§2.12.1ὁ δὲ Ῥωμύλος ἐπειδὴ ταῦτα διεκόσμησε βουλευτὰς εὐθὺς ἔγνω καταστήσασθαι, μεθʼ ὧν πράττεῖν τὰ κοινὰ ἔμελλεν, ἐκ τῶν πατρικίων ἄνδρας ἑκατὸν ἐπιλεξάμενος.
When Romulus had regulated these matters, he resolved at once to appoint senators, with whom he was to administer public affairs, choosing a hundred men from the patricians.
ἐποιεῖτο δὲ αὐτῶν τοιάνδε τὴν διαίρεσιν· αὐτὸς μὲν ἐξ ἁπάντων ἕνα τὸν ἄριστον ἀπέδειξεν, ᾧ τὰς κατὰ πόλιν ᾤετο δεῖν ἐπιτρέπειν οἰκονομίας, ὅτε αὐτὸς ἐξάγοι στρατιὰν ὑπερόριον· §2.12.2τῶν δὲ φυλῶν ἑκάστῃ προσέταξε τρεῖς ἄνδρας ἑλέσθαι τοὺς ἐν τῇ φρονιμωτάτῃ τότε ὄντας ἡλικίᾳ καὶ διʼ εὐγένειαν ἐπιφανεῖς.
And he made the following division of them: he himself nominated one, the best from among them all, to whom he thought he ought to entrust the administration of the city whenever he himself should lead the army beyond the borders. And he ordered each of the tribes to choose three men who were then of the most prudent age and distinguished for their noble birth.
μετὰ δὲ τοὺς ἐννέα τούτους ἑκάστην φράτραν πάλιν ἐκέλευσε τρεῖς ἐκ τῶν πατρικίων ἀποδεῖξαι τοὺς ἐπιτηδειοτάτους· ἔπειτα τοῖς πρώτοις ἐννέα τοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν φυλῶν ἀποδειχθεῖσι τοὺς ἐνενήκοντα προσθείς, οὓς αἱ φρᾶτραι προεχειρίσαντο, καὶ τούτων, ὃν αὐτὸς προέκρινεν, ἡγεμόνα ποιήσας τὸν τῶν ἑκατὸν ἐξεπλήρωσε βουλευτῶν ἀριθμόν. §2.12.3τοῦτο τὸ συνέδριον Ἑλληνιστὶ ἑρμηνευόμενον γερουσίαν δύναται δηλοῦν καὶ μέχρι τοῦ παρόντος ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων οὕτως καλεῖται.
After these nine, he again ordered each phratry to nominate three of the patricians who were most fit; then, adding the ninety whom the phratries had chosen to the first nine nominated by the tribes, and having made the one whom he himself had previously chosen to be their leader, he completed the number of one hundred senators. This council, when translated into Greek, means "council of elders" (gerousia), and is so called by the Romans to this day.
πότερον δὲ διὰ γῆρας τῶν καταλεγέντων εἰς αὐτὸ ἀνδρῶν ἢ διʼ ἀρετὴν ταύτης ἔτυχε τῆς ἐπικλήσεως οὐκ ἔχω τὸ σαφὲς εἰπεῖν.
But whether it received this name because of the old age of the men enrolled in it, or because of their virtue, I cannot say for certain.
καὶ γὰρ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους καὶ τοὺς ἀρίστους γέροντας εἰώθεσαν οἱ παλαιοὶ καλεῖν.
For the ancients were accustomed to call both older men and the best men "elders" (gerontes).
οἱ δὲ μετέχοντες τοῦ βουλευτηρίου πατέρες ἔγγραφοι προσηγορεύθησαν καὶ μέχρις ἐμοῦ ταύτης ἐτύγχανον τῆς προσηγορίας. §2.12.4Ἑλληνικὸν δὲ ἄρα καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ἔθος ἦν.
And those who participated in this council were addressed as "patres conscripti" and continued to hold this title down to my time. This custom, then, was also Greek.
τοῖς γοῦν βασιλεῦσιν, ὅσοι τε πατρίους ἀρχὰς παραλάβοιεν καὶ ὅσους ἡ πληθὺς αὐτὴ καταστήσαιτο ἡγεμόνας, βουλευτήριον ἦν ἐκ τῶν κρατίστων, ὡς Ὅμηρός τε καὶ οἱ παλαιότατοι τῶν ποιητῶν μαρτυροῦσι· καὶ οὐχ ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς καθʼ ἡμᾶς χρόνοις αὐθάδεις καὶ μονογνώμονες ἦσαν αἱ τῶν ἀρχαίων βασιλέων δυναστεῖαι.
At all events, for the kings—both those who inherited ancestral power and those whom the multitude themselves appointed as leaders—there was a council composed of the best men, as Homer and the oldest of the poets testify; and the rule of the ancient kings was not, like in our times, arrogant and arbitrary.