoniam hiemalibus pluviis amurcae plus concipit, quae est contraria huic rei.

After the month of December, around the Kalends of January, by the same method as above, the olive-crop must be stripped and immediately pressed; for if it has been laid away on a loft, it will quickly grow warm, since in the winter rains it takes in more amurca, which is contrary to this matter.

[18] Cavendum est itaque, ne fiat oleum cibarium, quod uno modo vitari poterit, si protinus inlata de agro baca conmolita et expressa ceraque sic administrata fuerit, ut supra diximus. Plerique agricolarum crediderunt, si sub tecto baca deponatur, oleum in tabulato crescere, quod tam falsum est quam in area frumenta grandescere. Idque mendacium vetus ille Porcius Cato sic refellit.

[18] Accordingly, one must beware lest cibarious oil be made, which can be avoided in one way, if the berry, brought in straightway from the field, be ground and pressed, and the rest be so administered as we have said above. Very many of the farmers have believed that, if the berry is laid down under a roof, the oil increases on the boarded loft, which is as false as grain growing big on the threshing-floor. And that lie the old Porcius Cato refutes thus.

[19] Ait enim in tabulato conrugari olivam minoremque fieri; propter quo, cum facti unius mensuram rusticus sub tecto reposuerit et post multos dies eam molere voluerit, oblitus prioris mensurae, quam intulerat, ex alio acervo, similiter seposito, quantum[cum>que mensurae defuit, supplet; eoque facto videtur plus semivietae quam recentes bacae reddere, cum longe plures modios acceperit.

[19] For he says that on the loft the olive wrinkles and becomes smaller; because of which, when a farmer has stored under a roof a measure of a single batch and, after many days, wishes to grind it, having forgotten the former measure which he had brought in, from another heap, laid aside in the same way, he makes up whatever amount the measure lacked; and, with this done, the half-withered berries seem to yield more than fresh ones, since he has taken in far more modii.

[20] Attamen, ut maxime id verum esse, nihilminus ex pretio viridis olei plus quam multitudine mali[i] nummorum contrahitur. Sed et Cato dicit: ec sic quidem quidquam ponderis aut mensurae oleo accedit, si portionem velis in factum adiectae bacae conputare [non proventum, sed detrimentum sentiens]. Quapropter dubitare non debemus lectam olivam primo quoque tempore conmolere preloque subicere. De cibario oleo conficiendo.

[20] Nevertheless, even if that were most true, nonetheless from the price of green oil more is contracted than is lost by the multitude of coins. But Cato also says: nor even thus does anything of weight or of measure accrue to the oil, if you wish to compute the portion of the berry added to the product made [perceiving not a yield, but a detriment]. Wherefore we ought not to hesitate to grind the gathered olive at the first possible time and to subject it to the press. On making cibarium oil.

[21] Nec ignoro etiam cibarium oleum esse faciendum; nam ubi vel exesa vermiculis oliva decidit, vel tempestatibus et pluviis in lutum defluxit, ad praesidium aquae calidae decurritur; aenumque calefieri debet, ut inmundae bacae eluantur; sed id non ferventissima fieri oportet verum modice calida, quo commodior gustus olei fiat: nam si excoctus est, etiam vermiculorum ceterarumque immunditiarum saporem trahit. Sed cum fuerit oliva elota, reliqua, sicut supra praecepimus, fieri debebunt.

[21] Nor do I ignore that table oil too must be made; for when an olive either, eaten away by little worms, has fallen, or by storms and rains has flowed down into the mud, resort is had to the aid of warm water; and a cauldron ought to be heated, that the unclean berries may be rinsed out; but this ought not to be made boiling-hot, rather moderately warm, so that a more agreeable taste of the oil may result: for if it is overcooked, it even draws the flavor of the worms and of the other impurities. But when the olives have been washed, the remaining steps must be done just as we have prescribed above.

[22] Fiscis autem non isdem probum et cibarium oleum premi oportebit: nam veteres ad caducam olivam, novi autem ordinario aptari oleo, semperque, cum expresserint facta, statim ferventissima debent aqua bis aut ter elui, deinde, si sit profluens, inpositis lapidibus, ut pondere pressi detineantur, inmergi, vel, si nec flumen est, in lacu aut in piscina quam purissimae aquae macerari et postea virgis verberari, ut sordes faecesque dedicant, et iterum elui siccarique.

