ALLEGORIES OF FARMING FROM GREECE AND ROME InthisbookProfessorKronenbergshowsthatXenophon’sOeconomi- cus,Varro’sDeReRustica,andVirgil’sGeorgics arenotsimplyworks on farming but belong to a tradition of philosophical satire which usesallegoryandironytoquestionthemeaningofmoralityandthe right way to live. These works metaphorically connect farming and its related arts to political life; but instead of presenting farming in its traditional guise as a positive symbol, they use it to model the materialistic foundations and deficiencies of conventional morality and politics. In turn, they juxtapose a contemplative model of life thatissuperiortotheactivelifeinitsaccesstoknowledgeandlackof hypocrisy.Althoughthesethreetextsarenotusuallytreatedtogether, and each section can be taken as a stand-alone analysis, this book convincingly connects them with an original and provocative inter- pretationoftheirallegoricaluseoffarming.Italsofillsanimportant gapinourunderstandingoftheliteraryinfluencesontheGeorgicsby showing that it is shaped not just by its poetic predecessors but by philosophicaldialogue. leah kronenberg is Assistant Professor of Classics at Rutgers University. ALLEGORIES OF FARMING FROM GREECE AND ROME Philosophical Satire in Xenophon, Varro, and Virgil LEAH KRONENBERG RutgersUniversity cambridge university press Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo,Delhi CambridgeUniversityPress TheEdinburghBuilding,Cambridgecb28ru,UK PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521517263 (cid:2)c LeahKronenberg2009 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithout thewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2009 PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata Kronenberg,Leah,1976– AllegoriesoffarmingfromGreeceandRome:philosophicalsatireinXenophon,Varro,andVirgil/ LeahKronenberg. p. cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. isbn978-0-521-51726-3(hardback) 1.Agricultureinliterature. 2.Satire,Greek–Historyandcriticism. 3.Satire,Latin–History andcriticism. 4.Agriculture,Ancient–Greece. 5.Agriculture,Ancient–Rome. 6.Xenophon.Oeconomicus. 7.Varro,MarcusTerentius.Rerumrusticarumlibritres. 8.Virgil.Georgica. I.Title. pa3015.a37k76 2009 881(cid:3).01–dc22 2008055930 isbn978-0-521-51726-3hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredto inthispublication,anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. 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BytheGods,yousimply nevercease talkingaboutcobblers, clothes-cleaners, cooks,anddoctors,asifourdiscussion wereabout them. 491 Callicles toSocrates,Plato’s Gorgias a Contents Acknowledgments pageix Abbreviationsandeditions x Introduction 1 Menippeansatire,ancientandmodern 3 IronyinXenophon,Varro,andVirgil 7 AllegoryinXenophon,Varro,andVirgil 20 Moralityandethics 23 Genreandinfluence 32 part i xenophon’s oeconomicus 1 SocratesandCritobulus(Oec.1–6) 39 Persianfarming 42 Praiseoffarming 46 2 Aphilosopherandagentleman(Oec.7–21) 54 Ischomachus’beehive 56 Theartoffarming 62 Xenophon’sRepublic? 66 part ii varro’s dererustica 3 Theartoffarming 76 Scrofa 77 Ratiovs.consuetudo 81 Varro:Satiristorpedant? 85 CiceroandVarro 88 Thetriumphofnature 90 Books2and3 91 vii viii Contents 4 Themoralityoffarming 94 Genealogyofmorals 94 Hypocritesandmoralizers 99 5 Thepoliticsoffarming 108 Book1:Thefoundationofthestate 109 Book2:Guardiansandrulers 111 Book3:Theactiveandcontemplativelife 116 part iii virgil’s georgics 6 Virgil’ssatireonfarming 132 Thefailureofknowledge 132 Theamoralityoffarming 142 Theactivelife 149 7 Farmersandpoets 156 Book1:religio 157 Book2:ratio 159 Book3:gloria 162 Book4:genusimmortale 166 Epilogue 185 Bibliography 186 Indexofpassagescited 205 Generalindex 216 Acknowledgments I have many people to thank for their help and support in bringing this booktocompletion.MylargestdebtofgratitudegoestoRichardThomas, whodirectedthedissertationfromwhichthisbookgrew,andwhohaspro- videdconstantfriendship,advice,andinspirationthroughoutmycollege, graduate, and post-graduate years. I am also very grateful to the mem- bers of my dissertation committee, Albert Henrichs, Andreola Rossi, and the dearly missed Charles Segal, and to my other friends and colleagues at Harvard University. My current colleagues at Rutgers University have provided invaluable advice and encouragement in the later stages of the work,andIwouldparticularlysingleoutforthanksCoreyBrennan,Lowell Edmunds,TomFigueiraandKathrynNeal. Completionofthisbookwasmadepossiblebygenerousresearchsupport along the way from the Whiting Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Loeb Classical Library Foundation and Rutgers University. Many thanks are also due to Michael Sharp, Elizabeth Noden, and JodieBarnes fortheirexcellenteditorialguidance,toLindaWoodwardfor her meticulous copy-editing, and to the two anonymous readers, whose extremely helpful and detailed comments on my manuscript improved it innumerousways. Finally, I am above all grateful for the love and support of my family andespeciallymyhusbandChris,towhomthisbookisdedicated. ix