§1.34.1Anco regnante Lucumo, vir inpiger ac divitiis potens, Romam commigravit cupidine maxime ac spe magni honoris, cuius adipiscendi Tarquiniis — nam ibi quoque peregrina stirpe oriundus erat — facultas non fuerat.
During the reign of Ancus, Lucumo, an energetic man and powerful in his wealth, migrated to Rome, chiefly from a desire and hope of great honor, the opportunity of obtaining which had not been available to him in Tarquinii—for there too he was descended from a foreign stock.
§1.34.2Demarati Corinthii filius erat, qui ob seditiones domo profugus cum Tarquiniis forte consedisset, uxore ibi ducta duos filios genuit.
He was the son of Demaratus of Corinth, who, fleeing his home because of seditions, had chanced to settle at Tarquinii, where he married and begot two sons.
nomina his Lucumo atque Arruns fuerunt.
Their names were Lucumo and Arruns.
Lucumo superfuit patri bonorum omnium heres; Arruns prior quam pater moritur uxore gravida relicta.
Lucumo survived his father as heir to all his property; Arruns died before his father, leaving his wife pregnant.
nec diu manet superstes filio pater; §1.34.3qui cum, ignorans nurum ventrem ferre, inmemor in testando nepotis decessisset, puero post avi mortem in nullam sortem bonorum nato ab inopia Egerio inditum nomen.
Nor did the father long survive his son; since he had died without knowing that his daughter-in-law was pregnant, and making no mention of his grandson in his will, the boy, born after his grandfather's death with no share in the property, was named Egerius from his destitution.
Lucumoni contra omnium heredi bonorum cum divitiae iam animos facerent, §1.34.4auxit ducta in matrimonium Tanaquil summo loco nata et quae haud facile iis, in quibus nata erat, humiliora sineret ea, quo innupsisset.
On the other hand, while his wealth was already inspiring proud thoughts in Lucumo, the heir of all the property, this ambition was increased by his marriage with Tanaquil, a woman of noble birth, and one who would not easily allow the position into which she had married to be lower than that in which she had been born.
§1.34.5spernentibus Etruscis Lucumonem exule advena ortum, ferre indignitatem non potuit oblitaque ingenitae erga patriam caritatis, dummodo virum honoratum videret, consilium migrandi ab Tarquiniis cepit.
Since the Etruscans looked down on Lucumo as the son of an exiled stranger, she could not bear this indignity, and forgetting her natural affection for her native land, provided only that she might see her husband honored, she formed the plan of migrating from Tarquinii.
§1.34.6Roma est ad id potissimum visa: in novo populo, ubi omnis repentina atque ex virtute nobilitas sit, futurum locum forti ac strenuo viro; regnasse Tatium Sabinum, arcessitum in regnum Numam a Curibus, et Ancum Sabina matre ortum nobilemque una imagine Numae esse.
Rome seemed the most suitable place for this purpose: among a new people, where all nobility is sudden and based on merit, there would be a place for a brave and energetic man; Tatius, a Sabine, had reigned; Numa had been summoned to the kingship from Cures; and Ancus was born of a Sabine mother, and was noble only by the single bust of Numa.
§1.34.7facile persuadet ut cupido honorum et cui Tarquinii materna tantum patria esset.
She easily persuaded him, as one desirous of honors, and to whom Tarquinii was his country only on his mother's side.
sublatis itaque rebus amigrant Romam.
So, packing up their possessions, they migrated to Rome.
ad Ianiculum forte ventum erat.
It chanced that they had reached the Janiculum.
§1.34.8ibi ei carpento sedenti cum uxore aquila suspensis demissa leniter alis pilleum aufert superque carpentum cum magno clangore volitans rursus velut ministerio divinitus missa capiti apte reponit; §1.34.9inde sublimis abit.
There, as he was sitting in the carriage with his wife, an eagle, gently descending with outspread wings, took away his cap, and flying with a great clang above the carriage, replaced it fitly on his head again, as if sent on a divine mission; then it flew away on high.
accepisse id augurium laeta dicitur Tanaquil, perita, ut vulgo Etrusci, caelestium prodigiorum mulier.
Tanaquil, a woman skilled in celestial prodigies, as the Etruscans generally are, is said to have received this omen with joy.
excelsa et alta sperare complexa virum iubet: eam alitem, ea regione caeli et eius dei nuntiam venisse, circa summum culmen hominis auspicium fecisse, levasse humano superpositum capiti decus, ut divinitus eidem redderet.
Embracing her husband, she bade him hope for high and lofty things: that that bird had come, from that region of the sky, and as a messenger of that god; that it had made the augury around the highest part of the man; and that it had lifted the ornament placed upon a human head, so that it might restore it to the same by divine power.
§1.34.10has spes cogitationesque secum portantes urbem ingressi sunt domicilioque ibi conparato L. Tarquinium Priscum edidere nomen.
Carrying these hopes and thoughts with them, they entered the city, and having secured a dwelling there, they gave out the name of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus.
§1.34.11Romanis conspicuum eum novitas divitiaeque faciebant; et ipse fortunam benigno adloquio, comitate invitandi beneficiisque, quos poterat, sibi conciliando adiuvabat, donec in regiam quoque de eo fama perlata est.
His novelty and wealth made him conspicuous to the Romans; and he himself helped his fortune by winning people over through kind address, courteous hospitality, and benefits to whomsoever he could, until his reputation was carried even to the palace.
§1.34.12notitiamque eam brevi apud regem liberaliter dextereque obeundo officia in familiaris amicitiae adduxerat iura, ut publicis pariter ac privatis consiliis bello domique interesset et per omnia expertus postremo tutor etiam liberis regis testamento institueretur.
And by discharge of his duties generously and skillfully, he had in a short time advanced this acquaintance with the king into the intimacy of close friendship, so that he was present at both public and private deliberations, in war and at home, and having been thoroughly tested in all things, he was finally even appointed by will as guardian to the king's children.