[22] Moreover, the baskets with which choice oil and cibarium oil are pressed ought not to be the same: for the old ones are to be fitted to windfall olive, but the new to ordinary oil; and always, when they have expressed the batches made, they ought immediately to be washed two or three times with very boiling-hot water, then, if there is running water, with stones placed upon them, so that, pressed by the weight, they are held down, to be immersed; or, if there is no river, to be macerated in a lake or in a pool of the purest water, and afterwards to be beaten with rods, so that they shed the filth and sediment, and to be washed again and dried.

LIII. OLEI GLEUCINI COMPOSITIO.

53. COMPOSITION OF GLEUCIN OIL.

Quamvis non erat huius temporis olei gleucini compositio, tamen huic parti voluminis reservata est, ne parum opportune vini conditionibus interponeretur. Hac autem ratione confici debet: vas oleare quam maximum et aut novum aut certe bene solidum praeparari oportet, deinde per vindemiam musti quam optimi generis et quam recentissimi sextarios LX cum olei pondo LXXX in id confundi, tum aromata non cribrata, sed ne minute quidem contusa, verum leviter confracta in reticulum iunceum aut linteum adici et ita [cum saxi pondusculo] in olei atque musti prae<dictum modum> demitti.

Although the composition of gleucinum oil was not of this time, nevertheless it has been reserved for this part of the volume, lest it be inserted among the conditions of wine inopportunely. But it ought to be prepared in this manner: an oil-jar as large as possible, and either new or at any rate well sound, should be made ready; then, during the vintage, 60 sextarii of must of the best kind and the freshest possible, together with 80 pounds of oil, are to be mixed into it; then aromatics, not sifted, nor even finely crushed, but lightly broken, are to be added in a rush- or linen little net, and thus [with a small weight of stone] to be let down into the afore<said measure> of oil and must.

[2] Sin autem his portionibus pensata ea[t], quae infra subicimus: calami, schoeni, cardamomi, xylobalsami, corticis de palma, faeni Graeci vetere vino macerati et postea siccati atque etiam torrefacti, iunci radicis, tum etiam iridis Graecae nec minus anesi Aegyptii; pari pondere, id est uniuscuiusque libram et quadrantem, ut supra diximus, reticulo inclusa demittito et metretam linito; post septimum diem aut nonum apertae metretae, si quid faecis aut spurcitiae faucibus inhaerebit, manu eximito et detergito, deinde oleum eliquato novisque vasis recondito.

[2] Le there be weighed ou[t] in these portions those things which we subjoin below: reeds, schoeni, cardamom, xylobalsamum (balsam-wood), bark from the palm, fenugreek soaked in old wine and afterward dried and even roasted, root of rush, then also Greek iris and no less Egyptian anise; in equal weight, that is, a pound and a quarter of each; as we said above, lower them enclosed in a little net and pitch the metreta; after the seventh day or the ninth, the metreta having been opened, if any dregs or foulness cling to the throats, remove it by hand and wipe it clean, then clarify the oil by straining and store it in new vessels.

[3] Mox reticulum eximito et aromata in pila quam mundissime contundito tritaque in eandem metretam reponito et tantundem olei, quantum prius, infundito et opturato, in sole ponito, post septimum diem oleum depleto et, quod est reliquum musti, picato cado recondito; nam id si non exacuerit, medicamentum dabitur potandum inbecillis bubus et cetero[rum] pecori. Oleum autem secundarium non insuavis odoris cotidianam unctionem praebere poterit dolore nervorum laborantibus.

[3] Soon take out the bag, and pound the aromatics in a mortar as cleanly as possible, and, when ground, put them back into the same cask, and pour in just as much oil as before, and, having stoppered it, set it in the sun; after the seventh day draw off the oil, and what remains of the must store away in a pitch-coated jar; for if that has not turned sharp, a medicament will be given to be drunk by feeble oxen and the other livestock. The secondary oil, however, of not unpleasant odor, will be able to furnish a daily anointing for those laboring with pains of the nerves.

LIV. Oleum ad unguenta sic facito. Antequam oliva nigrescat, cum primum decolorari coep<er>it nec tamen adhuc varia fuerit, maxime Liciniam, si erit, si minus, Sergiam, si nec haec fuerit, tunc Culminiam bacam manu stringito et statim purgatam prelo integram subicito et amurcam exprimito.

54. Make oil for unguents thus. Before the olive turns black, when it first has begun to lose color and yet has not yet become variegated, especially the Licinian—if there will be such, if not, the Sergian, and if neither of these, then the Culminian—pluck the berry by hand, and immediately, once cleansed, place it whole under the press and squeeze out the amurca.

