Ab Urbe Condita 1.9

Liv. 1.9.1Iam rēs Rōmāna adeō erat valida, ut cuilibet fīnitimārum cīvitātum bellō pār esset;

Now the Roman state was so strong that it was a match in war for any of the neighbouring states;

Liv. 1.9.1sed pēnūriā mulierum hominis aetātem dūrātūra magnitūdō erat, quippe quibus nec domī spēs prōlis nec cum fīnitimīs cōnūbia essent.

but through the lack of women its greatness would last only a single human lifetime, since they had no hope of children at home and no right of marriage with their neighbours.

Note. dūrātūra: future participle, 'was going to last'. quippe quibus … essent: causal relative clause, 'since they had…'; quibus is a dative of possession. cōnūbium: the legal right to contract a valid marriage across communities.

Liv. 1.9.2Tum ex cōnsiliō patrum Rōmulus lēgātōs circā vīcīnās gentēs mīsit, quī societātem cōnūbiumque novō populō peterent: urbēs quoque, ut cētera, ex īnfimō nāscī;

Then, on the advice of the senators, Romulus sent envoys round the neighbouring peoples to ask alliance and the right of marriage for the new people: cities too, like everything else, grew from the humblest beginnings;

Note. From urbēs quoque onwards we have the envoys' speech in reported form: infinitives (nāscī, facere) for the main statements, subjunctives (iuvent) inside subordinate clauses.

Liv. 1.9.3dein, quās sua virtūs ac diī iuvent, magnās opēs sibi magnumque nōmen facere;

then those which their own courage and the gods helped made great wealth and a great name for themselves;

Liv. 1.9.4satis scīre orīginī Rōmānae et deōs adfuisse et nōn dēfutūram virtūtem;

they knew well enough that the gods had stood by the beginnings of Rome and that courage would not be lacking;

Note. satis scīre: supply 'sē', 'they knew well enough'. dēfutūram (esse): future infinitive of dēsum.

Liv. 1.9.4proinde nē gravārentur hominēs cum hominibus sanguinem ac genus miscēre.

therefore men should not be unwilling to mix blood and race with men.

Note. nē gravārentur: a command in reported speech becomes nē + subjunctive, 'they should not be unwilling'.

Liv. 1.9.5Nusquam benignē lēgātiō audīta est;

Nowhere was the embassy heard kindly;

Liv. 1.9.5adeō simul spernēbant, simul tantam in mediō crēscentem mōlem sibi ac posterīs suīs metuēbant.

so much did they despise them, and at the same time fear for themselves and their descendants so great a power growing in their midst.

Note. adeō … simul … simul: 'so much did they both … and at the same time…'. crēscentem mōlem: present participle, 'a growing mass (of power)'.

Liv. 1.9.5Ā plērīsque rogitantibus dīmissī, ecquod fēminīs quoque asȳlum aperuissent;

They were sent away by most, who asked whether they had opened an asylum for women too;

Note. ecquod … aperuissent: ecquis introduces a sarcastic question, 'whether they had opened any asylum for women too'.

Liv. 1.9.5id enim dēmum conpar cōnūbium fore.

for that alone would be a fitting marriage for them.

Note. id … fore: the jeering point — only runaway women would be fit wives for runaway men.

Liv. 1.9.6Aegrē id Rōmāna pūbēs passa, et haud dubiē ad vim spectāre rēs coepit.

The Roman young men took this badly, and things clearly began to point towards force.

Note. Aegrē … passa (est): 'took it badly'. spectāre ad vim: 'to point to force'.

Liv. 1.9.6Cui tempus locumque aptum ut daret Rōmulus aegritūdinem animī dissimulāns lūdōs ex industriā parat Neptūnō equestrī sollemnīs;

To give a suitable time and place for it, Romulus, hiding his resentment, deliberately prepared solemn games in honour of Neptune of the Horses;

Note. Cui … ut daret: the relative goes with the following purpose clause, 'to give a suitable time and place for this'. Neptūnō equestrī: Neptune as god of horses; the Consualia was really the festival of Consus, god of the stored grain, held at the Circus Maximus.

Liv. 1.9.6Cōnsuālia vocat.

he called them the Consualia.

Liv. 1.9.7Indīcī deinde fīnitimīs spectāculum iubet, quantōque apparātū tum sciēbant aut poterant, concelebrant, ut rem clāram expectātamque facerent.

Then he ordered the show to be announced to the neighbours, and they celebrated it with all the splendour they then knew or could manage, to make the event famous and eagerly awaited.

Note. Indīcī: present passive infinitive of indīcō, 'to be proclaimed'. quantō … apparātū: ablative of manner, 'with all the splendour that…'.

Liv. 1.9.7Multī mortālēs convēnēre, studiō etiam videndae novae urbis, maximē proximi quique, Caenīnēnsēs, Crustumīnī, Antemnātēs;

Many people came together, eager also to see the new city, above all the nearest peoples, the Caeninenses, the Crustumini and the Antemnates;

Note. convēnēre = convēnērunt, an alternative perfect ending common in Livy. studiō … videndae novae urbis: gerundive in the genitive, 'from eagerness to see the new city'. Caenina, Crustumerium and Antemnae were small towns close to Rome.

Liv. 1.9.9iam Sabīnōrum omnis multitūdō cum līberīs ac coniugibus vēnit.

and the whole Sabine population came too, with their children and wives.

