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Tiresias: The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Source Database



2180
Cato, Marcus Porcius, On Agriculture, 141


nanThe following is the formula for purifying land: Bidding the suovetaurilia to be led around, use the words: "That with the good help of the gods success may crown our work, I bid thee, Manius, to take care to purify my farm, my land, my ground with this suovetaurilia, in whatever part thou thinkest best for them to be driven or carried around."  Make a prayer with wine to Janus and Jupiter, and say: "Father Mars, I pray and beseech thee that thou be gracious and merciful to me, my house, and my household; to which intent I have bidden this suovetaurilia to be led around my land, my ground, my farm; that thou keep away, ward off, and remove sickness, seen and unseen, barrenness and destruction, ruin and unseasonable influence;  and that thou permit my harvests, my grain, my vineyards, and my plantations to flourish and to come to good issue, preserve in health my shepherds and my flocks, and give good health and strength to me, my house, and my household. To this intent, to the intent of purifying my farm, my land, my ground, and of making an expiation, as I have said, deign to accept the offering of these suckling victims; Father Mars, to the same intent deign to accept the offering of these suckling offering."  Also heap the cakes with the knife and see that the oblation cake be hard by, then present the victims. When you offer up the pig, the lamb, and the calf, use this formula: "To this intent deign to accept the offering of these victims." . . . If favourable omens are not obtained in response to all, speak thus: "Father Mars, if aught hath not pleased thee in the offering of those sucklings, I make atonement with these victims." If there is doubt about one or two, use these words: "Father Mars, inasmuch as thou wast not pleased by the offering of that pig, I make atonement with this pig.


Intertexts (texts cited often on the same page as the searched text):

6 results
1. Hesiod, Works And Days, 585 (8th cent. BCE - 7th cent. BCE)

585. of an ox to keep the downpour from your back
2. Cato, Marcus Porcius, On Agriculture, 134, 139, 132 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)

132. The offering is to be made in this way: offer to Jupiter Dapalis a cup of wine of any size you wish, observing the day as a holiday for the oxen, the teamsters, and those who make the offering. In making the offering use this formula: "Jupiter Dapalis, forasmuch as it is fitting that a cup of wine be offered thee, in my house and in the midst of my people, for they sacred feast; and to that end, be thou honoured by the offering of this food." Wash the hands, then take the wine, and say: "Jupiter Dapalis, be thou honoured by the offering of thy feast, and be thou honoured by the wine placed before thee." You may make an offering to Vesta if you wish. Present it to Jupiter religiously, in the fitting form. The feast to Jupiter consists of roasted meat and an urn of wine. After the offering is made plant millet, panic grass, garlic, and lentils.
3. Horace, Letters, 2.1.139-2.1.144 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)

4. Lucretius Carus, On The Nature of Things, 1.250-1.261 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)

5. Philo of Alexandria, On The Special Laws, 1.206-1.211, 1.229-1.230, 1.241, 1.247, 1.256 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)