[2] Deinde suspensa mola olivam frangito eamque vel in regulas vel in novo fisco adicito, subiectamque prelo sic premito, ne vasa intorqueas sed tantum ipsius preli pondere quantulumcumque exprimi patiaris. Deinde, cum sic fluxerit, protinus capulator amurca separet et diligenter seorsum in nova labra transferat atque eliquet. Reliquum olei, quod postea fuerit expressum, poterit ad escam, vel cum alia nota mixtum vel per se, adprobari.

[2] Then, with the millstone suspended, crush the olive, and add it either into the frames or into a new basket; and, placed under the press, press it thus, that you do not twist the containers, but allow only by the weight of the press itself that however little may be expressed. Then, when it has flowed thus, let the skimmer at once separate the amurca and carefully transfer it apart into new vats and clarify it. The remainder of the oil, which shall afterwards have been expressed, can be approved for food, either mixed with another grade or by itself.

LV. Hactenus de oleo dixisse abunde est. Nunc ad minora redeamus.

55. Thus far it is enough to have spoken about oil. Now let us return to the lesser matters.

DE SUCIDIA ET SALSURA FACIENDA.

ON MAKING SUCIDIA AND BRINING.

Omne pecus et praecipue suem pridie, quam occidatur, potione prohiberi oportet, quo sit caro siccior. Nam si biberit, plus umoris salsura habebit. Ergo sitientem cum occideris, bene exossato: nam ea res minus cariosam et magis durabilem salsuram facit.

All livestock, and especially the swine, ought on the day before it is slaughtered to be prohibited from potation, so that the flesh may be drier. For if it has drunk, the salting will have more moisture (humor). Therefore, when you have killed it thirsty, bone it well; for that practice makes the salting less prone to decay and more durable.

[2] Deinde cum exossaveris, cocto sale nec nimium minuto sed suspensa mola infracto diligenter sallito et maxime in eas partes, quibus ossa relicta sunt, largum salem infarcito. Conpositisque supra tabulatum tergoribus aut frustis vasta pondera inponito, ut exsanietur; tertio die pondera removeto et manibus diligenter salsuram fricato, eamque cum voles reponere, minuto et trito sale aspergito atque ita reponito nec desieris cottidie salsuram fricare, donec matura sit.

[2] Then, when you have boned it out, salt it carefully with cooked salt, not too minutely ground but broken by a suspended millstone, and pack especially a liberal salt into those parts where the bones have been left. When you have set the backs or the cuts upon a board, place vast weights on top, so that it may be drained of blood; on the third day remove the weights and rub the salt-cure diligently with your hands, and when you wish to store it, sprinkle with fine and ground salt and so store it, nor cease to rub the cure daily until it is mature.

[3] Quod si serenitas fuerit his diebus, quibus perfricatur caro, patieris eam sale consparsam esse VIIII diebus; a[u]t si nubilum aut pluviae, XI vel duodecima die ad lacum salsuram deferri oportebit et salem prius excuti, deinde aqua dulci diligenter elui, necubi sal inhaereat, et paulum adsiccatam in carnario suspendi, quo modicus fumus perveniat, qui, si quid umoris adhuc continetur, siccare eum possit. Haec salsura luna decrescente maxime per brumam sed etiam mense Februario ante Idus commode fiet.

[3] But if there is serenity in those days during which the flesh is rubbed down, you will allow it, sprinkled with salt, to remain for 9 days; or, if there is cloudiness or rains, on the 11th or 12th day the salted meat ought to be carried to the vat, and the salt first shaken off, then washed out carefully with fresh water, lest anywhere the salt should cling, and, having been somewhat dried, hung up in the meat-room, where a moderate smoke may reach it, which, if any moisture is still contained, may be able to dry it. This salting will be done most advantageously at the waning moon, especially through midwinter, but also in the month of February before the Ides.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[4] Est et alia salsura, quae etiam locis calidis omni tempore anni potest usurpari [quae talis est]. Cum ab aqua pridie sues prohibitae sunt, postero die mactantur et vel[ut] aqua candente vel ex tenuibus lignis flammula facta glabratu; nam utroque modo pili detrahuntur. Caro in libraria frusta conciditur. Deinde in seria substernitur sal coctus et modice, ut supra diximus, infractus; deinde offulae carnis spisse conponuntur et alternus sal ingeritur.

