§40.29.1colonia Graviscae eo anno deducta est in agrum Etruscum, de Tarquiniensibus quondam captum.
In that year, the colony of Graviscae was established in the Etruscan territory which had formerly been taken from the Tarquinians.
quina iugera agri data;
Five iugera of land were given to each.
§40.29.2tresviri deduxerunt C. Calpurnius Piso P. Claudius Pulcher C. Terentius Istra.
The triumvirs who led the colony were Gaius Calpurnius Piso, Publius Claudius Pulcher, and Gaius Terentius Istra.
siccitate et inopia frugum insignis annus fuit.
The year was notable for drought and scarcity of crops.
sex menses numquam pluvisse memoriae proditum.
It is recorded that for six months it never rained.
eodem anno in agro L. Petilii scribae sub Ianiculo, §40.29.3dum cultores altius moliuntur terram, duae lapideae arcae, octonos ferme pedes longae, quaternos latae, inventae sunt, operculis plumbo devinctis.
In the same year, on the land of the scribe Lucius Petilius below the Janiculum, while the husbandmen were digging the earth deeper, two stone chests were found, about eight feet long and four feet wide each, with their lids secured with lead.
§40.29.4litteris Latinis Graecisque utraque arca inscripta erat, in altera Numam Pompilium Pomponis filium, regem Romanorum, sepultum esse, in altera libros Numae Pompilii inesse.
Each chest was inscribed with Latin and Greek letters, stating in the one that Numa Pompilius, son of Pompo, king of the Romans, was buried there, and in the other that the books of Numa Pompilius were inside.
§40.29.5eas areas cum ex amicorum sententia dominus aperuisset, quae titulum sepulti regis habuerat, inanis inventa, sine vestigio ullo corporis humani aut ullius rei, per tabem tot annorum omnibus absumptis.
When the owner, in accordance with the advice of his friends, opened these chests, the one which had borne the inscription of the buried king was found empty, without any trace of a human body or of anything else, everything having been consumed by the decay of so many years.
§40.29.6in altera duo fasces candelis involuti septenos habuere libros, non integros modo sed recentissima specie.
In the other chest, two bundles wrapped in waxed cords contained seven books each, which were not only intact but also of an extremely fresh appearance.
septem Latini de iure pontificum erant, §40.29.7septem Graeci de disciplina sapientiae, quae illius aetatis esse potuit.
The seven Latin books were on the pontifical law, and the seven Greek books were on the philosophy such as could have existed in that age.
adicit Antias Valerius Pythagoricos fuisse, §40.29.8vulgatae opinioni, qua creditur Pythagorae auditorem fuisse Numam, mendacio probabili accommodata fide.
Valerius Antias adds that they were Pythagorean, adapting credit by a plausible lie to the common opinion in which Numa is believed to have been a pupil of Pythagoras.
§40.29.9primo ab amicis, qui in re praesenti fuerunt, libri lecti; mox pluribus legentibus cum vulgarentur, Q. Petilius praetor urbanus studiosus legendi libros eos a L. Petilio sumpsit:
At first the books were read by the friends who had been present at the discovery; soon, as they became widely known through being read by more people, Quintus Petilius, the city praetor, who was eager for reading, took these books from Lucius Petilius.
§40.29.10et erat familiaris usus, quod scribam eum quaestor Q. Petilius in decuriam legerat.
Indeed, they were on familiar terms, because Quintus Petilius, when quaestor, had chosen that scribe into his decury.
§40.29.11lectis rerum summis cum animadvertisset pleraque dissolvendarum religionum esse, L. Petilio dixit sese libros eos in ignem coniecturum esse; priusquam id faceret, se ei permittere, uti, si quod seu ius seu auxilium se habere ad eos libros repetendos existimaret, experiretur: id integra sua gratia eum facturum.
Having read the main points, when he noticed that most of them tended toward the dissolution of religious rites, he told Lucius Petilius that he would cast those books into the fire; before doing so, however, he would permit him to try if he thought he had any right or legal aid to reclaim those books, and that he might do this without any prejudice to their friendship.
§40.29.12scriba tribunos plebis adit, ab tribunis ad senatum res est reiecta.
The scribe approached the tribunes of the plebs, by whom the matter was referred to the senate.
praetor se iusiurandum dare paratum esse aiebat, libros eos legi servarique non oportere.
The praetor declared that he was ready to take an oath that those books ought not to be read or preserved.
§40.29.13senatus censuit satis habendum quod praetor iusiurandum polliceretur; libros primo quoque tempore in comitio cremandos esse; pretium pro libris, quantum Q. Petilio praetori maiorique parti tribunorum plebis videretur, domino solvendum esse.
The senate decreed that the praetor’s offer of an oath should be held sufficient; that the books should be burned in the comitium at the earliest possible moment; and that for the books, such a price as should seem fair to the praetor Quintus Petilius and the majority of the tribunes of the plebs should be paid to the owner.
§40.29.14id scriba non accepit.
The scribe would not accept the money.
libri in comitio igne a victimariis facto in conspectu populi cremati sunt.
The books were burned in the comitium in the sight of the people, with a fire made by the assistants at the sacrifices.