A Short Roman Text
Testamentum Porcelli (The Testament of the Pig) is a brief satirical Latin text of late antiquity, generally dated to around the 4th century CE, and mentioned by Jerome. It is transmitted in medieval manuscripts, and its author is unknown. It has sometimes been linked to the name of Varro—the prolific Roman polymath (116–27 BCE) known for his work on agriculture, grammar, and satire—but he cannot be its author. The text is quite short, but it survives complete.
Content and Character
The work is a mock-legal or parodic text that presents a pig’s will and testament, written in a deliberately colloquial, late Latin style. It exemplifies Roman satirical humor and the tradition of treating mundane or absurd subjects with mock-solemnity. Varro himself was celebrated for his wit, linguistic innovation, and varied literary output across multiple genres, but this piece belongs to a much later period and has no genuine connection to his surviving works.