1.206. And it is commanded that the belly and the feet shall be washed, which command is a figurative and very expressive one; for, by the belly it is figuratively meant to be signified that it is desirable that the appetites shall be purified, which are full of stains, and intoxication, and drunkenness, being thus a most pernicious evil, existing, and concocted, and exercised to the great injury of the life of mankind. 1.207. And by the command that the feet of the victim should be washed, it is figuratively shown that we must no longer walk upon the earth, but soar aloft and traverse the air. For the soul of the man who is devoted to God, being eager for truth, springs upward and mounts from earth to heaven; and, being borne on wings, traverses the expanse of the air, being eager to be classed with and to move in concert with the sun, and moon, and all the rest of the most sacred and most harmonious company of the stars, under the immediate command and government of God, who has a kingly authority without any rival, and of which he can never be deprived, in accordance with which he justly governs the universe. 1.208. And the division of the animal into limbs shows plainly that all things are but one, or that they are derived from one, and dissolved into one; which some persons have called satiety and also want, while others have called it combustion and arrangement: combustion, in accordance with the supreme power of God, who rules all other things in the world; and arrangement, according to the equality of the four elements which they all mutually allow to one another. 1.209. And when I have been investigating these matters, this has appeared to me to be a probable conjecture; the soul which honours the living God, ought for that very reason to honour him not inconsiderately nor ignorantly, but with knowledge and reason; and the reasoning which we indulge in respecting God admits of division and partition, according to each of the divine faculties and excellencies; for God is both all good, and is also the maker and creator of the universe; and he also created it having a foreknowledge of what would take place, and being its preserver and most blessed benefactor, full of every kind of happiness; all which circumstances have in themselves a most dignified and praiseworthy character, both separately and when looked at in conjunction with their kindred qualities; 1.210. and we must speak in the same way of other matters. When you wish to give thanks to God with your mind, and to assert your gratitude for the creation of the world, give him thanks for the creation of it as a whole, and of all its separate parts in their integrity, as if for the limbs of a most perfect animal; and by the parts I mean, for instance, the heaven, and the sun, and the moon, and the fixed stars; and secondly the earth, and the animals, and plants which spring from it; and next the seas and rivers, whether naturally springing from the ground or swollen by rain as winter torrents, and all the things in them: and lastly, the air and all the changes that take place in it; for winter, and summer, and spring, and autumn, being the seasons of the year, and being all of great service to mankind, are what we may call affections of the air for the preservation of all these things that are beneath the moon. 1.211. And if ever you give thanks for men and their fortunes, do not do so only for the race taken generally, but you shall give thanks also for the species and most important parts of the race, such as men and women, Greeks and barbarians, men on the continent, and those who have their habitation in the islands; and if you are giving thanks for one individual, do not divide your thankfulness in expression into gratitude for minute trifles and inconsiderable matters, but take in your view the most comprehensive circumstances, first of all, his body and his soul, of which he consists, and then his speech, and his mind, and his outward senses; for such gratitude cannot of itself be unworthy of being listened to by God, when uttered, for each of these particulars.XXXIX. 1.229. for it was fitting that a ruler should be ranked above a private individual, even in his performance of sacred ceremonies also: but the nation is superior to the ruler, since the whole must, at all times, be superior to the part. But the high priest is accounted worthy of the same honour as the whole nation, in respect of purification and of entreating a forgiveness of his sins from the merciful power of God. And he receives an equality of honour, not so much as it appears for his own sake, as because he is a servant of the nation, offering up a common thank-offering for them all in his most sacred prayers and most holy sacrifices. 1.230. And the commandment given respecting these matters is one of great dignity and admirable solemnity. "If," says the law, "the high priest have sinned unintentionally," and then it adds, "so that the people has sinned too," all but affirming in express words that the true high priest, not the one incorrectly called so, has no participation in sin; and if ever he stumble, this will happen to him, not for his own sake, but for the common errors of the nation, and this error is not incurable, but is one which easily admits of a remedy. 1.241. Therefore the law does not permit the sacrifice to be brought out of the temple, with the intent that, if the man who repents has committed any previous offence also, he may not now be overwhelmed by envious and malicious men, with foolish dispositions and unbridled tongues, always lying in wait for reproach and false accusation; but it must be eaten in the sacred precincts, within which the purification has taken place.XLIV. 1.247. Having given these commandments about every description of sacrifice in its turn, namely, about the burnt offering, and the sacrifice for preservation, and the sin-offering, he adds another kind of offering common to all the three, in order to show that they are friendly and connected with one another; and this combination of them all is called the great vow; 1.256. for the fine wheaten flour is their continual offering; a tenth part of a sacred measure every day; one half of which is offered up in the morning, and one half in the evening, having been soaked in oil, so that no portion of it can be left for food; for the command of God is, that all the sacrifices of the priests shall be wholly burnt, and that no portion of them shall be allotted for food. Having now, then, to the best of our ability, discussed the matters relating to the sacrifices, we will proceed in due order to speak concerning those who offer Them.{35}{yonge's translation includes a separate treatise title at this point: On Those Who offer Sacrifice. Accordingly, his next paragraph begins with roman numeral I (= XLVIII in the Loeb
6. Vergil, Georgics, 1.1-1.5, 1.22-1.39, 1.338, 2.380-2.396, 2.514-2.515, 3.23

