De agri cultura (On farming) is one of the oldest works of Roman literature, written by Cato the Elder (Marcus Porcius Cato, lived in the years 234-149 BCE) in the 2nd century BCE. It is the first surviving textbook on agriculture in Latin literature. The work was created with landowners in mind and aimed to provide them with practical advice on farm management.
Cato was primarily interested in issues related to the effective running of a farm, including farming, animal husbandry, orchards, and wine and olive oil production. In his work, he emphasized the value of hard work, discipline and frugality. Cato also promoted traditional Roman values, such as simplicity of life and respect for agriculture as the basis of the Roman economy.
De agri cultura is a practical guide, with a large number of specific tips, often very detailed. Cato writes about how to best choose land for cultivation, how to manage the slaves working on the farm, and how to produce various agricultural products. From a historical perspective, Cato’s work is an extremely valuable source of information about the Roman economy, agricultural techniques and everyday life in the times of Republican Rome.
The work also contains, among others, cooking, medical and religious recipes, as well as advice on supplies and sales.
Despite the passage of centuries, De agri cultura is still valued for its contribution to literature and for the opportunity to understand what the Roman countryside looked like and what values were important to the Romans of that time. This work is also a testimony to Cato’s pragmatism and his deep attachment to tradition and the Roman countryside.
