Ab Urbe Condita 1.14

Liv. 1.14.1Post aliquot annōs propinquī rēgis Tatiī lēgātōs Laurentium pulsant, cumque Laurentēs iūre gentium agerent, apud Tatium grātia suōrum et precēs plūs poterant.

Some years later relatives of King Tatius beat envoys of the Laurentes, and when the Laurentes sought redress by the law of nations, the influence and the entreaties of his own people counted for more with Tatius.

Note. cumque = et cum: 'and when'. iure gentium agerent: 'proceeded according to the law of nations', i.e. demanded satisfaction for the injury to envoys, who were sacred. plus poterant: 'counted for more'.

Liv. 1.14.2Igitur illōrum poenam in sē vertit;

So he turned their punishment upon himself;

Note. illorum poenam in se vertit: 'he turned upon himself the punishment due to them'.

Liv. 1.14.2nam Lāvīnī, cum ad sollemne sacrificium eō vēnisset, concursū factō interficitur.

for at Lavinium, when he had gone there for the yearly sacrifice, a mob gathered and he was killed.

Note. Lavini: locative, 'at Lavinium'. eo: the adverb 'thither'.

Liv. 1.14.3Eam rem minus aegrē, quam dignum erat, tulisse Rōmulum ferunt, seu ob īnfīdam societātem regnī, seu quia haud iniūriā caesum crēdēbat.

Romulus is said to have taken the event less hard than was proper, either because the shared kingship had not been loyal or because he believed Tatius had been killed not without justice.

Note. minus aegre ... tulisse: 'took it less hard'. ferunt: 'they say', introducing the accusative and infinitive. seu ob … seu quia: two alternative reasons, one a phrase, one a clause.

Liv. 1.14.3Itaque bellō quidem abstinuit;

So he kept out of war;

Liv. 1.14.3ut tamen expiārentur lēgātōrum iniūriae rēgisque caedēs, foedus inter Rōmam Lāvīniumque urbēs renovātum est.

but to atone for the wrongs done to the envoys and for the killing of the king, the treaty between the cities of Rome and Lavinium was renewed.

Note. ut ... expiarentur: purpose clause. Livy prefers to show Romulus as scrupulous toward the gods and toward treaties.

Liv. 1.14.3Et cum hīs quidem īnspērāta pāx erat;

And with these people, indeed, there was a peace no one had hoped for;

Liv. 1.14.4aliud multō propius atque in ipsīs prope portīs bellum ortum.

another war broke out much nearer, almost at the very gates.

Liv. 1.14.4Fīdēnātēs nimis vīcīnās prope sē convalēscere opēs ratī, priusquam tantum rōboris esset, quantum futūrum appārēbat, occupant bellum facere.

The people of Fidenae, thinking that a power was growing too strong too close to them, and wanting to strike before it had all the strength it was clearly going to have, start the war first.

Note. rati is the perfect participle of reor, used as a present: 'thinking'. occupant bellum facere: 'they make war first', occupare + infinitive = 'to be first to do'.

Liv. 1.14.4Iuventūte armātā immissā vāstātur agrī quod inter urbem ac Fīdēnās est.

Their armed young men are sent in, and the land between the city and Fidenae is laid waste.

Note. Iuventute armata immissa: double ablative absolute. agri quod: 'that part of the land which', with partitive genitive.

Liv. 1.14.5Inde ad laevam versī, quia dextrā Tiberis arcēbat, cum magnā trepidātiōne agrestium populantur;

Then, turning to the left because the Tiber blocked them on the right, they plunder, to the great alarm of the country people;

Note. dextra: 'on the right' (supply parte); the Tiber flowed on their right as they faced Rome, so they turned left.

Liv. 1.14.5tumultusque repēns ex agrīs in urbem inlātus prō nūntiō fuit.

and the sudden uproar, carried from the fields into the city, served as the news.

Note. pro nuntio fuit: 'served as a messenger', i.e. the noise itself announced the raid.