[4] There is also another salting, which can be employed even in hot places at every time of the year [which is as follows]. When the swine have been kept from water the day before, on the following day they are slaughtered and are made smooth either by scalding water or by a little flame made from slender sticks; for in either way the hairs are removed. The meat is cut into libral pieces (about a pound each). Then in a storage-jar a bedding of cooked salt is laid down and, as we said above, lightly crushed; then little morsels of meat are set in densely, and salt is introduced in alternating layers.

Sed cum ad fauces seriae perventum est, sale reliqua pars repletur et inpositis ponderibus [u]vas contegitur. Eaque caro semper consumatur; tamquam salsamentum in muria sua permanet.

But when it has come to the throat of the jar, the remaining space is filled with salt, and, weights having been placed on, the vessel is covered. And let that meat always be consumed; it remains, as a salsament, in its own brine.

LVI. RAPORUM CONDITURA.

56. PICKLING OF TURNIPS.

Rapa quam rotundissima sumito, eaque, si sunt lutosa, detergito, et summam cutem novacula decerpito; deinde, sicut consueverunt salgamarii, decusatim ferramento lunato incidito, sed caveto, ne usque ad imum [per]praecidas rapa. Tum sale<m> inter incisuras raporum non nimium minutum adspergito et rapa in alveo aut seria conponito, et, sale plusculo inspersa, triduo sinito, dum exsudent.

Take turnips as round as possible, and if they are muddy, deterge them, and strip off the outermost skin with a razor; then, as picklers are accustomed, cut them crosswise with a crescent-shaped implement, but take care not to cut the turnips clear down to the bottom [through]. Next, sprinkle salt—not overly fine—between the incisions of the turnips, and arrange the turnips in a basin or an earthenware jar; and, having sprinkled them with a somewhat greater amount of salt, leave them for three days, until they exude.

[2] Post tertium diem mediam fibram rapi gusto, si receperit salem; deinde, cum videbitur satis recepisse, [et] exemptis omnibus singula suo sibi iure eluito; vel, si non multum liquoris fuerit, muriam duram adicito et ita eluito et postea in quadratam cistam vimineam, quae neque [non] spisse, solide tamen et crassis viminibus contexta sit, rapa conponito. Deinde sic aptatam tabula superponito, ut usque ad fundum, si res exigat, intra cistam deprimi possit.

[2] After the third day, taste the middle fiber of the turnip, to see whether it has taken up salt; then, when it seems to have taken up enough, and after removing them all, rinse each one in its own brine; or, if there has not been much liquid, add a hard brine and rinse thus, and afterward set the turnips in a square wicker cista, which should be woven not densely, yet solidly and with thick withies. Then place a board fitted thus on top, so that, down to the bottom, if the matter requires, it can be pressed within the basket.

[3] Cum eam tabula[tu]m sic aptaveris, gravia pondera superponito et sinito nocte tota et uno die siccari; tum in dolio picato fictili vel in vitreo conponito et sic infundito sinapi, ut a iure contegantur.

[3] When you have thus fitted that board, place heavy weights on top and allow it to dry through the whole night and one day; then set them in a pitched earthenware jar or in a glass vessel and thus pour in mustard, so that they are covered by the brine.

NAPORUM CONDITURA.

THE PICKLING OF TURNIPS.

[4] Napi quoque, sed integri[s], si minuti sunt, maiores autem insecti, eodem iure, quo rapa, condiri possunt; sed curandum est, ut haec utraque, antequam caulem agant et cymam faciant, dum sunt tenera, conponantur.

[4] Turnips (napi) also—kept whole if they are small, but the larger ones cut up—can be seasoned in the same brine as rapa; but it must be cared for that both of these, before they put forth a stalk and make a sprout, while they are tender, be composed (put up).

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[5] Napos minutos integros, aut rursus amplos in tres aut quattuor partes divisos, in vas coicito et aceto infundito. Salis quoque cocti unum sextarium in congium aceti adicito; post tricensimum diem uti poteris.

[5] Put small navews whole, or else large ones divided into three or four parts, into a vessel and pour in vinegar. Add also one sextarius of boiled salt to a congius of vinegar; after the thirtieth day you will be able to use it.

LVII. QUEMADMODUM SINAPEM FACIAS.

57. HOW TO MAKE MUSTARD.

Semen sinapis diligenter purgato et cribrato; deinde aqua frigida eluito et, cum fuerit bene lotum, duabus horis in aqua sinito; postea tollito, et manibus expressum in mortarium novum aut bene emundatum adicito et pistillis conterito. Cum contritum fuerit, totam intritam ad medium mortarium contrahito et comprimito manu plana; deinde cum compresseris, scarifato, et, inpositis paucis carbonibus vivis, aquam nitratam suffundito, ut omnem amaritudinem eius et pallorem exsaniet. Deinde statim mortarium erigito, ut omnis umor eliquetur.