1.1. What makes the cornfield smile; beneath what star 1.2. Maecenas, it is meet to turn the sod 1.3. Or marry elm with vine; how tend the steer; 1.4. What pains for cattle-keeping, or what proof 1.5. of patient trial serves for thrifty bees;— 1.22. of thine own Maenalus constrains thee, hear 1.23. And help, O lord of placeName key= 1.24. Minerva, from whose hand the olive sprung; 1.25. And boy-discoverer of the curved plough; 1.26. And, bearing a young cypress root-uptorn 1.27. Silvanus, and Gods all and Goddesses 1.28. Who make the fields your care, both ye who nurse 1.29. The tender unsown increase, and from heaven 1.30. Shed on man's sowing the riches of your rain: 1.31. And thou, even thou, of whom we know not yet 1.32. What mansion of the skies shall hold thee soon 1.33. Whether to watch o'er cities be thy will 1.34. Great Caesar, and to take the earth in charge 1.35. That so the mighty world may welcome thee 1.36. Lord of her increase, master of her times 1.37. Binding thy mother's myrtle round thy brow 1.38. Or as the boundless ocean's God thou come 1.39. Sole dread of seamen, till far placeName key= 1.338. Nay even on holy days some tasks to ply 2.380. Nor midst the vines plant hazel; neither take 2.381. The topmost shoots for cuttings, nor from the top 2.382. of the supporting tree your suckers tear; 2.383. So deep their love of earth; nor wound the plant 2.384. With blunted blade; nor truncheons intersperse 2.385. of the wild olive: for oft from careless swain 2.386. A spark hath fallen, that, 'neath the unctuous rind 2.387. Hid thief-like first, now grips the tough tree-bole 2.388. And mounting to the leaves on high, sends forth 2.389. A roar to heaven, then coursing through the bough 2.390. And airy summits reigns victoriously 2.391. Wraps all the grove in robes of fire, and gro 2.392. With pitch-black vapour heaves the murky reek 2.393. Skyward, but chiefly if a storm has swooped 2.394. Down on the forest, and a driving wind 2.395. Rolls up the conflagration. When 'tis so 2.396. Their root-force fails them, nor, when lopped away 2.514. Twice weeds with stifling briers o'ergrow the crop; 2.515. And each a toilsome labour. Do thou praise 3.23. To him will I, as victor, bravely dight


Subjects of this text:

subject book bibliographic info
aetiology Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
agency,divine Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
agents,divine Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
animals,sacrificial Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
animals Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
bacchus Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
caesar,octavian,invoked in prayer Perkell (1989), The Poet's Truth: A Study of the Poet in Virgil's Georgics, 149
cato Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
cato the elder Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
cattle Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
ceres Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
circumambulatio Hitch (2017), Animal sacrifice in the ancient Greek world, 130
expectation Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
finales,book 2 Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
folk theology Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
gods/goddesses,jupiter Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
gods/goddesses,mars Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
graeco-roman piety Wilson (2022), Paul and the Jewish Law: A Stoic Ethical Perspective on his Inconsistency, 127
hesiod,allusions to Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
inference Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
jewish practices/torah observance Wilson (2022), Paul and the Jewish Law: A Stoic Ethical Perspective on his Inconsistency, 127
livy Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
locus amoenus Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
lustrum Hitch (2017), Animal sacrifice in the ancient Greek world, 130
mars Hitch (2017), Animal sacrifice in the ancient Greek world, 130
pastoral Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
prayer,to mars Hitch (2017), Animal sacrifice in the ancient Greek world, 130
prayer Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328; Perkell (1989), The Poet's Truth: A Study of the Poet in Virgil's Georgics, 149
presuppositions Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
processions Hitch (2017), Animal sacrifice in the ancient Greek world, 130
religion,in the georgics Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
religion,roman Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
roman religion,and prayer Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
sacrifice Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
speech act,,directives Mackey (2022), Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion, 328
suovetaurilia Hitch (2017), Animal sacrifice in the ancient Greek world, 130
vines Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
wine Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 106
young animals' Hitch (2017), Animal sacrifice in the ancient Greek world, 130