Gargilius Martialis: The Agricultural Fragments

An edition, translation, and full-scale commentary for the agricultural fragments of the third-century Roman author Gargilius Martialis.

James L. Zainaldin (Edited by)

9781108718622, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 April 2023

421 pages, 20 b/w illus. 17 colour illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2.2 cm, 0.583 kg

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.

Introduction: I. Gargilius Martialis: Life and Work
II. Gargilius in the Agricultural Tradition
III. Structure and Method
IV. Understanding the Agriculture of De arboribus pomiferis
V. Language and Style
VI. Reception
VII. History of the Text
VIII. Previous Editions
IX. Conventions Adopted in This Edition, Translation, and Commentary
Text, Critical Apparatus, and Translation: Sigla
Text, Critical Apparatus, and Translation
Commentary: I. De cydoneis
II. De persicis
III. De amygdalis
IV. De castaneis
Appendices: I. The Latin Text Shared by N (De arboribus pomiferis) and the Manuscripts of Medicinae ex holeribus et pomis
II. Manure in the Agricultural Authors
III. Spelling Errors in the Manuscript.

Subject Areas: Agriculture & related industries [KNAC], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]