About this book
Practical and polemical, De Agricultura by Marcus Porcius Cato offers a vivid handbook of Roman farm life that doubles as a manifesto for traditional values. Written in the second century BC, this foundational classic of antiquity lays out hands-on advice for managing crops, vineyards, livestock, and the household economy, all delivered in spare, archaic Latin prose marked by terse imperatives and an unmistakable rustic voice.
Part agricultural manual, part cultural statement, Cato (often known as Cato the Elder) uses plain, direct instruction to promote mos maiorum—the customs of the ancestors—and to reject foreign, especially Greek, influences. The text illuminates daily routines and practical techniques while also revealing the social and political concerns behind Roman farming: discipline, self-sufficiency, and civic virtue. Its style and content make it a rare window into early Latin prose and Roman attitudes toward labor, property, and tradition.
Ideal for listeners interested in classics, ancient Rome, agrarian history, or Latin literature, this audiobook is a must for scholars, history enthusiasts, and anyone curious about the practical foundations of Roman society and the literary voice that shaped it.
