Humanitext Reader

Livy · History of Rome §1.8.1-1.8.7

Instituting of Laws and Creation of the Senate

Passage 9 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Romulus established laws to unite the population, enhanced his royal majesty by employing twelve lictors, and expanded the city limits in anticipation of growth. He opened an asylum to gather refugees from neighboring peoples and created the first senate of one hundred members, whose descendants were called patricians.

§1.8.1rebus divinis rite perpetratis vocataque ad concilium multitudine, quae coalescere in populi unius corpus nulla re praeterquam legibus poterat, iura dedit; §1.8.2quae ita sancta generi hominum agresti fore ratus, si se ipse venerabilem insignibus imperii fecisset, cum cetero habitu se augustiorem, tum maxime lictoribus duodecim sumptis fecit.
Having duly performed the religious rites and called the multitude to an assembly, which could coalesce into the body of a single people by no other thing than by laws, he gave them laws; thinking that these would be sacred to a rustic race of men if he himself made himself venerable by the insignia of power, he made himself more majestic not only by his other attire, but especially by taking twelve lictors.
§1.8.3alii ab numero avium, quae augurio regnum portenderant, eum secutum numerum putant; me haud paenitet eorum sententiae esse, quibus et apparitores hoc genus ab Etruscis finitimis, unde sella curulis, unde toga praetexta sumpta est, et numerum quoque ipsum ductum placet et ita habuisse Etruscos, quod ex duodecim populis communiter creato rege singulos singuli populi lictores dederint.
Some think that he followed that number from the number of the birds which had portended the kingdom by augury; I am not at all dissatisfied to be of the opinion of those who please that both the attendants of this kind and the number itself were derived from the neighboring Etruscans, from whom the curule chair and the toga praetexta were adopted, and that the Etruscans had it so because, a king having been created in common from twelve peoples, each individual people gave one lictor.
§1.8.4crescebat interim urbs munitionibus alia atque alia adpetendo loca, cum in spem magis futurae multitudinis quam ad id, quod tum hominum erat, munirent.
Meanwhile the city grew by its fortifications in seeking one place after another, since they fortified rather in hope of a future multitude than for that which there was of men at that time.
§1.8.5deinde, ne vana urbis magnitudo esset, adiciendae multitudinis causa vetere consilio condentium urbes, qui obscuram atque humilem conciendo ad se multitudinem natam e terra sibi prolem ementiebantur, locum, qui nunc saeptus descendentibus inter duos lucos est, asylum aperit.
Then, lest the size of the city should be empty, for the sake of adding a multitude, according to the ancient plan of founders of cities, who, by gathering a obscure and humble multitude to themselves, falsely claimed for themselves an offspring born from the earth, he opened as an asylum the place which is now enclosed for those descending between the two groves.
§1.8.6eo ex finitimis populis turba omnis sine discrimine, liber an servus esset, avida novarum rerum perfugit, idque primum ad coeptam magnitudinem roboris fuit. cum iam virium haud paeniteret, consilium deinde viribus parat.
Thither from the neighboring peoples a whole crowd, without distinction whether one were free or a slave, eager for new things, fled for refuge, and that was the first foundation of strength for the magnitude that had been begun. When he was now not dissatisfied with their strength, he then prepared wisdom for that strength. Thither from the neighboring peoples a whole crowd, without distinction whether one were free or a slave, eager for new things, fled for refuge, and that was the first foundation of strength for the magnitude that had been begun. When he was now not dissatisfied with their strength, he then prepared wisdom for that strength.
§1.8.7centum creat senatores, sive quia is numerus satis erat, sive quia soli centum erant, qui creari patres possent. patres certe ab honore, patriciique progenies eorum appellati.
He created a hundred senators, either because that number was sufficient, or because there were only a hundred who could be created "fathers." They were certainly called "fathers" from their honor, and their descendants "patricians."

Notes

  1. 1.8.2quae ita sancta generi hominum agresti fore ratus — quae is the accusative relative pronoun referring to iura (neuter plural) of the preceding sentence. It serves as the subject accusative of the infinitive fore (shortened form of futurum esse), forming an accusative-and-infinitive construction. ratus is the perfect participle of the deponent verb reor (to think, judge), modifying the subject of the main clause (Romulus).
  2. 1.8.3me haud paenitet eorum sententiae esse — A construction of the impersonal verb paenitet, where the person feeling the emotion is in the accusative (me) and the cause of the emotion is in the genitive (sententiae). Accompanied by the infinitive esse, it means "it does not at all displease me to be of the opinion of those...".
  3. 1.8.5qui nunc saeptus descendentibus inter duos lucos est — descendentibus in the relative clause is the dative plural of the present participle descendens. It functions as a "dative of reference" or "dative of the person judging", meaning "for those descending (the Capitoline hill)".
  4. 1.8.6cum iam virium haud paeniteret — The impersonal verb paeniteret (imperfect subjunctive in a cum clause) is used with the genitive plural virium (from vires), which indicates the object of dissatisfaction. Literally "when it no longer displeased him of their strength," meaning "when their strength was now sufficient."

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §1.8.1-1.8.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:1.8.1-1.8.7

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