- 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-lat2:7.3.1-7.3.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
As the plague persists despite the introduction of plays and a flood of the Tiber spreads terror, the senate orders the appointment of a dictator, Lucius Manlius, to perform the ancient ritual of driving a nail to stay the pestilence; however, he abuses his power to prepare for war and enforce a harsh levy, ultimately leading to his forced resignation.
nec tamen ludorum primum initium procurandis religionibus datum1 aut religione animos aut corpora morbis levavit;
Yet the first introduction of the plays, though undertaken to discharge religious obligations, did not relieve either the minds of men from superstitious fear or their bodies from disease;
quin etiam, cum medios forte ludos circus Tiberi superfuso inrigatus inpedisset, id vero, velut aversis iam dis aspernantibusque placamina irae, terrorem ingentem fecit.
nay, even, when by chance in the midst of the games the circus, flooded by the overflow of the Tiber, interrupted them, that indeed, as if the gods were already turned away and despising the means of appeasing their wrath, caused great terror.
itaque Cn. Genucio L. Aemilio Mamercino iterum consulibus, cum piaculorum magis conquisitio animos quam corpora morbi adficerent,2 repetitum ex seniorum memoria dicitur, pestilentiam quondam clavo ab dictatore fixo sedatam.
And so, in the consulship of Gnaeus Genucius and Lucius Aemilius Mamercinus for the second time, when the searching out of expiations troubled their minds even more than the disease afflicted their bodies, it is said to have been recalled from the memory of the elders that a pestilence had once been stayed by a nail driven by a dictator.
ea religione adductus senatus dictatorem clavi figendi causa dici iussit. dictus L. Manlius Imperiosus L. Pinarium magistrum equitum dixit.
Induced by this religious dread, the senate ordered a dictator to be named for the purpose of driving the nail. Lucius Manlius Imperiosus was named, and he appointed Lucius Pinarius master of the horse.
lex vetusta est, priscis litteris verbisque scripta, ut, qui praetor maximus sit, idibus Septembribus clavum pangat; fixa fuit dextro lateri aedis Iovis optimi maximi, ex qua parte Minervae templum est.
There is an ancient law, written in archaic letters and words, that he who is the chief praetor should drive a nail on the Ides of September; it was fixed to the right side of the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, on the side where the temple of Minerva is.
eum clavum, quia rarae per ea tempora litterae erant, notam numeri annorum fuisse ferunt eoque Minervae templo dicatam legem,3 quia numerus Minervae inuentum sit.
They say that this nail, because writing was rare in those times, was a mark of the number of years, and that for this reason the law was dedicated in the temple of Minerva, because number is the invention of Minerva.
Volsiniis quoque clavos indices numeri annorum fixos in templo Nortiae, Etruscae deae, conparere diligens talium monumentorum auctor Cincius adfirmat.
Cincius, a diligent authority on such monuments, asserts that at Volsinii also, nails fixed as indicators of the number of years are visible in the temple of Nortia, an Etruscan goddess.
Horatius consul ea lege templum Iovis optimi maximi dedicavit anno post reges exactos;4 a consulibus postea ad dictatores, quia maius imperium erat, sollemne clavi figendi translatum est. intermisso deinde more digna etiam per se visa res, propter quam dictator crearetur.
The consul Horatius dedicated the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus in accordance with that law in the year after the expulsion of the kings; afterwards, because the authority (imperium) was greater, the solemn rite of driving the nail was transferred from the consuls to the dictators. Later, when the custom had been interrupted, the matter seemed worthy even in itself for a dictator to be created.
qua de causa creatus L. Manlius, perinde ac rei gerendae ac non solvendae religionis gratia creatus esset,5 bellum Hernicum adfectans dilectu acerbo iuventutem agitavit; tandemque omnibus in eum tribunis plebis coortis, seu vi seu verecundia victus, dictatura abiit
Lucius Manlius, having been created for this reason, just as if he had been created for the purpose of waging war and not of discharging a religious obligation, aiming at a war with the Hernici, harassed the youth with a harsh levy; and at length, when all the tribunes of the plebs rose up against him, overcome either by force or by shame, he resigned his dictatorship.
- 7.3.1procurandis religionibus datum
A noun phrase with a gerundive in the dative or ablative. It expresses the purpose or function ("given for the purpose of expiating religious obligations/prodigies") modifying "ludorum primum initium" (the first introduction of the plays).
- 7.3.3cum piaculorum magis conquisitio animos quam corpora morbi adficerent
The subjects of this subordinate clause are the singular noun "conquisitio" (searching out) and the plural noun "morbi" (diseases). The verb "adficerent" is plural, agreeing with both subjects combined. This is an instance of synesis (agreement according to sense) where the plural verb is used because there are multiple subjects of different numbers.
- 7.3.6eoque Minervae templo dicatam legem
"eo" in "eoque" is an ablative of cause meaning "for this reason" or "therefore," connected by the enclitic "-que" (and). "templo" is a dative of direction or dedication depending on "dicatam" (dedicated to).
- 7.3.8anno post reges exactos
"post reges exactos" literally means "after the kings having been driven out" (perfect passive participle of "exigo"). This is a characteristic Latin construction where a noun combined with a perfect passive participle functions as an abstract noun phrase ("after the expulsion of the kings"), meaning "in the year after the expulsion of the kings."
- 7.3.9perinde ac rei gerendae ac non solvendae religionis gratia creatus esset
A conditional clause of comparison introduced by "perinde ac" (just as if). It takes the subjunctive imperfect/pluperfect ("creatus esset") to express an unreal or hypothetical situation. "rei gerendae" and "solvendae religionis" are gerundive constructions depending on "gratia" (for the sake of).