Cleanse and sieve the seed of mustard diligently; then wash it out with cold water and, when it has been well washed, let it stand in water for two hours; afterwards take it up, and, having squeezed it by hand, add it into a new mortar or one well cleaned and crush it with pestles. When it has been crushed, draw the whole pounded mass to the middle of the mortar and compress it with a flat hand; then, when you have compressed it, scarify it, and, after placing a few live coals upon it, pour over nitred water, so that it may bleed out all its bitterness and pallor. Then immediately set the mortar upright, so that all the moisture may be strained off.

Post hoc album acre acetum adicito et pistillo permisceto colatoque. Hoc ius ad rapa condienda optime facit.

After this add sharp white vinegar and mix it with the pestle and strain it. This sauce is excellent for seasoning turnips.

[2] Ceterum, si velis ad usum conviviorum praeparare, cum exsaniaveris sinape, nucleos pineos quam recentissimos et amylum adicito diligenterque conterito, infuso aceto. Cetera, ut supra dixi, facito. Hoc sinapi ad embamma non solum idoneo sed etiam specioso uteris; nam est candoris eximii, si sit curiose factum.

[2] However, if you wish to prepare it for the use of convivials, when you have cleansed the mustard, add pine kernels as fresh as possible and amylum, and grind diligently, with vinegar poured in. Do the rest, as I said above. You will use this mustard for embamma not only as suitable but even as showy; for it is of exceptional whiteness, if it be made carefully.

LVIII. HOLERIS ATRI RADICEM QUEMADMODUM CONPONAS IANUARIO VEL FEBRUARIO MENSE.

58. HOW YOU SHOULD COMPOUND THE ROOT OF BLACK COLE IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY OR FEBRUARY.

Priusquam holus atrum coliculum agat, radicem eius eruito mense Ianuario vel etiam Februario, et diligenter defrictam, ne quid terreni habeat, in aceto et sale conponito; deinde post diem XXX eximito et corticem eius delibratum abicito; ceterum medullam eius concisam in fideliam vitream vel novam fictilem coicito, et adicito ius, quod, sicut infra scriptum est, fieri debebit:

Before the black cabbage puts forth a little stalk, dig up its root in the month of January or even February, and, having scrubbed it carefully, so that it may have nothing earthy, set it in vinegar and salt; then after 30 days take it out and cast away its bark, stripped off; but throw the medulla of it, cut up, into a glass vessel or a new earthenware one, and add the jus, which, as is written below, will have to be made:

[2] sumito mentam et uvam passam et exiguam cepam aridam eamque cum torrido farre, exiguo melle subterito; quae cum fuerit bene trita, sapae vel defruti duas partes et aceti unam permisceto atque ita in eandem fideliam confundito, eamque, operculo contectam, pelliclato. Cum deinde uti voles, cum suo iure concisas radiculas promito et oleum adicito.

[2] take mint and raisins and a small dried onion, and pound it with toasted far and a little honey; when it has been well ground, mix two parts of sapa or defrutum and one of vinegar, and so pour it into the same vessel, and, covered with a lid, seal it with a skin. Then, when you wish to use it, bring out the little roots, cut up, with their own jus, and add oil.

SISERIS RADICEM QUEMADMODUM COMPONAS.

HOW YOU MAY PREPARE THE ROOT OF SISER.

[3] Hoc ipso tempore siseris radicem poteris eadem ratione, qua supra, condire; sed cum exegerit usus, eximes de fidelia et oxymeli cum exiguo oleo superfunde.

[3] At this very time you can season the root of skirret in the same manner as above; but when need has required, take it out of the earthenware pot and pour oxymel with a small amount of oil over it.

LIX. QUEMADMODUM MORETUM FACIAS.

59. HOW YOU SHOULD MAKE MORETUM.

Addito in mortarium satureiam, mentam, rutam, coriandrum, apium, porrum sectivum aut, si id non erit, viridem cepam, folia lactucae, folia erucae, thymum viride, [vel] nepetam, tum etiam viride puleium et caseum recent<em> et salsum. Ea omnia pariter conterito acetique piperati exiguum permisceto; hanc mixturam cum in catillo composueris, oleum superfundito.

