- 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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- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.8.1-2.8.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-04
Valerius passes popular laws earning him the name Publicola and holds elections for a colleague. During the dedication of the temple on the Capitoline, Horatius ignores a false report of his son's death to complete the ceremony.
latae deinde leges, non solum quae regni suspicione consulem absolverent,1 sed quae adeo in contrarium verterent, ut popularem etiam facerent. inde cognomen factum Publicolae est.
Then laws were passed, not only such as to absolve the consul from the suspicion of kingship, but which even turned so much to the contrary as to make him a favorite of the people. Hence the cognomen Publicola was given to him.
ante omnes de provocatione adversus magistratus ad populum sacrandoque cum bonis capite2 eius, qui regni occupandi consilia inisset, gratae in vulgus leges fuere.
Above all, the laws concerning the right of appeal to the people against the magistrates, and the consecration of the person and goods of anyone who should enter into designs for usurping the kingship, were pleasing to the populace.
quas cum solus pertulisset, ut sua unius in his gratia esset, tum demum comitia collegae subrogando3 habuit.
When he had passed these laws alone, so that the gratitude for them might belong to him alone, only then did he hold the assembly for substituting a colleague.
creatus Sp. Lucretius consul, qui magno natu non sufficientibus iam viribus ad consularia munera obeunda intra paucos dies moritur. suffectus in Lucreti locum M. Horatius Pulvillus.
Spurius Lucretius was elected consul, who, being of a great age and with strength no longer sufficient to perform the consular duties, died within a few days. Marcus Horatius Pulvillus was substituted in place of Lucretius.
apud quosdam veteres auctores non invenio Lucretium consulem; Bruto statim Horatium suggerunt; credo, quia nulla gesta res insignem fecerit consulatum, memoriam intercidisse. nondum dedicata erat in Capitolio Iovis aedes.
In some ancient authors, I do not find Lucretius as consul; they substitute Horatius immediately after Brutus; I believe that because no achievement made his consulship remarkable, its memory perished. The temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline had not yet been dedicated.
Valerius Horatiusque consules sortiti, uter dedicaret. Horatio sorte evenit; Publicola ad Veientium bellum profectus.
Valerius and Horatius, the consuls, cast lots to decide which of them should dedicate it. The lot fell to Horatius; Publicola set out for the war against the Veientines.
aegrius, quam dignum erat, tulere Valeri necessarii dedicationem tam incliti templi Horatio dari. id omnibus modis inpedire conati, postquam alia frustra temptata erant, postem iam tenenti consuli foedum inter precationem deum nuntium incutiunt mortuum eius filium esse, funestaque familia dedicare eum templum non posse.
The relatives of Valerius took it more bitterly than was fitting that the dedication of so famous a temple should be given to Horatius. Having attempted to prevent it by all means, after other attempts had been made in vain, they cast a dreadful message upon the consul, who was already holding the doorpost during his prayer to the gods, that his son was dead, and that with a family in mourning he could not dedicate the temple.
non crediderit factum, an tantum animo roboris fuerit,4 nec traditur certum, nec interpretatio est facilis; nihil aliud ad eum nuntium a proposito aversus, quam ut cadaver efferri iuberet, tenens postem precationem peragit et dedicat templum.
Whether he did not believe the fact, or whether there was such strength of mind, is not recorded as certain, nor is the interpretation easy; turned away from his purpose by that message in no other way than to order the body to be carried out, holding the doorpost, he completed the prayer and dedicated the temple.
haec post exactos reges domi militiaeque gesta primo anno. inde P. Valerius iterum T. Lucretius consules facti.
These things were done at home and abroad in the first year after the expulsion of the kings. After that, Publius Valerius for the second time and Titus Lucretius were made consuls.
- 2.8.1quae regni suspicione consulem absolverent
The subjunctives 'absolverent' (as well as 'verterent' and 'facerent') in the relative clauses are subjunctives of characteristic, describing the nature and tendency of the 'leges' (laws).
- 2.8.2sacrandoque cum bonis capite
A gerundive construction dependent on the preposition 'de'. The verb 'sacrare' refers to declaring a person 'sacer' (devoted to a deity as accursed), which stripped them of all civil rights and allowed anyone to kill them with impunity.
- 2.8.3collegae subrogando
A gerundive construction functioning either as a dative of purpose or as an adjective modifying 'comitia', indicating the assembly held 'for the purpose of substituting a colleague'.
- 2.8.8non crediderit factum, an tantum animo roboris fuerit
An alternative indirect question using the perfect subjunctive ('crediderit... an... fuerit'), expressing the author's retrospective doubt or suspension of judgment ('whether he did not believe the event, or whether there was such strength of mind').