Monday, August 3, 2026

08.03.27: Topic / Level 4; animals at work (3); Varro’s nine part matrix

[6] Two nouns that are very similar to one another:

[i] pecus, pecoris [3/n]: collective noun referring to large domestic animals e.g. livestock; a herd of cattle etc.

The meaning may be extended to refer to any group of animals, including a flock of birds:

volātile pecus (Columella) | ‘winged / flying livestock’, i.e. flock of birds

[ii] pecus, pecudis [3/f]: a single head of cattle

Varro (Dē Rē Rūsticā) divides animal husbandry into a nine part matrix under three headings, each category comprising three specific types:

[1] smaller livestock: sheep, goats, pigs

[2] larger livestock: cattle / oxen; donkeys; horses

[3] animals – and people – not kept for direct profit but rather on account of the livestock e.g. dogs / shepherds to protect them) or derived from the livestock e.g. mules

est scientia pecoris parandī ac pāscendī | there is a knowledge of tending and feeding livestock 

ut frūctūs quam possint maximī capiantur ex eō  | ... so that the greatest profits are obtained from it..

Ea partēs habet novem, | It has nine divisions,

discrētās ter ternās, | separated into three groups of three,

ut sit ūna dē minōribus pecudibus | so that one is concerned with smaller livestock,

cuius genera tria ovēs, capra, sūs, | whose three kinds are the sheep, goat, and pig

altera dē pecore maiōre, | the other with larger livestock

in quō sunt item ad trēs speciēs nātūrā discrētī: | in which there are likewise three species divided by their nature:

bovēs, asinī, equī. | cattle, donkeys, and horses.

Tertia pars est in pecuāriā quae nōn parantur | The third part consists of those animals in cattle-raising which are not kept

ut ex iīs capiātur frūctus, |  so that profit may be obtained from them,

sed propter eam aut ex eā. | but [are kept] on account of it or as a result of it.

Sunt mūlī, canēs, pāstōrēs. | They are mules, dogs, and shepherds.

  • caper, caprī [2/m]: goat
  • capra, -ae [1/f]: she-goat
  • canis, -is [3 m/f]: dog
  • sūs, suis [3 m/f]: pig, swine
  • ovis, -is [3/f]: sheep
  • genus, generis [3/n]: kind, race, type
  • species, -ēī [5/f]: appearance, form, kind, species

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