- Source
- Titi Livi ab urbe condita libri editionem priman, Pars I-IV, Libri I-XL. Editio Stereotypica. Weissenborn, Wilhelm; Mueller, Moritz, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1884-1911.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
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- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:1.17.1-1.17.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
After the death of Romulus, a struggle for the throne arises among the factions of the senate, leading to the establishment of the interregnum where ten senators rule in rotation. To appease the discontented plebeians, the senate grants them the right to elect the king, while retaining the power of final ratification.
patrum interim animos certamen regni ac cupido versabat. necdum ad singulos, quia nemo magnopere eminebat in novo populo, pervenerat; factionibus inter ordines certabatur.
Meanwhile, a struggle for the kingdom and ambition were agitating the minds of the fathers. It had not yet reached individuals, because no one was greatly pre-eminent in the new nation; they strove by factions between the orders.
oriundi ab Sabinis, ne, quia post Tatii mortem ab sua parte non erat regnatum, in societate aequam possessionem imperii amitterent, sui corporis creari regem volebant;
Those descended from the Sabines, lest, because there had been no reign from their side since the death of Tatius, they should lose their equal possession of power in the partnership, wished a king to be created from their own body;
Romani veteres peregrinum regem aspernabantur. in variis voluntatibus regnari tamen omnes volebant libertatis dulcedine nondum experta.1
The ancient Romans disdained a foreign king. Amidst these various desires, however, everyone wished to be ruled by a king, the sweetness of liberty not yet having been experienced.
timor deinde patres incessit, ne ciuitatem sine imperio, exercitum sine duce multarum circa civitatium inritatis animis vis aliqua externa adoriretur. et esse igitur aliquod caput placebat, et nemo alteri concedere in animum inducebat.
Then a fear seized the fathers lest, with the minds of many surrounding states provoked, some foreign force should attack a state without government and an army without a leader. And so it was agreed that there should be some head, yet no one could bring himself to concede to another.
ita rem inter se centum patres decem decuriis factis singulisque in singulas decurias creatis,2 qui summae rerum praeessent, consociant. decem imperitabant; unus cum insignibus imperii et lictoribus erat;
Thus the hundred fathers, having formed ten decuries and having chosen one from each decury to preside over the supreme state of affairs, shared the government among themselves. Ten held power; one was accompanied by the insignia of office and the lictors;
quinque dierum spatio finiebatur imperium ac per omnes in orbem ibat; annuumque intervallum regni fuit. id ab re, quod nunc quoque tenet nomen, interregnum appellatum. fremere3 deinde plebs multiplicatam servitutem, centum pro uno dominos factos: nec ultra nisi regem et ab ipsis creatum videbantur passuri.4
the power was limited to a space of five days and went through all in rotation; and the interval without a king lasted for a year. From this circumstance, it was called an interregnum, a name which it still retains. Then the plebeians began to murmur that their servitude had been multiplied, that a hundred masters had been made instead of one; and they seemed unlikely to tolerate any longer anything but a king, and one chosen by themselves.
cum sensissent ea moveri patres, offerendum ultro rati, quod amissuri erant, ita gratiam ineunt summa potestate populo permissa, ut non plus darent iuris,5 quam retinerent.
When the fathers perceived that these movements were afoot, thinking that they ought to offer of their own accord what they were about to lose, they so entered into favor with the people by permitting them supreme power, that they did not give more right than they retained.
decreverunt enim, ut, cum populus regem iussisset, id sic ratum esset, si patres auctores fierent. hodie quoque in legibus magistratibusque rogandis usurpatur idem ius vi adempta; priusquam populus suffragium ineat, in incertum comitiorum eventum patres auctores fiunt.
For they decreed that when the people had designated a king, it should be valid only if the fathers should ratify it. Today also, in proposing laws and magistrates, the same right is exercised, though its power has been taken away; before the people enter upon voting, while the outcome of the assemblies is still uncertain, the fathers ratify it.
tum interrex contione advocata “quod bonum, faustum felixque sit” inquit “Quirites, regem create; ita patribus visum est. patres deinde, si dignum, qui secundus ab Romulo numeretur, crearitis, auctores fient.”
Then the interrex, having called an assembly, said: “May it be good, auspicious, and happy, Quirites; elect a king; so it has seemed good to the fathers. The fathers, then, if you elect one worthy to be numbered second after Romulus, will ratify your choice.”
adeo id gratum plebi fuit, ut, ne victi beneficio viderentur, id modo sciscerent iuberentque, ut senatus decerneret, qui Romae regnaret.
This was so pleasing to the plebeians that, lest they should seem to be outdone in kindness, they decreed and ordered only this: that the senate should decree who should reign in Rome.
- 1.17.3libertatis dulcedine nondum experta
The perfect participle experta of the deponent verb experior is used here in a passive sense ('having been experienced'), agreeing with libertatis dulcedine to form an ablative absolute.
- 1.17.5decem decuriis factis singulisque in singulas decurias creatis
A double ablative absolute structure. In the second part, singulis... creatis, the pronoun singulis acts as the subject of the participle creatis, meaning 'one leader having been chosen for each of the ten decuries'.
- 1.17.6fremere
A historical infinitive, equivalent to an imperfect indicative (fremebant / fremebat). The following clause multiplicatam [esse] servitutem... is an accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) construction acting as its object.
- 1.17.7videbantur passuri
A personal construction of videor with the future infinitive passuri [esse] (where esse is omitted). The subject of the sentence (implied plural representing the plebeians) is the subject of videbantur, meaning 'they seemed unlikely to tolerate'.
- 1.17.8iuris
A partitive genitive dependent on the comparative plus (accusative, direct object of darent). The phrase non plus... iuris literally means 'not more of right', i.e., 'no more power'.