Ab Urbe Condita 1.36

Liv. 1.36.1Mūrō quoque lapideō circumdare urbem parābat, cum Sabīnum bellum coeptīs intervēnit.

He was also preparing to surround the city with a stone wall, when a war with the Sabines interrupted his undertaking.

Note. coeptīs: dative of the thing interrupted with intervēnit, 'came in the way of his undertaking'. cum … intervēnit: 'inverted' cum, where the main event comes in the cum-clause, so the verb is indicative.

Liv. 1.36.1Adeōque ea subita rēs fuit, ut prius Aniēnem trānsīrent hostēs, quam obviam īre ac prohibēre exercitus Rōmānus posset.

And it was so sudden that the enemy had crossed the Anio before a Roman army could go to meet and stop them.

Note. prius … quam: 'before'; Livy splits the two halves. The subjunctive (posset) shows the Romans were prevented: before they could. The Anio joins the Tiber just north of Rome, so the Sabines were close.

Liv. 1.36.2Itaque trepidātum Rōmae est, et prīmō dubiā victōriā magnā utrimque caede pugnātum est.

So there was alarm at Rome, and at first a battle was fought with heavy slaughter on both sides and the victory in doubt.

Note. trepidātum est, pugnātum est: impersonal passives, 'there was alarm', 'there was fighting'. dubiā victōriā is an ablative absolute: 'with victory doubtful'. Rōmae is locative.

Liv. 1.36.2Reductīs deinde in castra hostium cōpiīs datōque spatiō Rōmānīs ad conparandum dē integrō bellum Tarquinius, equitem maximē suīs dēesse vīribus ratus ad Ramnēs, Titiēnsēs, Lucerēs, quās centuriās Rōmulus scrīpserat, addere aliās cōnstituit suōque īnsignēs relinquere nōmine.

Then, when the enemy forces had been led back into their camp and the Romans had been given time to prepare the war afresh, Tarquinius, thinking that his forces lacked cavalry above all, decided to add other centuries to the Ramnes, Titienses and Luceres, which Romulus had enrolled, and to leave them distinguished by his own name.

Note. ad comparandum … bellum: gerundive of purpose, 'for preparing the war'. ratus (from reor) is a perfect participle with present sense, 'thinking'. The Ramnes, Titienses and Luceres were the three ancient tribal units of Roman cavalry said to go back to Romulus.

Liv. 1.36.3Id quia inaugurātō Rōmulus fēcerat, negāre Attus Nāvius, inclitus eā tempestāte augur, neque mūtārī neque novum cōnstituī, nisi avēs addīxissent, posse.

Because Romulus had done this after taking the auspices, Attus Navius, a famous augur at that time, declared that nothing could be changed or newly established unless the birds had approved.

Note. negāre: historical infinitive, 'Navius said that … not'. neque mūtārī neque novum cōnstituī … posse is indirect statement depending on it. inaugurātō: 'with the auspices taken', an ablative used as an adverb. addīxissent: augurs spoke of the birds 'assenting' (addīcere) to a proposal.

Liv. 1.36.4Ex eō īra rēgī mōta, ēlūdēnsque artem, ut ferunt, "agedum" inquit, "dīvīne tū, inaugurā, fierīne possit, quod nunc ego mente concipiō."

This angered the king, and mocking the art, so they say, he said: "Come now, you prophet, find out by augury whether what I am now thinking of can be done."

Note. agedum: 'come now', the imperative age with the enclitic -dum. dīvīne: vocative, 'you seer'. fierīne possit: an indirect question introduced by -ne, 'whether it can happen'.

Liv. 1.36.4Cum ille auguriō rem expertus profectō futūram dīxisset, "atquī hoc animō agitāvī" inquit, "tē novāculā cōtem discissūrum;

When the augur, having tested the matter by augury, said that it certainly would be, the king said: "Well, what I had in mind was that you would cut a whetstone in two with a razor.

Note. futūram (esse) and discissūrum (esse): future infinitives in indirect statement with esse left out, a very common omission. The point of the story: the king sets an impossible test, expecting the augur to fail.

Liv. 1.36.4cape haec et perage, quod avēs tuae fierī posse portendunt."

Take these and do what your birds say can be done."

Note. quod … portendunt: the relative clause is the object of perage, 'do what your birds foretell can be done'.

Liv. 1.36.4Tum illum haud cūnctanter discidisse cōtem ferunt.

Then, they say, without hesitation he cut the whetstone in two.

Note. ferunt: 'they say' — Livy often reminds us that early Roman history rests on tradition. discidisse: perfect infinitive of discindō in indirect statement.

Liv. 1.36.5Statua Attī capite vēlātō, quō in locō rēs ācta est, in comitiō in gradibus ipsīs ad laevam cūriae fuit;

There was a statue of Attus, with his head veiled, on the very spot where this happened, in the Comitium, on the steps to the left of the senate house;

Note. capite vēlātō: ablative of description, 'with veiled head'; Romans covered the head when sacrificing or praying. The Comitium was the assembly place in front of the senate house (cūria) at the foot of the Capitol.

Liv. 1.36.5cōtem quoque eōdem locō sitam fuisse memorant, ut esset ad posterōs mīrāculī eius monumentum.

they report that the whetstone too was placed in the same spot, to be a memorial of that miracle for later generations.

Note. ut esset … monumentum: purpose clause. The whetstone was said to be buried under a small shrine near the statue.

Liv. 1.36.6Auguriīs certē sacerdōtiōque augurum tantus honōs accessit, ut nihil bellī domīque posteā nisi auspicātō gererētur, concilia populī, exercitūs vocātī, summa rērum, ubi avēs nōn admīsissent, dirimerentur.

Certainly such honour came to auguries and to the priesthood of the augurs that afterwards nothing was done in war or at home unless the auspices had been taken: assemblies of the people, armies summoned, the most important business were broken off if the birds had not given their approval.

Note. bellī domīque: locatives, 'in war and at home', the standard pairing (compare mīlitiae domīque). nisi auspicātō: 'unless the auspices had been taken', an ablative used as an adverb. The asyndeton concilia, exercitūs, summa rērum lists the things affected.

Liv. 1.36.7Neque tum Tarquinius dē equitum centuriīs quicquam mūtāvit;

Nor did Tarquinius change anything about the centuries of horsemen at that time;

Liv. 1.36.7numerō alterum tantum adiēcit, ut mīlle et octingentī equitēs in tribus centuriīs essent— posteriōrēs modo sub iīsdem nōminibus, quī additī erant, appellātī sunt, quās nunc, quia geminātae sunt, sex vocant centuriās.

he added the same number again, so that there were one thousand eight hundred horsemen in the three centuries — only the later ones who had been added were called by the same names, though now, because they have been doubled, they call them the six centuries.

Note. alterum tantum: 'as much again', i.e. he doubled the number. posteriōrēs … appellātī sunt: the new centuries kept the old names, so Rome spoke of the 'six centuries' (sex suffrāgia) of knights.