Ab Urbe Condita 1.20

Liv. 1.20.1Tum sacerdōtibus creandīs animum adiēcit, quamquam ipse plūrima sacra obībat, ea maximē, quae nunc ad Diālem flāminem pertinent.

Then he turned his mind to creating priests, though he himself performed very many of the rites, especially those which now belong to the flamen of Jupiter.

Note. sacerdotibus creandis: dative with animum adiecit, 'turned his mind to creating priests'. The flamen Dialis, priest of Jupiter, was bound by many taboos; Livy suggests his duties were originally the king's.

Liv. 1.20.2Sed quia in cīvitāte bellicōsā plūrēs Rōmulī quam Numae similēs rēgēs putābat fore itūrōsque ipsōs ad bella, nē sacra rēgiae vicis dēsererentur, flāminem Iovī adsiduum sacerdōtem creāvit īnsignīque eum veste et curūlī rēgiā sellā adōrnāvit.

But because he thought that in a warlike state there would be more kings like Romulus than like Numa, and that they would go to the wars themselves, so that the rites belonging to the king's office should not be neglected, he appointed a flamen as a permanent priest for Jupiter, and honoured him with a distinctive dress and a royal curule chair.

Note. plures … fore: indirect statement after putabat; fore = futuros esse. ne sacra … desererentur: purpose clause. regiae vicis: 'of the king's office' (vicis, gen. of the defective noun vicem). The sella curulis was the folding chair of the higher magistrates.

Liv. 1.20.2Huic duōs flāminēs adiēcit, Mārtī ūnum, alterum Quirīnō;

To him he added two flamens, one for Mars, the other for Quirinus;

Note. Huic: 'to him', the flamen Dialis. Mars and Quirinus had the two other major flamens.

Liv. 1.20.3virginēsque Vestae lēgit, Albā oriundum sacerdōtium et gentī conditōris haud aliēnum.

and he chose virgins for Vesta, a priesthood that came from Alba and was not foreign to the founder's family.

Note. virgines Vestae: the Vestal Virgins, guardians of the hearth fire. Alba oriundum: Romulus' mother, Rhea Silvia, had been a Vestal at Alba, so the priesthood was 'not foreign to the founder's family'. haud alienum: litotes.

Liv. 1.20.3Iīs, ut adsiduae templī antistitēs essent, stīpendium dē pūblicō statuit, virginitāte aliīsque caerimōniīs venerābilēs ac sānctās fēcit.

So that they might be full-time priestesses of the temple, he fixed a salary for them from the public purse, and made them revered and holy by virginity and other observances.

Note. ut adsiduae … essent: purpose clause. de publico (aerario): 'from public funds'.

Liv. 1.20.4Saliōs item duodecim Mārtī Grādīvō lēgit tunicaeque pictae īnsigne dedit et super tunicam aēneum pectorī tegumen caelestiaque arma, quae ancīlia appellantur, ferre ac per urbem īre canentēs carmina cum tripudiīs sollemnīque saltātū iussit.

He likewise chose twelve Salii for Mars Gradivus, and gave them the distinction of an embroidered tunic and over the tunic a bronze covering for the breast, and he ordered them to carry the heavenly shields which are called ancilia and to go through the city singing hymns with leaping and a solemn dance.

Note. Salios: the Salii, the 'leapers', danced through the city in March carrying the ancilia, shields said to copy one that fell from heaven. tunicae pictae insigne: 'the distinction of an embroidered tunic'. iussit takes ferre and ire. canentes: present participle agreeing with the Salii.

Liv. 1.20.4Pontificem deinde Numam Mārcium, Mārcī fīlium, ex patribus lēgit eīque sacra omnia exscrīpta exsignātaque attribuit, quibus hostiīs, quibus diēbus, ad quae templa sacra fierent atque unde in eōs sūmptūs pecūniā ērogārētur.

Then he chose Numa Marcius, son of Marcus, from among the senators as pontiff, and entrusted to him all the rites, written out and set down in detail: with what victims, on what days, at what temples the rites were to be performed, and from what source the money was to be paid out for those expenses.

Note. Numam Marcium: a pontifex of the same first name as the king. The indirect questions quibus hostiis, quibus diebus, ad quae templa … unde … erogaretur explain what was written out.

Liv. 1.20.6Cētera quoque omnia pūblica prīvātaque sacra pontificis scītīs subiēcit, ut esset, quō cōnsultum plēbēs venīret, nē quid dīvīnī iūris neglegendō patriōs rītūs peregrīnōsque adscīscendō turbārētur;

All other rites too, public and private, he made subject to the decrees of the pontiff, so that there should be someone to whom the common people could come for advice, so that nothing of divine law should be thrown into confusion by neglecting the ancestral rites and taking up foreign ones;

Note. pontificis scitis: 'to the decrees of the pontifex'. ut esset quo … veniret: 'so that there should be someone to whom…'. consultum: supine of purpose after a verb of motion, 'came to consult'. plebes: an old nominative form of plebs. neglegendo … adsciscendo: ablative gerunds of means.

Liv. 1.20.7nec caelestēs modo caerimōniās sed iūsta quoque fūnebria plācandōsque mānēs ut īdem pontifex ēdocēret, quaeque prōdigia fulminibus aliōve quō vīsū missa susciperentur atque cūrārentur.

and that the same pontiff should teach not only the heavenly ceremonies but also funeral rites and the appeasing of the spirits of the dead, and which portents sent by lightning or by any other sight were to be taken up and dealt with.

Note. edoceret still depends on ut (or on an understood command). iusta funebria: 'funeral rites'. manes: the spirits of the dead. quaeque … susciperentur: indirect question, 'and which portents were to be acknowledged'. alio quo visu: quo is the indefinite 'some'.

Liv. 1.20.7Ad ea ēlicienda ex mentibus dīvīnīs Iovī Ēliciō āram in Aventīnō dicāvit deumque cōnsuluit auguriīs, quae suscipienda essent.

To draw these out from the divine minds he dedicated an altar to Jupiter Elicius on the Aventine, and consulted the god by auguries about which should be taken up.

Note. Ad ea elicienda: ad + gerundive of purpose. Iovi Elicio: Jupiter 'who is drawn out', i.e. made to reveal signs. quae suscipienda essent: indirect question, 'which (portents) should be acted upon'.