§1.17.1patrum interim animos certamen regni ac cupido versabat.
Meanwhile, a struggle for the kingdom and ambition were agitating the minds of the fathers.
necdum ad singulos, quia nemo magnopere eminebat in novo populo, pervenerat; factionibus inter ordines certabatur.
It had not yet reached individuals, because no one was greatly pre-eminent in the new nation; they strove by factions between the orders.
§1.17.2oriundi ab Sabinis, ne, quia post Tatii mortem ab sua parte non erat regnatum, in societate aequam possessionem imperii amitterent, sui corporis creari regem volebant; §1.17.3Romani veteres peregrinum regem aspernabantur.
Those descended from the Sabines, lest, because there had been no reign from their side since the death of Tatius, they should lose their equal possession of power in the partnership, wished a king to be created from their own body; The ancient Romans disdained a foreign king.
in variis voluntatibus regnari tamen omnes volebant libertatis dulcedine nondum experta.
Amidst these various desires, however, everyone wished to be ruled by a king, the sweetness of liberty not yet having been experienced.
§1.17.4timor deinde patres incessit, ne ciuitatem sine imperio, exercitum sine duce multarum circa civitatium inritatis animis vis aliqua externa adoriretur.
Then a fear seized the fathers lest, with the minds of many surrounding states provoked, some foreign force should attack a state without government and an army without a leader.
et esse igitur aliquod caput placebat, et nemo alteri concedere in animum inducebat.
And so it was agreed that there should be some head, yet no one could bring himself to concede to another.
§1.17.5ita rem inter se centum patres decem decuriis factis singulisque in singulas decurias creatis, qui summae rerum praeessent, consociant.
Thus the hundred fathers, having formed ten decuries and having chosen one from each decury to preside over the supreme state of affairs, shared the government among themselves.
decem imperitabant; unus cum insignibus imperii et lictoribus erat; §1.17.6quinque dierum spatio finiebatur imperium ac per omnes in orbem ibat; annuumque intervallum regni fuit.
Ten held power; one was accompanied by the insignia of office and the lictors; the power was limited to a space of five days and went through all in rotation; and the interval without a king lasted for a year.
id ab re, quod nunc quoque tenet nomen, interregnum appellatum.
From this circumstance, it was called an interregnum, a name which it still retains.
fremere deinde plebs multiplicatam servitutem, §1.17.7centum pro uno dominos factos: nec ultra nisi regem et ab ipsis creatum videbantur passuri.
Then the plebeians began to murmur that their servitude had been multiplied, that a hundred masters had been made instead of one; and they seemed unlikely to tolerate any longer anything but a king, and one chosen by themselves.
§1.17.8cum sensissent ea moveri patres, offerendum ultro rati, quod amissuri erant, ita gratiam ineunt summa potestate populo permissa, ut non plus darent iuris, quam retinerent.
When the fathers perceived that these movements were afoot, thinking that they ought to offer of their own accord what they were about to lose, they so entered into favor with the people by permitting them supreme power, that they did not give more right than they retained.
§1.17.9decreverunt enim, ut, cum populus regem iussisset, id sic ratum esset, si patres auctores fierent.
For they decreed that when the people had designated a king, it should be valid only if the fathers should ratify it.
hodie quoque in legibus magistratibusque rogandis usurpatur idem ius vi adempta; priusquam populus suffragium ineat, in incertum comitiorum eventum patres auctores fiunt.
Today also, in proposing laws and magistrates, the same right is exercised, though its power has been taken away; before the people enter upon voting, while the outcome of the assemblies is still uncertain, the fathers ratify it.
§1.17.10tum interrex contione advocata “quod bonum, faustum felixque sit” inquit “Quirites, regem create; ita patribus visum est.
Then the interrex, having called an assembly, said: "May it be good, auspicious, and happy, Quirites; elect a king; so it has seemed good to the fathers.
patres deinde, si dignum, qui secundus ab Romulo numeretur, crearitis, auctores fient. ” §1.17.11adeo id gratum plebi fuit, ut, ne victi beneficio viderentur, id modo sciscerent iuberentque, ut senatus decerneret, qui Romae regnaret.
The fathers, then, if you elect one worthy to be numbered second after Romulus, will ratify your choice." This was so pleasing to the plebeians that, lest they should seem to be outdone in kindness, they decreed and ordered only this: that the senate should decree who should reign in Rome.