livy

Numitōrem atque Amūlium prōcreat;

He begets Numitor and Amulius.%

Numitōrī, quī stirpis maximus erat, rēgnum vetustum Silviae gentis lēgat.

To Numitor, who was eldest of the line, he bequeaths the ancient kingdom of the Silvia family.%

Plūs tamen vīs potuit quam voluntās patris aut verēcundia aetātis:

However force was stronger than the will of the father or the modesty of age.%

pulsō frātre Amūlius rēgnat.

With his brother driven out, Amulius reigns.%

Addit scelerī scelus:

He adds crime to crime.%

stirpem frātris virīlem interemit,

He destroys his brother’s male offspring,%

frātris fīliae Reae Silviae per speciem honōris, cum vestālem eam lēgisset, perpetuā virginitāte spem partūs adimit.

To his brother’s daughter Rhea Silvia, under the pretense of honor, when he chose her as a Vestal, he removes by perpetual virginity the hope of offspring.%

Sed dēbēbātur, ut opīnor, fātīs tantae orīgo urbis maximīque secundum deōrum opēs imperiī prīncipium.

But it was owed to the fates, as I think, that the origin of so great a city and the beginning of the greatest empire, second only to the power of the gods, should arise.%

Vī compressa Vestālis cum geminum partum ēdidisset,

The Vestal, having been violated by force, when she had borne twin offspring,%

seu ita rata seu quia deus auctor culpae honestior erat, Mārtem incertae stirpis patrem nuncupat.

Whether because she believed this or because a god as author of the fault was more honorable, she names Mars the father of the uncertain offspring.%

Sed nec dī nec hominēs aut ipsam aut stirpem ā crūdēlitāte rēgiā vindicant:

But neither gods nor men protect either her or her offspring from royal cruelty.%

sacerdōs vīncta in custōdiam datur,

The priestess, bound, is given into custody,%

puerōs in prōfluentem aquam mittī iubet.

He orders the boys to be thrown into the flowing water.%

Forte quādam dīvīnitus super rīpās Tiberis effūsus lēnibus stāgnīs nec adīrī usquam ad iūstī cursum poterat amnis,

By a certain chance, divinely ordained, the Tiber overflowed its banks into gentle pools, and the river could nowhere be approached in its proper course,%

et posse quamvīs languidā mergī aquā īnfantēs spem ferentibus dabat.

And it gave hope to those carrying the infants that they could be drowned even in sluggish water.%

Ita velut dēfūnctī rēgis imperiō in proximā alluviē, ubi nunc fīcus Rūmīnālis est—Rōmulārem vocātam ferunt—puerōs expōnunt.

Thus, as if having discharged the king’s command, in a nearby overflow where now stands the Ruminal fig tree—called, they say, Romularis—they expose the boys.%

Vastae tum in hīs locīs sōlitūdinēs erant.

At that time there were vast solitudes in these places.%

Tenet fāma, cum fluitantem alveum, quō expositī erant puerī, tenuis in siccō aqua dēstituisset,

Tradition holds that when the shallow water left the floating trough in which the boys had been exposed on dry land,%

lupam sitientem ex montibus quī circā sunt ad puerīlem vāgītum cursum flexisse;

that a thirsty she-wolf from the surrounding hills turned her course toward the infant cry;%

eam submissās īnfantibus adeō mītem praebuisse mammās,

that she so gently offered her lowered teats to the infants,%

ut linguā lambentem puerōs magister rēgiī pecoris invēnerit—Faustulō fuisse nōmen ferunt—;

that the master of the king’s flock found her licking the boys with her tongue—they say his name was Faustulus—;%

ab eō ad stabula Lārentiae uxōrī ēducandōs datōs.

and that by him they were given to his wife Larentia to be raised at the hut.%

Sunt quī Lārentiam volgātō corpore lupam inter pāstōrēs vocātam pūtent;

There are those who think Larentia, with her body made common, was called a “she-wolf” among the shepherds;%

inde locum fābulae ac mīrāculō datum.

and from this the place was given over to legend and wonder.%

Ita genitī itaque ēducātī, cum prīmum adolēvit aetās,

Thus born and thus raised, when their age first matured,%

nec in stabulīs nec ad pecora sēgnēs vēnandō peragrāre saltūs.

