Gargilius Martialis: The Agricultural Fragments (Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries, Series Number 60)

"In the third century CE, the North African polymath, soldier and provincial official Q. Gargilius Martialis (died 260) wrote a treatise on the cultivation and medical use of fruits, vegetables and herbs. The agricultural part of this work survives in a fragmentary state in a single manuscript. Despite this impediment, the agricultural writings are noteworthy for the clear marks both of their meticulous research and of the application of independent judgement and experience. Gargilius furthermore presents his advice in a stylized and literary form that strives for elegance through the use of prose rhythm, rhetorical variatio and figurative language. The fragments will be valuable for those interested in ancient agriculture, in Greco-Roman authorship on the technai or artes and in the history and sociolinguistics of Latin. This volume offers a new edition and the first English translation of Gargilius' agricultural fragments as well as an introduction and full-scale commentary"-- Provided by publisher The agricultural writings of the third-century Roman author Gargilius Martialis provide an important perspective on ancient agriculture, scientific and technical authorship in Greece and Rome, and the history and sociolinguistics of Latin. This edition undertakes to explain Gargilius' agricultural writings and make them more accessible. Cover Dedication Contents Plates Figures Tables Preface Introduction Sigla Text, Critical Apparatus and Translation Commentary Appendices Abbreviations and Bibliography Index Locorvm Index Nominvm Et Rervm Index Verborvm Plates