Founding of Latin Colonies and Dedication of Temples — Livy, History of Rome Book 34 (34.53.1–34.53.7), Latin & English

§34.53.1

exitu anni huius Q. Aelius Tubero tribunus plebis ex senatus consulto tulit ad plebem, plebesque scivit, uti duae Latinae coloniae una in Bruttios, altera in Thurinum agrum deducerentur.

At the close of this year, Quintus Aelius Tubero, tribune of the plebs, acting on a decree of the senate, proposed to the plebs, and the plebs resolved, that two Latin colonies should be founded, one in the territory of the Bruttii, the other in the district of Thurii.

§34.53.2

his deducendis¹ triumviri creati, quibus in triennium imperium esset,² in Bruttios Q. Naevius, M. Minucius Rufus, M. Furius Crassipes, in Thurinum agrum A. Manlius, Q. Aelius, L. Apustius. ea bina comitia Cn. Domitius praetor urbanus in Capitolio habuit.

For the founding of these, triumvirs were elected, who were to hold authority for three years: for the Bruttii, Quintus Naevius, Marcus Minucius Rufus, and Marcus Furius Crassipes; for the district of Thurii, Aulus Manlius, Quintus Aelius, and Lucius Apustius. These two elections were held on the Capitol by Gnaeus Domitius, the urban praetor.

§34.53.3

aedes eo anno aliquot dedicatae sunt: una Iunonis Matutae in foro olitorio, vota locataque quadriennio ante a C. Cornelio consule Gallico bello; censor idem dedicavit;

In that year several temples were dedicated: one to Juno Matuta in the Forum Olitorium, which had been vowed and contracted for four years before by the consul Gaius Cornelius during the Gallic war; the same man dedicated it as censor;

§34.53.4

altera Fauni; aediles eam biennio ante ex multaticio argento faciendam locarant³ C. Scribonius et Cn. Domitius, qui praetor urbanus eam dedicavit.

another to Faunus; the aediles Gaius Scribonius and Gnaeus Domitius had contracted for its construction two years before from the money of fines, and Domitius dedicated it as urban praetor.

§34.53.5

et aedem Fortunae Primigeniae in colle Quirinali dedicavit Q. Marcius Ralla, duumvir ad id ipsum creatus;

Also, Quintus Marcius Ralla, elected as a duumvir for this very purpose, dedicated the temple of Fortuna Primigenia on the Quirinal Hill;

§34.53.6

voverat eam decem annis ante Punico bello P. Sempronius Sophus consul, locaverat idem censor.

the consul Publius Sempronius Sophus had vowed it ten years before during the Punic war, and the same man as censor had contracted for its construction.

§34.53.7

et in insula Iovis aedem C. Servilius duumvir dedicavit; vota erat sex annis ante Gallico bello ab L. Furio Purpurione praetore, ab eodem postea consule locata.⁴ haec eo anno acta.

And on the island, Gaius Servilius, as duumvir, dedicated a temple to Jupiter; it had been vowed six years before during the Gallic war by the praetor Lucius Furius Purpurio, and later contracted for by the same man as consul. These were the transactions of that year.

Syntax notes4 items

34.53.2his deducendis
Construed either as a dative of purpose (or work contemplated) with the gerundive, or as an ablative absolute/ablative of means. Here, it functions to denote the purpose or duty of the newly elected triumviri.
34.53.2quibus in triennium imperium esset
The imperfect subjunctive esset in a relative clause. This subjunctive is used to express the provision, purpose, or characteristic under which the triumviri were elected (i.e., that they were to hold power for three years).
34.53.4faciendam locarant
The verb loco (to contract out) combined with the accusative gerundive faciendam forms a standard classical Roman idiom for contracting public works ('they contracted for its construction'). locarant is a syncopated form of locaverant.
34.53.7vota erat... locata
The auxiliary verb erat in the phrase vota erat (had been vowed) also governs the subsequent participle locata (had been contracted for) in parallel, completing the pluperfect passive construction (locata erat).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:34.53.1-34.53.7