neither in the huts nor among the flocks were they idle, but by hunting they roamed the woods.%

Hinc rōbore corporibus animīsque sūmptō iam nōn ferās tantum subsistere sed in latrōnēs praedā onustōs impetūs facere,

From this, strength having been gained in body and spirit, they now not only resisted wild beasts but also made attacks on robbers laden with plunder,%

pāstōribusque rapta dīvidere, et cum hīs crēscente in diēs grege iuvenum sēria ac iocōs celebrāre.

and shared the booty with the shepherds, and with them, as the band of youths grew day by day, celebrated serious matters and games.%

Iam tum in Palātiō monte Lupercal hoc fuisse lūdicrum ferunt,

They say that even then on the Palatine hill at the Lupercal this sport existed,%

et ā Pallantēō, urbe Arcadicā, Pallantium, dein Palātium montem appellātum.

and that from Pallanteum, an Arcadian city, the hill was called Pallantium, then Palatium.%

Huic dēditīs lūdicrō, cum sollemne nōtum esset, īnsidiātōs ob īram praedae āmissae latrōnēs:

To those devoted to the sport, since the festival was well known, bandits, out of anger at the loss of plunder, lay in ambush:%

cum Rōmulus vī sē dēfendisset, Remum cēpisse;

when Romulus defended himself by force, Remus was captured;%

captum rēgī Amūliō trādidisse, ultrō accūsantēs.

captured, he was handed over to King Amulius, they themselves voluntarily accusing.%

Crīminī maximē dabant in Numitōris agrōs ab iīs impetum fierī;

They chiefly charged that attacks were made by them in the fields of Numitor;%

inde eōs collectā iuvenum manū hostīlem in modum praedās agere.

that from there, with a band of youths gathered, drove off plunder in the manner of enemies.%

Sīc Numitōrī ad supplicium Remus dēditur.

Thus Remus is handed over to Numitor for punishment.%

Iam inde ab initiō Faustulō spēs fuerat rēgiam stirpem apud sē ēducārī;

Now from the beginning Faustulus had had hope that royal stock was being raised among him;%

nam et expositōs iussū rēgis īnfantēs sciēbat

for he knew that the infants had been exposed by order of the king%

et tempus quō ipse eōs sustulisset ad id ipsum congruere;

and that the time by which he himself had taken them up coincided exactly with that event;%

sed rem immātūram nisi aut per occāsiōnem aut per necessitātem aperīrī nōluerat.

but he had not wished the matter to be revealed prematurely unless by chance or necessity.%

Necessitās prior vēnit:

Necessity came first:%

ita metū subāctus Rōmulō rem aperit.

thus, compelled by fear, he reveals the matter to Romulus.%

Forte et Numitōrī, cum in custōdiā Remum habēret audīssetque geminōs esse frātrēs,

By chance also to Numitor, when he had Remus in custody and had heard that the twins were brothers,%

comparandō et aetātem eōrum et ipsam minimē servīlem indolem,

by comparing both their age and their not-at-all servile character,%

tetigerat animum memoria nepōtum;

the memory of his grandsons touched his mind;%

scīscitandōque eōdem pervēnit ut haud procul esset quīn Remum agnōsceret.

and by inquiring he came to the same conclusion, that he was not far from recognizing Remus.%

Ita undique rēgī dolus nectitur.

Thus on all sides a plot is woven against the king.%

Rōmulus nōn cum globō iuvenum—nec enim erat ad vim apertam pār—

Romulus not with a band of youths—for he was not equal to open force—%

sed aliīs aliō itinere iussīs certō tempore ad rēgiam venīre pāstōribus ad rēgem impetum facit;

but with the shepherds, ordered to come at a fixed time by another route, he makes an attack on the king’s palace;%

et ā domō Numitōris aliā comparātā manū adiuvat Remus.

and from the house of Numitor, another band having been prepared, Remus assists.%

Ita rēgem obtruncant.

