- 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
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:1.35.1-1.35.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-05
After the death of King Ancus, Tarquinius Priscus had the king's sons sent away and was elected king through a persuasive speech, subsequently expanding the senate. He won his first war against the Latins, using the booty to fund magnificent games, which laid the foundation for the Circus Maximus, and began the urban development of the forum area.
regnavit Ancus annos quattuor et viginti, cuilibet superiorum regum belli pacisque et artibus et gloria par. iam filii prope puberem aetatem erant. eo magis Tarquinius instare,1 ut quam primum comitia regi creando fierent;
Ancus reigned for twenty-four years, equal to any of the former kings in the arts and glory of war and peace. Already his sons were near the age of puberty. For this reason, Tarquin pressed all the more that the assembly for electing a king should be held as soon as possible.
quibus indictis sub tempus pueros venatum2 ablegavit. isque primus et petisse ambitiose regnum et orationem dicitur habuisse ad conciliandos plebis animos conpositam:
When this was proclaimed, he sent the boys away to hunt just before the time. And he is said to have been the first both to have sought the kingship ambitiously and to have delivered a speech composed to win the minds of the plebs.
se non rem novam petere, quippe qui non primus, quod quisquam indignari mirarive posset, sed tertius Romae peregrinus regnum adfectet;3 et Tatium non ex peregrino solum sed etiam ex hoste regem factum, et Numam ignarum urbis non petentem in regnum ultro accitum:
He said that he was not seeking anything unprecedented, since he was not the first, at which anyone might be indignant or wonder, but the third stranger at Rome to aspire to the kingdom; and that Tatius had been made king not only from being a stranger but even from an enemy, and Numa, ignorant of the city and not seeking it, had been invited into the kingdom of their own accord.
se, ex quo sui potens fuerit, Romam cum coniuge ac fortunis omnibus commigrasse; maiorem partem aetatis eius, qua civilibus officiis fungantur homines, Romae se quam in vetere patria vixisse;
As for himself, from the time he was his own master, he had migrated to Rome with his wife and all his fortunes; he had lived a greater part of that age in which men perform civil duties at Rome than in his old country.
domi militiaeque sub haud paenitendo magistro, ipso Anco rege, Romana se iura, Romanos ritus didicisse; obsequio et observantia in regem cum omnibus, benignitate erga alios cum rege ipso certasse.
Both at home and in the field, under a master not to be regretted, King Ancus himself, he had learned Roman laws and Roman rites; in obedience and respect toward the king he had vied with all, and in kindness toward others with the king himself.
haec eum haud falsa memorantem ingenti consensu populus Romanus regnare iussit. ergo virum cetera egregium secuta, quam in petendo habuerat, etiam regnantem ambitio est; nec minus regni sui firmandi quam augendae rei publicae memor centum in patres legit, qui deinde minorum gentium4 sunt appellati, factio haud dubia regis, cuius beneficio in curiam venerant. bellum primum cum Latinis gessit et oppidum ibi Apiolas vi cepit praedaque inde maiore, quam quanta belli fama fuerat, revecta5 ludos opulentius instructiusque quam priores reges fecit.
When he recounted these things, which were by no means false, the Roman people with great consensus ordered him to reign. Therefore, the ambition which he had had in seeking it followed this man, otherwise outstanding, even when reigning; and no less mindful of strengthening his own kingdom than of increasing the republic, he chose a hundred into the fathers, who were afterwards called of the lesser gentes, a faction of the king beyond doubt, by whose favor they had come into the senate-house. He waged his first war with the Latins, and took there the town of Apiolae by force; and having carried back from there a greater booty than the fame of the war had been, he celebrated games more sumptuously and with more preparation than the former kings.
tum primum circo, qui nunc maximus dicitur, designatus locus est. loca divisa patribus equitibusque, ubi spectacula sibi quisque facerent;
Then for the first time the place was marked out for the circus, which is now called Maximus. Places were divided for the fathers and knights, where they might each make spectacles for themselves;
fori appellati. spectavere6 furcis duodenos ab terra spectacula alta sustinentibus pedes. ludicrum fuit equi pugilesque, ex Etruria maxime acciti. sollemnes, deinde annui, mansere ludi, Romani magnique varie appellati.
they were called “fori”. They watched from seats raised twelve feet from the ground, supported by forks. The entertainment was horses and boxers, summoned chiefly from Etruria. These games remained solemn, and then annual, variously called Roman and Great.
ab eodem rege et circa forum privatis aedificanda divisa sunt loca; porticus tabernaeque factae.
By the same king, places around the forum were also divided for private individuals to build upon; porticoes and shops were made.
- 1.35.1instare
An historical infinitive, equivalent to the imperfect indicative (here, Tarquinius instabat), used to give dramatic vividness to the narrative or to emphasize the eagerness of the subject.
- 1.35.2venatum
A supine in -um indicating purpose. It is used after a verb of motion (here, ablegavit) to perform an adverbial function of purpose.
- 1.35.3quippe qui ... adfectet
The relative clause with quippe qui + subjunctive expresses cause or reason. The present subjunctive adfectet is used due to the subordination within the indirect discourse (oratio obliqua).
- 1.35.6minorum gentium
A genitive of quality or description. It designates the newly added senators under Tarquinius as 'of the lesser gentes', in contrast to the original patricians who were 'maiorum gentium' (of the greater gentes).
- 1.35.7praedaque inde maiore, quam quanta belli fama fuerat, revecta
An ablative absolute construction (praeda... revecta) containing a comparative clause with the correlative formula quam quanta (than as much as). The clause belli fama fuerat ('as the rumor of the war had been') serves as the standard of comparison after quanta.
- 1.35.9spectavere
An archaic or poetic syncopated form of spectaverunt (perfect active indicative third person plural).