Ab Urbe Condita 1.59

Liv. 1.59.1Brūtus illīs lūctū occupātīs cultrum ex vulnere Lucrētiae extrāctum mānantem cruōre prae sē tenēns, "per hunc" inquit "castissimum ante rēgiam iniūriam sanguinem iūrō vōsque, diī, testēs faciō mē L. Tarquinium Superbum cum scelerātā coniuge et omnī līberōrum stirpe ferrō, ignī, quācumque dehinc vī possim, exāctūrum nec illōs nec alium quemquam regnāre Rōmae passūrum."

While they were absorbed in grief, Brutus drew the knife from Lucretia's wound and holding it before him, dripping with blood, said: 'By this blood, most pure until the prince's outrage, I swear, and I call you, gods, to witness, that I will drive out Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, with his wicked wife and all his children, with sword, with fire, by whatever force I can from now on, and that I will not allow them or anyone else to be king at Rome.'

Note. Brutus' oath. per hunc … sanguinem iuro: 'I swear by this blood'. me … exacturum (esse) … passurum (esse): future infinitives in indirect statement after iuro and testes facio. L. Tarquinium Superbum: the king; his wife is Tullia.

Liv. 1.59.2Cultrum deinde Collātīnō trādit, inde Lucrētiō ac Valeriō, stupentibus mīrāculō reī, unde novum in Brūtī pectore ingenium.

Then he handed the knife to Collatinus, then to Lucretius and Valerius, who were dumbfounded at the marvel of it, wondering where this new spirit in Brutus' breast had come from.

Note. unde novum in Bruti pectore ingenium: an indirect question without a verb, 'wondering where the new spirit in Brutus' breast came from'.

Liv. 1.59.2Ut praeceptum erat, iūrant;

They swore as he had instructed;

Liv. 1.59.2tōtīque ab lūctū versī in īram, Brūtum iam inde ad expugnandum regnum vocantem sequuntur ducem.

and turning wholly from grief to anger, they followed Brutus as their leader as he summoned them at once to overthrow the monarchy.

Liv. 1.59.3Ēlātum domō Lucrētiae corpus in forum dēferunt concientque mīrāculō, ut fit, reī novae atque indignitāte hominēs.

They carried Lucretia's body from the house and took it to the forum, and roused people, as happens, by the strangeness and outrage of the event.

Note. Elatum domo … corpus: 'the body, carried out of the house'. concient … homines: 'they rouse the people'. miraculo … rei novae atque indignitate: ablatives of cause.

Liv. 1.59.4Prō sē quisque scelus rēgium ac vim queruntur.

Each for himself complained of the prince's crime and violence.

Liv. 1.59.4Movet cum patris maestitia, tum Brūtus castīgātor lacrimārum atque inertium querellārum auctorque, quod virōs, quod Rōmānōs decēret, arma capiendī adversus hostīlia ausōs.

They were moved both by the father's grief and by Brutus, who rebuked their tears and idle laments and urged them to take up arms against those who had dared such hostile acts, as befitted men and Romans.

Note. quod viros, quod Romanos deceret: 'as befitted men, as befitted Romans' — the repeated quod is rhetorical. auctor … arma capiendi: 'urging the taking of arms', with the gerund in the genitive.

Liv. 1.59.5Ferōcissimus quisque iuvenum cum armīs voluntārius adest;

All the boldest of the young men present themselves under arms as volunteers;

Liv. 1.59.5sequitur et cētera iuventūs.

the rest of the young men follow too.

Liv. 1.59.5Inde parte praesidiō relictā Collātiae custōdibusque ad portās locātīs, nē quis eum mōtum rēgibus nūntiāret, cēterī armātī duce Brūtō Rōmam profectī.

Then, leaving part of their force at Collatia as a garrison and posting guards at the gates so that no one could report the uprising to the royal family, the rest set out for Rome under arms, with Brutus as their leader.

Note. ne quis eum motum regibus nuntiaret: purpose clause; quis after ne is the indefinite 'anyone'.

Liv. 1.59.6Ubi eō ventum est, quācumque incēdit armāta multitūdō, pavōrem ac tumultum facit;

When they got there, wherever the armed crowd went, it caused fear and confusion;

Liv. 1.59.6rūrsus ubi anteīre prīmōrēs cīvitātis vident, quidquid sit, haud temerē esse rentur.

but then, when people saw the leading men of the state marching in front, they thought that whatever it was, it was not without reason.

Note. quidquid sit, haud temere esse: 'that whatever it was, it was not without reason'.

Liv. 1.59.7Nec minōrem mōtum animōrum Rōmae tam atrōx rēs facit, quam Collātiae fēcerat.

