Ab Urbe Condita 1.34

Liv. 1.34.1Ancō regnante Lucumō, vir inpiger ac dīvitiīs potēns, Rōmam commigrāvit cupīdine maximē ac spē magnī honōris, cuius adipīscendī Tarquiniīs— nam ibi quoque peregrīnā stirpe oriundus erat— facultās nōn fuerat.

In the reign of Ancus, Lucumo, an energetic man and powerful through his wealth, moved to Rome, chiefly from desire and hope of high office, which he had had no chance of gaining at Tarquinii — for there too he came of a foreign line.

Note. Anco regnante: ablative absolute. cuius adipiscendi: gerundive in the genitive with facultas, 'opportunity of gaining which'. Tarquiniis: locative plural, 'at Tarquinii'. Lucumo was an Etruscan title for a noble, used here as a name.

Liv. 1.34.2Dēmarātī Corinthiī fīlius erat, quī ob sēditiōnēs domō profugus cum Tarquiniīs forte cōnsēdisset, uxōre ibi ductā duōs fīliōs genuit.

He was the son of Demaratus of Corinth, who, an exile from home because of civil strife, had happened to settle at Tarquinii, married a wife there, and fathered two sons.

Note. Demaratus of Corinth was said to have fled the tyrant Cypselus in the 7th century BC, bringing Greek craftsmen to Etruria. cum … consedisset: 'when he had settled'.

Liv. 1.34.2Nōmina hīs Lucumō atque Arrūns fuērunt.

Their names were Lucumo and Arruns.

Note. Nomina his … fuerunt: dative of possession, 'their names were'.

Liv. 1.34.2Lucumō superfuit patrī bonōrum omnium hērēs;

Lucumo outlived his father and inherited all his property;

Liv. 1.34.2Arrūns prior quam pater moritur uxōre gravidā relicta.

Arruns died before his father, leaving a pregnant wife.

Note. prior quam pater: 'before his father'. uxore gravida relicta: ablative absolute.

Liv. 1.34.2Nec diū manet superstes fīliō pater;

The father did not long survive his son;

Liv. 1.34.3quī cum, ignōrāns nurum ventrem ferre, inmemor in testandō nepōtis dēcessisset, puerō post avī mortem in nūllam sortem bonōrum nātō ab inopiā Ēgeriō inditum nōmen.

and since he died not knowing that his daughter-in-law was with child, and so forgot his grandson in making his will, the boy, born after his grandfather's death with no share in the property, was given the name Egerius from his poverty.

Note. in nullam sortem bonorum: 'with no share in the property'. Egerius comes from egere, 'to be in need'. The dative puero … nato goes with inditum nomen: 'the name was given to the boy'.

Liv. 1.34.3Lucumōnī contrā omnium hērēdī bonōrum cum dīvitiae iam animōs facerent, auxit ducta in mātrimōnium Tanaquīl summō locō nāta et quae haud facile iīs, in quibus nāta erat, humiliōra sineret ea, quō innūpsisset.

Lucumo, on the other hand, heir to all the property, was already made proud by his wealth, and his pride was increased by his marriage to Tanaquil, a woman of the highest birth, who would not easily let the family she had married into be lower than the one into which she had been born.

Note. Lucumoni … animos facerent: 'gave him pride'. Tanaquil is the first of Livy's strong royal women. quae … sineret: relative clause of characteristic, 'the sort of woman who would not easily let …'.

Liv. 1.34.5Spernentibus Etrūscīs Lucumōnem exule advenā ortum, ferre indignitātem nōn potuit oblītaque ingenitae ergā patriam cāritātis, dummodo virum honōrātum vidēret, cōnsilium migrandī ab Tarquiniīs cēpit.

Since the Etruscans looked down on Lucumo as the son of an exile and a newcomer, she could not bear the humiliation, and forgetting her inborn love of her country, so long as she might see her husband honoured, she formed the plan of leaving Tarquinii.

Note. Spernentibus Etruscis: ablative absolute, 'since the Etruscans despised'. exule advena ortum: 'born of an exile and immigrant'. oblita ingenitae … caritatis: obliviscor takes the genitive. dummodo + subjunctive: 'provided that'.

Liv. 1.34.6Rōma est ad id potissimum vīsa: in novō populō, ubi omnis repentīna atque ex virtūte nōbilitās sit, futūrum locum fortī ac strēnuō virō;

Rome seemed best suited for this: among a new people, where all nobility was recent and came from merit, there would be a place for a brave and energetic man;

Note. The reasoning is indirect speech: futurum (esse) locum. Rome is presented as a meritocracy of newcomers.

Liv. 1.34.6regnāsse Tatium Sabīnum, arcessītum in regnum Numam ā Curibus, et Ancum Sabīnā mātre ortum nōbilemque ūnā imāgine Numae esse.