Add to the mortar savory, mint, rue, coriander, parsley, a chive—or, if that is not available, a green onion—lettuce leaves, arugula leaves, fresh thyme, [or] nepeta, then also fresh pennyroyal and fresh, salted cheese. Grind all these together evenly and mix in a little peppered vinegar; when you have set this mixture in a small dish, pour oil over it.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[2] Cum viridia, quae supra dicta sunt, contriveris, nuces glandes purgatas, quantum satis videbitur, interito acetique piperati exiguum permisceto et oleum infundito.

[2] When you have pounded the greens which were said above, add cleaned walnuts, as much as will seem sufficient; and mix in a small amount of peppered vinegar and pour in oil.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

Sesamum leviter torrefactam cum his viridibus, quae supra dicta sunt, conterito; item aceti piperati exiguum permisceto, tum supra oleum superfundito.

Pound the sesame, lightly toasted, with those greens which were stated above; likewise mix in a small amount of peppered vinegar, then pour oil over on top.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[3] Caseum Gallicum vel cuiuscumque notae volueris minutatim concidito et conterito nucleosque pineos, si eorum copia fuerit, si minus, nuces avellanas torrefactas, adempta cute, vel amygdalas eque, supra, condimenta pariter misceto acetique piperati exiguum adicito et permisceto compositumque oleo superfundito.

[3] Chop Gallic cheese, or of whatever mark you wish, into very small pieces and grind it; and pine kernels—if there is a supply of them, if not, roasted hazelnuts, the skin removed, or almonds—and those condiments which are above, mix equally together; and add a small amount of peppered vinegar and mix thoroughly, and pour oil over the composed mixture.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[4] Si condimenta viridia non erunt, puleium aridum vel thymum vel origanum vel aridam satureiam cum caseo conterito acetumque piperatum et oleum adicito. Possunt tamen haec arida, si reliquorum non sit potestas, etiam singula caseo misceri.

[4] If fresh condiments are not available, pound dried pennyroyal or thyme or origanum (oregano) or dried savory with the cheese, and add peppered vinegar and oil. Yet these dried items, if the others are not available, can also be mixed singly with the cheese.

OXYPORI COMPOSITIO.

COMPOSITION OF OXYPORUM.

Piperis albi, si sit, si minus, nigri unciae tres, apii seminis unciae duae, laseris radicis, quod silphion Graeci vocant, sescunciam, casei sextantem; haec contusa et cribrata melli permisceto et in olla nova servato; deinde, cum exegerit usus, quantulumcumque ex eo videbitur, aceto et garo diluito.

Of white pepper, if there is, if not, of black, 3 ounces; of celery seed, 2 ounces; of the root of laser, which the Greeks call silphion, 1.5 ounces; of cheese, a sextans (2 ounces); pound these and sift them, thoroughly mix with honey and keep in a new pot; then, when use shall require, whatever small amount of it shall seem good, dilute with vinegar and garum.

ALITER.

OTHERWISE.

[5] Ligustici unciam, passae uvae, detractis vinaceis, sextantem, mentae aridae sextantem, piperis albi vel nigri quadrantem; haec, si maiorem inpensam vitabis, possunt melli admisceri et ita servari. At si pretiosius oxyporum facere voles, haec eadem cum superiore compositione miscebis et ita in usum repones; quod si etiam Syriacum lasar habueris, pro silphio melius adicies pondo semunciam. Clausulam peracti operis mei, Publi Silvine, non alienum puto indicem lecturis, si modo fuerint qui dignentur ista cognoscere, nihil dubitasse me paene infinita esse, quae potuerint huic inseri materiae, verum ea, quae maxime videbantur necessaria, memoriae tradenda censuisse.

[5] an ounce of lovage, a sixth of raisin—its grape-stones removed—a sixth of dried mint, a quarter of white or black pepper; these, if you avoid greater expense, can be admixed to honey and so kept. But if you will make a more precious oxyporum, you will mix these same things with the former composition and thus store it for use; and if you should also have Syrian laser, you will more suitably add, in place of silphium, a half-ounce by weight. As a closing of my completed work, Publius Silvinus, I do not think it out of place to give a notice to readers—if indeed there will be those who deign to learn these things—that I have in no way doubted that almost infinite items could have been inserted into this material, but I have judged that those which seemed most necessary were to be handed down to memory.

Nec tamen ca<pit homi>nis natura[m] cunctarum rerum prudentiam: nam etiam quicumque sunt habiti mortalium sapientissimi, multa scisse dicuntur, non omnia.

Nor, however, does the nature of man comprehend the knowledge of all things: for even those who have been held the wisest of mortals are said to have known many things, not all.