§2.62.1μετὰ τὴν Ῥωμύλου τελευτὴν ἡ βουλὴ τῶν κοινῶν γενομένη κυρία καὶ χρόνον ἐνιαύσιον, ὥσπερ ἔφην, κατασχοῦσα τὴν δυναστείαν διαφέρεσθαι καὶ στασιάζειν αὐτὴ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἤρξατο περὶ τοῦ πλείονός τε καὶ ἴσου.
After the death of Romulus, the Senate, having become master of public affairs and, as I said, having held the sovereign power for the space of a year, began to fall into dissension and to contend with one another concerning supremacy and equality.
ὅσον μὲν γὰρ αὐτῆς μέρος Ἀλβανῶν ἦν ἀπὸ τῶν ἅμα Ῥωμύλῳ τὴν ἀποικίαν στειλάντων, γνώμης τε ἄρχειν ἠξίου καὶ τιμῶν τὰς μεγίστας λαμβάνειν καὶ θεραπεύεσθαι πρὸς τῶν §2.62.2ἐπηλύδων· οἱ δʼ ὕστερον εἰς τοὺς πατρικίους καταγραφέντες ἐκ τῶν ἐποίκων οὐδεμιᾶς ᾤοντο δεῖν ἀπελαύνεσθαι τιμῆς οὐδὲ μειονεκτεῖν τῶν ἑτέρων, μάλιστα δʼ ὅσοι τοῦ Σαβίνων ἐτύγχανον ὄντες γένους καὶ κατὰ τὰς συνθήκας τὰς γενομένας Ῥωμύλῳ πρὸς Τάτιον ἐπὶ τοῖς ἴσοις μετειληφέναι τῆς πόλεως παρὰ τῶν ἀρχαίων οἰκητόρων καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν χάριν ἐκείνοις αὐτοὶ δεδωκέναι ἐδόκουν. §2.62.3ἅμα δὲ τῷ τὴν βουλὴν διαστῆναι καὶ τὸ τῶν πελατῶν πλῆθος διχῇ μερισθὲν ἑκατέρᾳ συνέβαινε τῶν στάσεων.
For that part of it which was of Alban origin, descended from those who had founded the colony together with Romulus, claimed the right to lead in counsel, to receive the greatest honors, and to be courted by the newcomers; while those who had been enrolled among the patricians later from among the settlers thought that they ought not to be excluded from any honor or to be at a disadvantage compared to the others, especially those who happened to be of the Sabine race, and who, according to the treaty made by Romulus with Tatius, seemed to have shared in the city on equal terms from the ancient inhabitants and to have given the same favor to them in return. And at the same time that the Senate became divided, the multitude of clients also, being split into two parts, happened to join each of the factions.
ἦν δέ τι τοῦ δημοτικοῦ μέρος οὐκ ὀλίγον ἐκ τῶν νεωστὶ προσεληλυθότων τῇ πολιτείᾳ, ὃ διὰ τὸ μηδενὸς συνάρασθαι τῷ Ῥωμύλῳ πολέμου παρημελημένον ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡγεμόνος οὔτε γῆς εἰλήφει μοῖραν οὔτε ὠφελείας.
There was also a not inconsiderable portion of the plebeians among those who had recently entered the citizenship, who, having been neglected by the leader because they had assisted Romulus in none of his wars, had received neither a share of land nor any benefit.
τοῦτο ἀνέστιον καὶ πτωχὸν ἀλώμενον ἐχθρὸν ἐκ τοῦ ἀναγκαίου τοῖς κρείττοσιν ἦν καὶ νεωτερίζειν ἑτοιμότατον. §2.62.4ἐν τοιούτῳ δὴ κλύδωνι τὰ πράγματα τῆς πόλεως σαλεύοντα ὁ Νόμας καταλαβών, πρῶτον μὲν τοὺς ἀπόρους τῶν δημοτῶν ἀνέλαβε διανείμας αὐτοῖς ἀφʼ ἧς Ῥωμύλος ἐκέκτητο χώρας καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς δημοσίας μοῖράν τινα ὀλίγην· ἔπειτα τοὺς πατρικίους οὐδὲν μὲν ἀφελόμενος ὧν οἱ κτίσαντες τὴν πόλιν εὕροντο, τοῖς δʼ ἐποίκοις ἑτέρας τινὰς ἀποδοὺς τιμάς, ἔπαυσε διαφερομένους. §2.62.5ἁρμοσάμενος δὲ τὸ πλῆθος ἅπαν ὥσπερ ὄργανον πρὸς ἕνα τὸν τοῦ κοινῇ συμφέροντος λογισμὸν καὶ τῆς πόλεως τὸν περίβολον αὐξήσας τῷ Κυρινείῳ λόφῳ ʽτέως γὰρ ἔτι ἀτείχιστος ἦνʼ τότε τῶν ἄλλων πολιτευμάτων ἥπτετο δύο ταῦτα πραγματευόμενος, οἷς κοσμηθεῖσαν ὑπελάμβανεν τὴν πόλιν εὐδαίμονα γενησεσθαι καὶ μεγάλην· εὐσέβειαν μὲν πρῶτον, διδάσκων τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὅτι παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ θεοὶ δοτῆρές εἰσι τῇ θνητῇ φύσει καὶ φύλακες, ἔπειτα δικαιοσύνην, διʼ ἣν καὶ τὰ παρὰ τῶν θεῶν ἀπέφαινεν ἀγαθὰ καλὰς τὰς ἀπολαύσεις φέροντα τοῖς κτησαμένοις.
This class, hearthless and wandering in poverty, was of necessity hostile to their superiors and most ready for revolution. Numa, finding the affairs of the city tossing in such a tempest, first of all relieved the needy among the plebeians by distributing to them some small portion of the land which Romulus had possessed and of the public domain; then, without taking away from the patricians any of the privileges which the founders of the city had obtained, but by giving certain other honors to the settlers, he put an end to their dissensions. And having tuned the whole multitude like an instrument to the single reasoning of the common interest, and having increased the circuit of the city by adding the Quirinal hill (for until then it was still unfortified), he then applied himself to the other public measures, prosecuting these two things, with which he supposed the city, being adorned, would become happy and great: first, piety, by teaching men that the gods are the givers and guardians of every good thing to mortal nature, and second, justice, through which he showed that even the good things from the gods bring beautiful enjoyments to those who have acquired them.