Tatius, a Sabine, had reigned there; Numa had been summoned to the throne from Cures; and Ancus was born of a Sabine mother and had only one ancestral portrait to boast of, Numa's.

Note. Numa had been summoned from Cures, the Sabine town. una imagine Numae: 'by one ancestral mask, that of Numa'; Roman nobles displayed wax masks of ancestors who had held office.

Liv. 1.34.7Facile persuādet ut cupidō honōrum et cui Tarquiniī māterna tantum patria esset.

She easily persuades him, eager for honours as he was, and since Tarquinii was his country only on his mother's side.

Note. ut cupido honorum: 'as one eager for honours'; cupido is dative, agreeing with the understood ei after persuadet.

Liv. 1.34.7Sublātīs itaque rēbus āmigrant Rōmam.

So they gather up their belongings and move to Rome.

Liv. 1.34.7Ad Iāniculum forte ventum erat.

They had come as far as the Janiculum.

Note. ventum erat: impersonal passive, 'they had come'.

Liv. 1.34.8Ibi eī carpentō sedentī cum uxōre aquila suspēnsīs dēmissa lēniter ālīs pilleum aufert superque carpentum cum magnō clangōre volitāns rūrsus velut ministeriō dīvīnitus missa capitī aptē repōnit;

There, as he sat with his wife in their carriage, an eagle swooped down gently on spread wings and took off his cap, and flying above the carriage with a loud cry, put it back neatly on his head, as if sent on a divine errand;

Note. The eagle is Jupiter's bird. pilleum: a felt cap. ministerio divinitus missa: 'as if sent from heaven on an errand'.

Liv. 1.34.9inde sublīmis abit.

then it flew away aloft.

Liv. 1.34.9Accēpisse id augurium laeta dīcitur Tanaquīl, perīta, ut vulgō Etrūscī, caelestium prōdigiōrum mulier.

Tanaquil is said to have welcomed this omen with joy, being a woman skilled, as Etruscans generally are, in heavenly portents.

Note. perita … caelestium prodigiorum: peritus takes the genitive. The Etruscans were famous throughout antiquity for their 'discipline' of interpreting omens.

Liv. 1.34.9Excelsa et alta spērāre complexa virum iubet: eam ālitem, eā regiōne caelī et eius deī nūntiam vēnisse, circā summum culmen hominis auspicium fēcisse, levāsse hūmānō superpositum capitī decus, ut dīvīnitus eīdem redderet.

She embraces her husband and tells him to hope for high and lofty things: such a bird had come, from such a quarter of the sky, as messenger of such a god; it had given its sign about the very top of the man, the head; it had lifted the ornament placed on a human head only to restore it to him by the will of heaven.

Note. Indirect speech after iubet: eam alitem … venisse, auspicium fecisse, levasse … decus. Tanaquil reads the sign point by point: the bird, the quarter of the sky, the god, the head. levasse = levavisse.

Liv. 1.34.10Hās spēs cōgitātiōnēsque sēcum portantēs urbem ingressī sunt domiciliōque ibi conparātō L. Tarquinium Prīscum ēdidēre nōmen.

Carrying these hopes and thoughts with them they entered the city, and having found a home there they gave out his name as Lucius Tarquinius Priscus.

Note. L. Tarquinium Priscum: the new Roman name, with Tarquinius from his home town and Priscus ('the Elder') added later to distinguish him from Tarquinius Superbus.

Liv. 1.34.11Rōmānīs cōnspicuum eum novitās dīvitiaeque faciēbant;

His novelty and his wealth made him conspicuous among the Romans;

Liv. 1.34.11et ipse fortūnam benignō adloquiō, cōmitāte invītandī beneficiīsque, quōs poterat, sibi conciliandō adiuvābat, dōnec in rēgiam quoque dē eō fāma perlāta est.

and he himself helped his fortune along by his kindly speech, his courtesy in inviting people, and by winning over with favours those he could, until the report of him reached the palace too.

Note. comitate invitandi: 'by courtesy in inviting (guests)'; invitandi is a gerund. sibi conciliando: 'by winning over to himself', another gerund.

Liv. 1.34.12Nōtitiamque eam brevī apud rēgem līberāliter dexterēque obeundō officia in familiāris amīcitiae addūxerat iūra, ut pūblicīs pariter ac prīvātīs cōnsiliīs bellō domīque interesset et per omnia expertus postrēmō tūtor etiam līberīs rēgis testāmentō īnstituerētur.

And by performing his duties to the king generously and skilfully he soon turned this acquaintance into the bonds of close friendship, so that he took part in public and private counsels alike, in war and at home, and, tested in everything, was finally even appointed by the king's will as guardian to his children.

Note. obeundo officia: gerund with a direct object, 'by performing his duties'. tutor … liberis regis testamento: the king made him guardian of his sons in his will, which sets up the scheme in the next chapter.