Liv. 1.14.6Excitus Rōmulus— neque enim dīlātiōnem patī tam vīcīnum bellum poterat— exercitum ēdūcit, castra ā Fīdēnīs mīlle passuum locat.

Roused to action (for a war so close could not bear delay), Romulus leads out his army and pitches camp a mile from Fidenae.

Note. The dashes mark a parenthesis. mille passuum: 'a mile', accusative of extent.

Liv. 1.14.7Ibi modicō praesidiō relictō ēgressus omnibus cōpiīs, partem mīlitum locīs circā dēnsa virgulta obscūrīs subsīdere in īnsidiīs iussit;

Leaving a small guard there, he marched out with all his forces and ordered part of the soldiers to lie in ambush in places hidden by thick undergrowth;

Liv. 1.14.7cum parte maiōre atque omnī equitātū profectus, id quod quaerēbat, tumultuōsō et minācī genere pugnae, adequitandō ipsīs prope portīs hostem excīvit.

setting out with the larger part and all the cavalry, he provoked the enemy, as he wanted, with a noisy and threatening kind of fighting, riding up almost to the very gates.

Note. adequitando: gerund in the ablative, 'by riding up'. id quod quaerebat: 'which was what he wanted'.

Liv. 1.14.7Fugae quoque, quae simulanda erat, eadem equestris pugna causam minus mīrābilem dedit.

This same cavalry fighting also made the flight, which had to be feigned, seem less strange.

Note. quae simulanda erat: passive periphrastic, 'which had to be feigned'. Fugae is dative: 'gave the flight a reason'.

Liv. 1.14.8Et cum velut inter pugnae fugaeque cōnsilium trepidante equitātū pedes quoque referret gradum, plēnīs repente portīs effūsī hostēs inpulsā Rōmānā aciē studiō īnstandī sequendīque trahuntur ad locum īnsidiārum.

And when, with the cavalry wavering as if between the plan of fighting and of fleeing, the infantry too began to fall back, the enemy poured out of the crowded gates, broke the Roman line, and in their eagerness to press on and pursue were drawn to the place of the ambush.

Note. velut inter pugnae fugaeque consilium: 'as if wavering between the plan of fighting and of fleeing'. studio instandi sequendique: genitive gerunds depending on studio, 'in their eagerness to press on and pursue'.

Liv. 1.14.9Inde subitō exorti Rōmānī trānsversam invādunt hostium aciem;

From there the Romans suddenly rose up and attacked the enemy line from the side;

Liv. 1.14.9addunt pavōrem mōta ē castrīs signa eōrum, quī in praesidiō relictī fuerant;

the standards of those who had been left in the guard, moving out of the camp, added to their panic;

Liv. 1.14.9ita multiplicī terrōre perculsī Fīdēnātēs prius paene, quam Rōmulus quīque cum eō erant circumagerent frēnīs equōs, terga vertunt;

so the men of Fidenae, struck by terror from many sides, turn their backs almost before Romulus and those with him could wheel their horses round by the reins;

Note. prius ... quam: 'before', split by paene. quique = et qui: 'and those who'. frenis circumagerent equos: 'could wheel their horses round by the reins'.

Liv. 1.14.10multōque effūsius, quippe vērā fugā, quī simulantēs paulō ante secūtī erant, oppidum repetēbant.

and those who a little before had pursued men pretending to flee were now heading back to their town much more wildly, since the flight was real.

Note. quippe vera fuga: 'since now the flight was real' (supply erat). qui simulantes ... secuti erant: 'those who had pursued men pretending to flee'.

Liv. 1.14.10Nōn tamen ēripuēre sē hostī;

Yet they did not escape from the enemy;

Liv. 1.14.11haerēns in tergō Rōmānus, priusquam forēs portārum obicerentur, velut agmine ūnō inrumpit.

the Roman, close on their backs, bursts in as if in one column before the doors of the gates could be shut against him.

Note. Romanus: the collective singular, 'the Roman (army)'. velut agmine uno: 'as if in one column', i.e. on the heels of the fleeing enemy.