And he was himself the author of those admirable laws which, as you are aware, are still extant.

And this character is precisely what belongs to the man of whom we are speaking.

* * * III.

[_Scipio._ Ought not a farmer] to be acquainted with the nature of plants and seeds?
_Manilius._ Certainly, provided he attends to his practical business also.
_Scipio._ Do you think that knowledge only fit for a steward?
_Manilius._ Certainly not, inasmuch as the cultivation of land often fails for want of agricultural labor.
_Scipio._ Therefore, as the steward knows the nature of a field, and the scribe knows penmanship, and as both of them seek, in their respective sciences, not mere amusement only, but practical utility, so this statesman of ours should have studied the science of jurisprudence and legislation; he should have investigated their original sources; but he should not embarrass himself in debating and arguing, reading and scribbling.

He should rather employ himself in the actual administration of government, and become a sort of steward of it, being perfectly conversant with the principles of universal law and equity, without which no man can be just: not unfamiliar with the civil laws of states; but he will use them for practical purposes, even as a pilot uses astronomy, and a physician natural philosophy.