30.07.25: topic; the fruits of the earth [10]; Comenius (1658); the dressing of gardens (extract) [ii]: notes and vocabulary I and II

I: The Dressing of Gardens. │ Hortōrum cultūra.

The first and most ancient sustenance, were the Fruits of the Earth. │ Prīmus & antīquissimus Victus, erant Frūgēs Terræ.

II: Hereupon the first labour of Adam, was the dressing of a garden. │ Hinc prīmus Labor Adamī, Hortī cultūra.

[1] cultūra, -ae [1/f]: care; cultivation

The English term horticulture dates from the 17^th century i.e. hortus, -ī [2/m] (garden) + cultūra, -ae [1/f] (cultivation) following the earlier English agriculture: ager, agrī [2/m] (field) + cultūra; ‘dressing’ simply refers to the cultivation of land, a garden etc.

The verb colō, -ere, -uī, cultus [3], from which cultūra is derived, has two main meanings:

[i] cultivate (the land); [ii] worship

[i] Sicilia magna et mīra īnsula Ītaliae est. Terra fēcunda atque oleīs ūvīsque plēna, Sicilia agricolārum et nautārum patria est. Multī incolae agricolae sunt et sūcōsās olīvās, tenerum frūmentum, cōpiōsa pōma colunt.

Sicily is a large and wonderful island in Italy. A fertile land full of olives and grapes, Sicily is the homeland of farmers and sailors. Many of the inhabitants are farmers and cultivate juicy olives, tender wheat and abundant apples.

• cōpiōsus, -a, -um: plentiful, abundant
• fēcundus, -a, -um: fertile
• sūcōsus, -a, -um: juicy
• tener, -a, -um: soft, delicate, tender

[i] agrī nōn omnēs frūgiferī sunt quī coluntur (Cicero) │ not all fields which are cultivated are fruitful

We see the word in:

• agricola, -ae [1/f]: farmer
• colōnus, -ī [2/m]: farmer

[ii] et piē sānctēque colimus nātūram excellentem atque præstantem (Cicero) │ and we worship, in piety and holiness, a sublime and exalted nature

also: incolō, -ere [3]: inhabit; incola, -ae [1 m/f]: inhabitant

Gallia est omnis dīvīsa in partēs trēs, quārum ūnam incolunt Belgae (Caesar) │ Gaul, taken as a whole, is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit

hæc loca, quæ nōs incolimus (Cicero) │ those places which we inhabit

[2] vīctus, -ūs [4/m]: nourishment, diet, sustenance

In later Latin the word is used to refer to all the necessities of life:

Verbō vīctus continentur, quae ēsuī pōtuīque cultuīque corporis quaeque ad vīvendum hominī necessāria sunt. (Justinian I) │ By the word vīctus is meant that which is necessary for the feeding and hydration and care of the body and for the life of a human.

[3] frūx, frūgis [3/f]: fruit, mainly in the sense of produce from fields as opposed to fructus, -ūs [4/m]: fruit from a tree

frugifer, -a, -um: fruitful < frūx, frūgis (fruit) + -fer (bearing, carrying)

ager frūgifer: a fertile field

terra vērō fēta frūgibus et variō legūminum genere (Cicero) │ the earth, teeming with crops and the different kinds of leguminous produce