servants,[73] the
inarticulate the draught animals, and the mute being the wagons and
other such implements.

_Of agricultural labourers_

All men carry on agriculture by means of slaves or freemen or both.
The freemen who cultivate the land do so either on their own account,
as do many poor people with the aid of their own children, or for
wages,[74] as when the heaviest farm operations, like the vintage and
the harvest, are accomplished with the aid of hired freemen: in which
class may be included those bond servants whom our ancestors called
_obaerati_, a class which may still be found in Asia, in Egypt and in
Illyricum. With respect to the use of freemen in agriculture, my own
opinion is that it is more profitable to use hired hands than one's
own slaves in cultivating unhealthy lands, and, even where the country
is salubrious, they are to be preferred for the heaviest kind of farm
work, such as harvesting and storing grapes and corn. Cassius has this
to say on the subject: 'Select for farm hands those who are fitted for
heavy labour, who are not less than twenty-two years of age and have
some aptitude for agriculture, which can be ascertained by trying them
on several tasks and by enquiring as to what they did for their former
master.' Slaves should be neither timid nor overconfident. The foreman
should have some little education, a good disposition and economical
habits, and it is better that they should be some what older than the
hands, for then they will be listened to with more respect than if
they were boys. It is most important to choose as foremen those who
are experienced in agricultural work, for they should not merely give
orders but lend a hand at the work, so that the labourers may learn
by imitation and may also appreciate that it is greater knowledge and
skill which entitles the foreman to command. The foreman should never
be authorized to enforce his discipline with the whip if he can
accomplish his result with words.

Avoid having many slaves of the same nation, for this gives rise to
domestic rows.

The foremen will work more cheerfully if rewards are offered them, and
particularly pains must be taken to see that they have some property
of their own, and that they marry wives among their fellow servants,
who may bear them children, some thing which will make them
more steady and attach them to the place.[75] On account of such
relationships families of Epirote slaves are esteemed the best a