Liv. 1.9.9Invītātī hospitāliter per domōs cum situm moeniaque et frequentem tēctīs urbem vīdissent, mīrantur tam brevī rem Rōmānam crēvisse.

Hospitably invited into homes, when they had seen the site and the walls and the city crowded with houses, they marvelled that the Roman state had grown in so short a time.

Note. Invītātī hospitāliter: the guests' trust makes the betrayal worse. tam brevī (tempore): 'in so short a time'.

Liv. 1.9.10Ubi spectāculī tempus vēnit dēditaeque eō mentēs cum oculīs erant, tum ex compositō orta vīs, signōque datō iuventūs Rōmāna ad rapiendās virginēs discurrit.

When the time of the show came and all eyes and minds were fixed on it, then, as arranged, violence broke out, and at a given signal the Roman young men ran in all directions to seize the young women.

Note. ex compositō: 'by arrangement'. orta (est) vīs: 'violence broke out'. ad rapiendās virginēs: gerundive of purpose with ad.

Liv. 1.9.11Magna pars forte, in quem quaeque inciderat, raptae;

A great part were carried off by chance, by whoever each one ran into;

Note. in quem quaeque inciderat: 'whomever each girl ran into'; quaeque is the feminine of quisque.

Liv. 1.9.11quāsdam fōrmā excellentēs prīmōribus patrum dēstinātās ex plēbe hominēs, quibus datum negōtium erat, domōs dēferēbant;

some, outstanding in beauty, who had been marked out for the leading senators, were carried to their houses by men of the common people who had been given this task;

Liv. 1.9.12ūnam longē ante aliās speciē ac pulchritūdine īnsignem ā globō Talassiī cuiusdam raptam ferunt, multīsque scīscitantibus, cuinam eam ferrent, identidem, nē quis violāret, Talassiō ferrī clāmitātum;

they say that one, far beyond the others in looks and beauty, was carried off by the band of a certain Talassius, and that, when many asked to whom they were taking her, they shouted again and again, so that no one would harm her, that she was being taken to Talassius;

Note. Talassiō: the ritual cry at Roman weddings, here explained by a story. clāmitātum (esse): impersonal passive, 'it was shouted again and again'. nē quis violāret: purpose clause, 'so that no one would harm her'.

Liv. 1.9.12inde nūptiālem hanc vōcem factam.

from this the cry became part of weddings.

Liv. 1.9.13Turbātō per metum lūdicrō maestī parentēs virginum profugiunt, incūsantēs violātī hospitiī scelus deumque invocantēs, cuius ad sollemne lūdōsque per fās ac fidem dēceptī vēnissent.

The festival thrown into confusion by fear, the grieving parents of the girls fled, accusing the crime of violated hospitality and calling on the god to whose solemn festival and games they had come, deceived in the name of religion and good faith.

Note. Turbātō … lūdicrō: ablative absolute. violātī hospitiī scelus: the sacred bond between host and guest. per fās ac fidem dēceptī: 'deceived through (their trust in) religion and good faith'.

Liv. 1.9.14Nec raptis aut spēs dē sē melior aut indignātiō est minor.

Nor did the women who had been seized have better hope for themselves or smaller indignation.

Liv. 1.9.14Sed ipse Rōmulus circumībat docēbatque patrum id superbiā factum, quī cōnūbium fīnitimīs negāssent;

But Romulus himself went round and explained that this had happened through the pride of their fathers, who had refused the right of marriage to their neighbours;

Note. Romulus' speech is again reported: subjunctive negāssent in the causal relative clause, infinitives in what follows.

Liv. 1.9.14illās tamen in mātrimōniō, in societāte fortūnārum omnium cīvitātisque et, quō nihil cārius hūmānō generī sit, līberum fore;

they, however, would be in marriage, in partnership of all their fortunes and of the citizenship, and, than which nothing is dearer to the human race, of children;

Note. quō nihil cārius … sit: ablative of comparison, 'than which nothing is dearer'. līberum: the old genitive plural of līberī, 'of children'.

Liv. 1.9.15mollīrent modo īrās et, quibus fors corpora dedisset, darent animōs.

let them only soften their anger, and give their hearts to those to whom chance had given their bodies.

Note. mollīrent … darent: jussive subjunctives in reported speech, 'let them soften… let them give'.

Liv. 1.9.15Saepe ex iniūriā postmodum grātiam ortam, eōque meliōribus ūsūrās virīs, quod adnīsūrus prō sē quisque sit, ut, cum suam vicem fūnctus officiō sit, parentium etiam patriaeque expleat dēsīderium.

Often, he said, affection had arisen afterwards from a wrong, and they would find their husbands all the better, because each would strive, after doing his own part, to make up also for the loss of their parents and their homeland.

Note. ūsūrās: future participle of ūtor (with esse omitted), which takes the ablative melioribus virīs. eōque … quod: 'and all the better because…'. suam vicem: 'for his own part'.

Liv. 1.9.16Accēdēbant blanditiae virōrum factum pūrgantium cupiditāte atque amōre, quae maximē ad muliebre ingenium efficācēs precēs sunt.

To this were added the endearments of the men, excusing what they had done by desire and love, pleas which work most strongly on a woman's heart.

Note. Accēdēbant: 'there were added'. quae … efficācēs precēs sunt: the relative agrees with the following predicate; 'pleas which are most effective on a woman's heart'.