Thus they cut down the king.%

Numitor inter prīmum tumultum, hostēs invāsisse urbem atque adortōs rēgiam dictitāns,

Numitor, in the first tumult, declaring that enemies had invaded the city and attacked the palace,%

cum pūbem Albānam in arcem praesidiō armīsque obtinendam āvocāsset,

when he had summoned the Alban youth to the citadel to be held with garrison and arms,%

postquam iuvenēs perpetrātā caede pergere ad sē grātulantēs vīdit,

afterwards, when he saw the youths, the slaughter having been completed, coming to him to congratulate him,%

extemplō advocātō conciliō scelera in sē frātris,

immediately, a council having been summoned, the crimes of his brother against himself,%

orīginem nepōtum, ut genitī, ut ēducātī, ut cognitī essent,

the origin of his grandsons—how they were born, how raised, how recognized—%

caedem deinceps tyrannī sēque eius auctōrem ostendit.

he then revealed the killing of the tyrant and himself as its author.%

Iuvenēs per mediam contiōnem agmine ingressī, cum avum rēgem salūtāssent,

The youths, having entered in a column through the middle of the assembly, when they had greeted their grandfather as king,%

secūta ex omnī multitūdine cōnsentiēns vōx ratum nōmen imperiumque rēgī efficit.

a consenting voice from the entire multitude followed, making firm the name and authority of the king.%

Ita Numitōrī Albānā rē permissā,

Thus, with the Alban kingdom entrusted to Numitor,%

Rōmulum Remumque cupīdō cēpit in iīs locīs, ubi expositī ubīque ēducātī erant, urbis condendae.

desire seized Romulus and Remus to found a city in those places where they had been exposed and everywhere raised.%

Et supererat multitūdō Albānōrum Latīnōrumque;

And there remained a multitude of Albans and Latins;%

ad id pāstōrēs quoque accesserant,

to this the shepherds also had come,%

quī omnēs facile spem facerent parvam Albam, parvum Lāvīnium prae eā urbe quae conderētur fore.

who all easily hoped that Alba would be small and Lavinium small compared to the city that would be founded.%

Intervēnit deinde hīs cōgitātiōnibus avītum malum, rēgnī cupīdō,

Then into these deliberations intervened the ancestral evil, desire for rule,%

atque inde foedum certāmen coortum ā satis mītī prīncipiō.

and from there a foul struggle arose from a fairly gentle beginning.%

Quoniam geminī essent nec aetātis verēcundia discrīmen facere posset,

Since they were twins and modesty of age could make no distinction,%

ut dī, quōrum tūtēlae ea loca essent, auguriīs legerent,

that the gods, under whose protection those places were, might choose by auguries%

quī nōmen novae urbī daret, quī conditam imperiō regeret,

who should give the new city its name, who should rule the founded city with authority,%

Palātium Rōmulus, Remus Aventīnum ad inaugurandum templa capiunt.

Romulus took the Palatine hill and Remus the Aventine hill as temples for taking the auspices.%

Priōrī Remō augurium vēnisse fertur, sex vultūrēs;

It is said that the augury came first to Remus—six vultures;%

iamque nuntiātō auguriō cum duplex numerus Rōmulō sē ostendisset,

and when the augury had been announced and a double number showed itself to Romulus,%

utrumque rēgem sua multitūdō cōnsalūtāverat:

each group hailed its own leader as king:%

tempore illī praeceptō, at hī numerō avium rēgnum trahēbant.

those claimed rule by priority of time, these by number of birds.%

Inde cum altercātiōne congressī certāmine īrārum ad caedem vertuntur;

Then, having met in quarrel, by a contest of anger, they turned to slaughter;%

ibi in turbā ictus Remus cecidit.

there in the crowd Remus, struck, fell.%

Volgātior fāma est lūdibriō frātris Rēmum novōs trānsiluisse mūrōs;

The more common report is that Remus leapt over the new walls in mockery of his brother;%

inde ab īrātō Rōmulō, cum verbīs quoque increpitāns adiēcisset: “sīc deinde, quīcumque alius trānsiliet moenia mea,” interfectum.

then, by the angry Romulus, after adding rebuke in words as well—“So shall it be henceforth for whoever else leaps over my walls”—he was killed.%