Laudator Temporis Acti

Tacitus, Germania 5.1 (tr. Anthony R. Birley):

The land may vary a certain amount in its appearance, but in general it either bristles with forests or festers with marshes. It is wetter on the side facing the Gauls, windier opposite Noricum and Pannonia. It is fertile for sown crops but will not grow fruit-trees. It is rich in livestock, but these are mostly undersized. Even on their foreheads the cattle lack their proper distinction and glory. The people take pride in their quantity, for cattle are their sole, greatly prized wealth.

terra etsi aliquanto specie differt, in universum tamen aut silvis horrida aut paludibus foeda, umidior qua Gallias, ventosior qua Noricum ac Pannoniam adspicit; satis ferax, frugiferarum arborum impatiens, pecorum fecunda, sed plerumque improcera. ne armentis quidem suus honor aut gloria frontis: numero gaudent, eaeque solae et gratissimae opes sunt.

J.B. Rives ad loc.:

The equation of cattle with wealth seems to have left its traces in the language. Most of the early Germanic languages have a word that means variously 'cattle', 'property', or 'money': Old English feoh, Old Saxon fehu, Old High German fihu or fehu (whence modern German Vieh), Old Norse fé (whence Danish fœ). Presumably the original Germanic root *fehu– had the same range of meanings, and possibly even its Indo-European root *peku–: we find the same variation in the Latin cognates pecus, 'cattle', and pecunia, 'money'.

Cf. modern English fee. Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has rediscovered the equation of cattle with wealth. See Harriet Alexander, "Mark Zuckerberg turns to FARMING as tech titan buys herd of cattle for his $270M 'Bond villain' Hawaii compound where he'll produce Wagyu and Angus steaks," Daily Mail (January 10, 2024).