Turnus's Denunciation of Tarquin at the Latin Assembly — Livy, History of Rome Book 1 (1.50.1–1.50.9), Latin & English

§1.50.1

iam magna Tarquini auctoritas inter Latinorum proceres erat, cum in diem certam ut ad lucum Ferentinae conveniant indicit: esse, quae agere¹ de rebus communibus velit.

Tarquin’s influence was already great among the leaders of the Latins, when he appointed a certain day for them to meet at the grove of Ferentina, saying that there were matters concerning their common interests that he wished to discuss.

§1.50.2

conveniunt frequentes prima luce; ipse Tarquinius diem quidem servavit, sed paulo ante, quam sol occideret, venit. multa ibi toto die in concilio variis iactata sermonibus erant.

They assembled in large numbers at daybreak; Tarquin himself did indeed keep the day, but arrived only a little before sunset. Meanwhile, many things had been bandied about in various discussions in the council during the whole day.

§1.50.3

Turnus Herdonius ab Aricia ferociter in absentem Tarquinium erat invectus: haud mirum esse Superbo inditum Romae cognomen — iam enim ita clam quidem mussitantes, vulgo tamen eum appellabant —; an quicquam superbius esse quam ludificari sic omne nomen Latinum? principibus longe ab domo excitis ipsum, qui concilium indixerit, non adesse. temptari profecto patientiam, ut, si iugum acceperint, obnoxios premat. cui enim non apparere, adfectare eum imperium in Latinos?

Turnus Herdonius of Aricia had fiercely inveighed against the absent Tarquin : “It was no wonder that the surname of ‘the Proud’ had been given to him at Rome—for already they were calling him so, albeit muttering in secret, yet commonly—; was there anything more proud than thus to mock the whole Latin name? When the leading men had been summoned far from home, he himself, who had called the council, was not present. Their patience was surely being tested, so that, if they accepted the yoke, he might oppress them as submissive. For to whom did it not appear that he was aiming at supreme power over the Latins?

§1.50.5

quod si sui bene crediderint cives² aut si creditum illud et non raptum parricidio sit, credere et Latinos, quamquam ne sic quidem alienigenae,³ debere;

If his own citizens had done well to entrust [the power to him], or if that power had indeed been entrusted and not seized by parricide, then the Latins also ought to trust him, although not even so should they trust a foreigner;

§1.50.6

sin suos eius paeniteat,⁴ quippe qui alii super alios trucidentur, exulatum eant, bona amittant, quid spei melioris Latinis portendi? si se audiant, domum suam quemque inde abituros neque magis observaturos diem concilii, quam ipse, qui indixerit, observet.

but if his own people repented of him—since they were being slaughtered one after another, going into exile, losing their property—what better hope was foreshadowed for the Latins? If they would listen to him, they would each depart thence to their homes, and would no more observe the day of the council than he who had summoned it observed it.”

§1.50.7

haec atque alia eodem pertinentia seditiosus facinorosusque homo hisque artibus opes domi nactus cum maxime dissereret, intervenit Tarquinius.

While this man—factious, turbulent, and one who had obtained power at home by these very arts—was arguing these and other points tending in the same direction, Tarquin arrived.

§1.50.8

is finis orationi fuit; aversi omnes ad Tarquinium salutandum. qui silentio facto monitus a proximis, ut purgaret se, quod id temporis⁵ venisset, disceptatorem ait se sumptum inter patrem et filium, cura reconciliandi eos in gratiam moratum esse et, quia ea res exemisset illum diem, postero die acturum, quae constituisset.

This was the end of the speech; all turned to greet Tarquin. When silence was made, being advised by those nearest to excuse himself for having come at that time of day, he said that he had been chosen as an arbitrator between a father and a son, and had been delayed by the care of reconciling them; and because that business had taken up that day, he would deal on the following day with the matters he had determined.

§1.50.9

ne id quidem ab Turno tulisse tacitum ferunt; dixisse enim nullam breviorem esse cognitionem quam inter patrem et filium, paucisque transigi verbis posse: ni pareat patri, habiturum infortunium⁶ esse.

They say that he did not even carry this off in silence from Turnus; for Turnus had said that there was no shorter trial than that between a father and a son, and that it could be settled in a few words: if he did not obey his father, he would get into trouble.

Syntax notes6 items

1.50.1esse, quae agere
The indirect speech (accusative and infinitive) starts with esse without an explicit verb of saying, which is implied in indicit (to proclaim, announce). esse is used impersonally with the quae clause serving as its subject.
1.50.5sui bene crediderint cives
sui cives (his own citizens, i.e., the Romans) is the subject. The adverb bene modifies crediderint (trusted, entrusted). It means 'if his own citizens did well to trust him' or 'if they trusted him with good results'.
1.50.5alienigenae
Dative singular of the noun alienigena (foreigner). It depends on credere (to trust, which governs the dative), the complementary infinitive of debere. It implies 'though not even so should they trust a foreigner'.
1.50.6sin suos eius paeniteat
The impersonal verb paenitet takes the accusative of the person feeling regret (suos, referring to the Roman citizens) and the genitive of the cause or object of the regret (eius, referring to Tarquin): 'but if his own people repented of him'.
1.50.8id temporis
An idiomatic expression where id is an adverbial accusative of time and temporis is a partitive genitive depending on id: 'at that time of day' or 'at so late an hour'.
1.50.9habiturum infortunium
In this indirect speech, the subject accusative eum (or filium) is omitted, though the auxiliary esse is explicitly present in the text. infortunium (misfortune, trouble) in colloquial speech and comedy often means 'a beating' or 'punishment', suggesting that the father would force the son to obey.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — note 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:1.50.1-1.50.9