And the dreadful event caused no less stir of feeling at Rome than it had at Collatia.

Liv. 1.59.7Ergō ex omnibus locīs urbis in forum curritur.

So from every part of the city people ran to the forum.

Liv. 1.59.7Quō simul ventum est, praecō ad tribūnum celerum, in quō tum magistrātū forte Brūtus erat, populum advocāvit.

As soon as they had come there, the herald summoned the people to the Tribune of the Celeres, an office Brutus happened to hold at the time.

Note. tribunum celerum: the commander of the Celeres, the king's mounted guard. As holder of this office Brutus had the right to call the people together.

Liv. 1.59.7Ibi ōrātiō habita nēquāquam eius pectoris ingeniīque, quod simulātum ad eam diem fuerat, dē vī ac libīdine Sex. Tarquiniī, dē stuprō īnfandō Lucrētiae et miserābilī caede, dē orbitāte Tricipitīnī, cui morte fīliae causa mortis indignior ac miserābilior esset.

There he made a speech not at all in keeping with the mind and character he had pretended to have until that day, about the violence and lust of Sextus Tarquinius, about the unspeakable rape of Lucretia and her pitiful death, about the bereavement of Tricipitinus, for whom the cause of his daughter's death was more shameful and pitiable than the death itself.

Note. nequaquam eius pectoris ingeniique: genitive of description, 'a speech by no means of that (dull) mind and character'. Tricipitinus is Sp. Lucretius, Lucretia's father.

Liv. 1.59.9Addita superbia ipsīus rēgis miseriaeque et labōrēs plēbis in fossās cloācāsque exhauriendās dēmersae;

He added the arrogance of the king himself, and the miseries and labours of the common people, plunged into digging out trenches and sewers;

Note. Addita superbia: '(there was) added the arrogance'. The summary of the speech continues in indirect statement in 96.

Liv. 1.59.9Rōmānōs hominēs, victōrēs omnium circā populōrum, opificēs ac lapicīdās prō bellātōribus factōs.

Romans, the conquerors of all the peoples around, turned from warriors into labourers and stonecutters.

Note. Romanos homines … factos: accusative and infinitive (esse omitted) still depending on the speech: 'that Romans had been made labourers and stonecutters instead of warriors'.

Liv. 1.59.9Indigna Servī Tullī rēgis memorāta caedis et invecta corporī patris nefandō vehiculō fīlia, invocātīque ultōrēs parentum diī.

He recalled the shameful murder of King Servius Tullius, and the daughter who drove her accursed carriage over her father's body, and he called on the gods who avenge parents.

Note. Servius Tullius, the sixth king, was murdered at the instigation of his daughter Tullia and her husband Tarquinius; Livy has told how she drove her carriage over her father's body (the street was later called Vicus Sceleratus).

Liv. 1.59.10Hīs atrōciōribusque, crēdō, aliīs, quae praesēns rērum indignitās haudquāquam relātū scrīptōribus facilia subicit, memorātīs incēnsam multitūdinem perpulit, ut imperium rēgī abrogāret exulēsque esse iubēret L. Tarquinium cum coniuge ac līberīs.

By reminding them of these and, I believe, other still more dreadful things, which the outrage of the moment suggests but which are not easy for writers to report, he drove the inflamed crowd to strip the king of his power and to order Lucius Tarquinius into exile with his wife and children.

Note. quae … haudquaquam relatu scriptoribus facilia: relatu is the supine in -u with facilis, 'by no means easy for writers to tell'. imperium regi abrogaret: 'take away his power from the king' (dative of disadvantage).

Liv. 1.59.11Ipse iūniōribus, quī ultrō nōmina dabant, lēctīs armātīsque ad concitandum inde adversus rēgem exercitum Ardeam in castra est profectus;

He himself chose and armed the younger men, who were volunteering their names, and set out for the camp at Ardea to rouse the army against the king;

Note. iunioribus … lectis armatisque: ablative absolute. The iuniores were men of military age.

Liv. 1.59.11imperium in urbe Lucrētiō, praefectō urbis iam ante ab rēge īnstitūtō, relinquit.

he left command in the city to Lucretius, who had already been made prefect of the city by the king.

Liv. 1.59.12Inter hunc tumultum Tullia domō profūgit exsecrantibus, quācumque incēdēbat, invocantibusque parentum furiās virīs mulieribusque.

In the middle of this uproar Tullia fled from her house, while men and women, wherever she went, cursed her and called on the furies of parents.

Note. Tullia's flight. parentum furias: the Furies who avenge wrongs to parents — a reminder of her part in her father's murder.