§2.71.1ἐν δὲ ταῖς πέλταις, ἃς οἵ τε σάλιοι φοροῦσι καὶ ἃς ὑπηρέται τινὲς αὐτῶν ἠρτημένας ἀπὸ κανόνων κομίζουσι, πολλαῖς πάνυ οὔσαις μίαν εἶναι λέγουσι διοπετῆ, εὑρεθῆναι δʼ αὐτήν φασιν ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις τοῖς Νόμα, μηδενὸς ἀνθρώπων εἰσενέγκαντος μηδʼ ἐγνωσμένου πρότερον ἐν Ἰταλοῖς τοιούτου σχήματος, ἐξ ὧν ἀμφοτέρων ὑπολαβεῖν Ῥωμαίους θεόπεμπτον εἶναι τὸ ὅπλον.
Now, among these very numerous shields (peltae) which the Salii wear and some of their attendants carry suspended from rods, they say that only one is heaven-fallen; and they say that it was found in the palace of Numa, though no human had brought it in, nor had such a shape been known before among the Italians—from both of which circumstances the Romans inferred that the weapon was sent by God.
§2.71.2βουληθέντα δὲ τὸν Νόμαν τιμᾶσθαί τε αὐτὸ φερόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν κρατίστων νέων ἐν ἱεραῖς ἡμέραις ἀνὰ τὴν πόλιν καὶ θυσιῶν ἐπετείων τυγχάνειν, δεδοικότα δὲ ἐπιβουλάς τε τὰς ἀπʼ ἐχθρῶν καὶ ἀφανισμὸν αὐτοῦ κλοπαῖον, ὅπλα λέγουσι πολλὰ κατασκευάσασθαι τῷ διοπετεῖ παραπλήσια, Μαμορίου τινὸς δημιουργοῦ τὸ ἔργου ἀναδεξαμένου, ὥστε ἄσημον γενέσθαι καὶ δυσδιάγνωστον τοῖς μέλλουσιν ἐπιβουλεύειν τὴν τοῦ θεοπέμπτου φύσιν διὰ τὴν ἀπαράλλακτον τῶν ἀνθρωπείων ἔργων ὁμοιότητα.
And Numa, wishing that it should be honored by being carried through the city on sacred days by the noblest young men, and that it should receive annual sacrifices, but fearing both plots of enemies and its loss by theft, is said to have had many weapons made similar to the heaven-fallen one—a certain Mamurius, a craftsman, having undertaken the work—so that the true nature of the heaven-sent one might be unrecognizable and difficult to distinguish for those who intended to plot against it, because of the exact similarity of the human workmanship.
§2.71.3ἐπιχώριον δὲ Ῥωμαίοις καὶ πάνυ τίμιον ὁ κουρητισμός, ὡς ἐκ πολλῶν μὲν καὶ ἄλλων ἐγὼ συμβάλλομαι, μάλιστα δʼ ἐκ τῶν περὶ τὰς πομπὰς τάς τε ἐν ἱπποδρόμῳ καὶ τὰς ἐν τοῖς §2.71.4θεάτροις γινομένας·
Indeed, the Curetic ritual is native to the Romans and held in very high esteem, as I infer from many other indications, but especially from what takes place in connection with the processions, both those in the Circus and those in the theaters.
ἐν ἁπάσαις γὰρ ταύταις πρόσηβοι κόροι χιτωνίσκους ἐνδεδυκότες ἐκπρεπεῖς κράνη καὶ ξίφη καὶ πάρμας ἔχοντες στοιχηδὸν πορεύονται, καί εἰσιν οὗτοι τῆς πομπῆς ἡγεμόνες καλούμενοι πρὸς αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τῆς παιδιᾶς τῆς ὑπὸ Λυδῶν ἐξευρῆσθαι δοκούσης λυδίωνες, εἰκόνες ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ τῶν σαλίων, ἐπεὶ τῶν γε Κουρητικῶν οὐδὲν ὥσπερ οἱ σάλιοι δρῶσιν οὔτʼ ἐν ὕμνοις οὔτʼ ἐν ὀρχήσει.
For in all of these, youths who have reached puberty, dressed in splendid tunics, wearing helmets and carrying swords and bucklers, march in ranks; and these are the leaders of the procession, called by them "Lydiones" after the game thought to have been invented by the Lydians, being, as it seems to me, representations of the Salii, since they perform nothing of the Curetic rites as the Salii do, either in hymns or in dancing.
χρῆν δὲ τούτους ἐλευθέρους τε εἶναι καὶ αὐθιγενεῖς καὶ ἀμφιθαλεῖς, οἱ δʼ εἰσὶν ἐξ ὁποιας2δήποτε τύχης.
Now these youths ought to have been freeborn, native, and with both parents living, but in fact they are of any status whatsoever.
τί γὰρ δεῖ τὰ πλείω περὶ αὐτῶν γράφειν;
For why is there any need to write more about them?