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Livy · History of Rome §1.13.1-1.13.8

Intervention of the Sabine Women and Union of States

Passage 14 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

The Sabine women step between the fighting armies to plead for peace and joint rule, successfully ending the war. Romulus names the curiae after them, marking the integration and harmony of the dual state.

§1.13.1Tum Sabinae mulieres, quarum ex iniuria bellum ortum erat, crinibus passis scissaque veste victo malis muliebri pavore ausae se inter tela volantia inferre, ex transverso impetu facto dirimere infestas acies, §1.13.2dirimere iras, hinc patres hinc viros orantes, ne se sanguine nefando soceri generique respergerent, ne parricidio macularent partus suos, nepotum illi, hi liberum progeniem.
Then the Sabine women, from whose injury the war had arisen, with disheveled hair and torn garments, their womanly fear overcome by their misfortunes, dared to fling themselves between the flying weapons, and making a charge from the side, parted the hostile ranks, and parted their anger, entreating on one side their fathers and on the other their husbands, not to stain themselves with the impious blood of father-in-law and son-in-law, nor to defile their own offspring with parricide, who were the grandsons of the former and the children of the latter.
§1.13.3“si adfinitatis inter vos, si conubii piget, in nos vertite iras; nos causa belli, nos vulnerum ac caedium viris ac parentibus sumus; melius peribimus quam sine alteris vestrum viduae aut orbae vivemus. ” §1.13.4movet res cum multitudinem tum duces; §1.13.5silentium et repentina fit quies; inde ad foedus faciendum duces prodeunt; nec pacem modo, sed civitatem unam ex duabus faciunt.
"If you are weary of the kinship between you, if you are weary of the marriage, turn your anger against us; we are the cause of the war, we are the cause of wounds and slaughter to our husbands and parents; we shall die better than live as widows or orphans without one or the other of you." This circumstance moved both the multitude and the leaders; silence and a sudden quiet ensued; then the leaders came forward to make a treaty; and they not only made peace, but made one state out of two.
regnum consociant; imperium omne conferunt Romam.
They shared the kingdom; they transferred all sovereign power to Rome.
ita geminata urbe, ut Sabinis tamen aliquid daretur, Quirites a Curibus appellati.
Thus the city was doubled, yet, so that something might be given to the Sabines, they were called "Quirites" from Cures.
monumentum eius pugnae, ubi primum ex profunda emersus palude equus Curtium in vado statuit, Curtium lacum appellarunt.
As a monument of that battle, they called the place where the horse, having first emerged from the deep swamp, established Curtius in the shallow water, the "Lacian Lake" (Lake Curtius).
§1.13.6ex bello tam tristi laeta repente pax cariores Sabinas viris ac parentibus et ante omnes Romulo ipsi fecit.
After so sorrowful a war, a joyful peace suddenly made the Sabine women more beloved by their husbands and parents, and above all, by Romulus himself.
§1.13.7itaque, cum populum in curias triginta divideret, nomina earum curiis inposuit.
Therefore, when he divided the people into thirty curiae, he imposed their names upon the curiae.
id non traditur, cum haud dubie aliquanto numerus maior hoc mulierum fuerit, aetate an dignitatibus suis virorumve an sorte lectae sint, quae nomina curiis darent.
Since the number of the women was undoubtedly somewhat greater than this, it is not recorded whether they were chosen by age, or by their own or their husbands' dignity, or by lot, to give their names to the curiae.
§1.13.8eodem tempore et centuriae tres equitum conscriptae sunt: Ramnenses ab Romulo, ab T. Tatio Titienses appellati;
At the same time, three centuries of knights were also enrolled: the Ramnenses were named after Romulus, the Titienses after T.
Lucerum nominis et originis causa incerta est.
Tatius; the reason for the name and origin of the Luceres is uncertain.
inde non modo commune sed concors etiam regnum duobus regibus fuit.
From that time on, the kingdom was not only shared but also harmonious between the two kings.

Notes

  1. §1.13.1victo malis muliebri pavore — victo malis muliebri pavore is an ablative absolute. The participle victo (from vincere) agrees with muliebri pavore, while malis is the ablative plural of the neuter noun mala (misfortunes, hardships), serving as an ablative of means/cause. It should not be misread as the feminine ablative singular of the adjective malus; the sense is 'their womanly fear being conquered by their misfortunes'.
  2. §1.13.2nepotum illi, hi liberum progeniem — nepotum illi, hi liberum progeniem is a highly elliptical contrastive structure. nepotum stands for nepotum [progeniem] (offspring of grandsons) and liberum is an archaic genitive plural for liberorum, standing for liberorum [progeniem] (offspring of children). Both explain the preceding partus suos (their own offspring). The pronouns illi refers to the more remote party (the Sabine fathers) and hi to the nearer party (the Roman husbands).
  3. §1.13.3si adfinitatis inter vos, si conubii piget — piget is an impersonal verb of feeling, which takes the genitive of the cause of the feeling (adfinitatis, conubii) and the accusative of the person affected. Although the accusative subject is omitted here, it is clearly understood from the context as 'if you (plural) are weary of...'.
  4. §1.13.7quae nomina curiis darent — quae is a relative pronoun referring to the subject of the indirect question lectae [sint] (the women who were chosen). With the subjunctive darent (expressing purpose, characteristic, or destiny), the clause means 'who were to give their names to the curiae'.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §1.13.1-1.13.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:1.13.1-1.13.8

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