Note 16 — URBIS RŌMAE VIRĪ INLŪSTRĒS Complete text as printed
Reading edition
10.16 Mortuō Numā: abl. abs. = post Numae mortem.
10.17 proximō rēgī: ‘his predecessor.’ Join with dissimilis, which has the same constructions as similis (p. 3, n. 12). Proximus may mean ‘nearest (in the past)’ = ‘last,’ or ‘nearest (in the future)’ = ‘next.’ The context must determine the sense.
10.18 abl. of comparison. H 471 (417): M 615: A 247: G 398: B 217.
11.1 Eō rēgnante: ‘during his reign.’ How does this abl. abs. differ from those in I, lines 3, 5, 18, 37, and 40? Cf. p. xxii, K 1.
11.2 exorior.
11.3 Ducibus . . . placuit: ‘the leaders agreed that,’ etc. The subject of placuit is the clause rem . . . fīnīrī.
11.4 The meanings of rēs are extremely varied. Here rem may be translated ‘dispute,’ and so practically = bellum above. For the mood of fīnīrī, see p. 6, n. 16.
11.5 The abl. here denotes both the means by which and the manner in which the quarrel was to be ended.
11.6 Cum . . . rēgēs: ‘the kings urge them.’ How literally?
11.7 Cf. p. 1, n. 5.
11.8 Cf. p. 6, n. 21.
11.9 eā lēge ut: ‘with the understanding that,’ ‘with the proviso (lēge) that.’ The clause ut . . . esset expresses the purpose which the leaders had in mind in striking the treaty.
11.10 Sc. fuisset. unde = quā ex parte. We would rather say, ‘on which side.’ Latin often thus prefers to view an idea as one of motion from a place where the English views it rather as that of rest at a point. Why?
11.11 īnfēstī armīs: ‘hostile in (respect of) arms,’ i.e. ‘with hostile arms.’
11.12 ‘three on each side.’ Why do we give this meaning to the adjective?
11.13 māgnōrum . . . gerentēs: ‘breathing the spirit of mighty armies.’ So we speak of a person as ‘a host in himself.’
11.14 increpuēre describes the sound made by the spears as they struck the shields.
11.15 fulgeō.
11.16 = spectātōrēs.
11.17 cōnserō.
11.18 cadō.
11.19 Ad cāsum: we say ‘at the fall,’ but the Latin thinks of the shout as rising against (i.e. to greet) the fall.
11.20 circumstō.
11.21 Cf. p. 5, n. 19.
11.22 fugam capessīvit: ‘took (to) flight’; cf. ‘to take to one’s heels.’
11.23 singulōs per intervālla: ‘one by one, at intervals.’
12.1 aliquantum spatiī: ‘some distance.’ spatiī is a partitive genitive; aliquantum is an acc. of extent of space: H 417 (379): M 513: A 257: G 335: B 181.
12.2 In . . . redit (redeō): ‘he turned and made a furious attack upon him.’ How literally?
12.3 inclāmat . . . ferant: ‘was shouting . . . (bidding them) to bear aid.’ For inclāmat, see p. 3, n. 14.
12.4 = secundum, as often.
12.5 H 605, II (520, 2): M 880: A 327: G 577: B 292.
12.6 ‘one on each side.’ Cf. ternī, l. 11, and note there.
12.7 supersum.
12.8 ‘equally matched.’
12.9 alter . . . alter: ‘the one . . . the other (of the two).’ With intāctus cf. integer, l. 18.
12.10 ‘inspirited, emboldened.’
12.11 The repetition of fessum gives emphasis by dwelling upon the fact.
12.12 ‘was dragging,’ i.e. instead of moving with life and vigor. We would rather say, ‘could barely drag his body along.’ So we would render male sustinentem arma, l. 29, as ‘barely able to endure (the weight of) his armor.’
12.13 = occidit.
12.14 ‘as he lay prostrate.’
12.15 ovantēs ac grātulantēs: ‘with rejoicing and congratulations.’ Participles, like adjectives, may have adverbial force.
12.16 accus. of limit of motion; cf. p. 3, n. 4.
12.17 Cf. p. 4, n. 3.
12.18 vīsō . . . spōnsī: ‘when she saw her lover’s cloak,’ etc. Cf. p. 1, n. 4.
12.19 crīnēs solvere: a common token of grief among the Romans. Cf. crinibus passīs, II, 36.
12.20 stringō.
12.21 verbīs increpāns: cf. hīs increpāns verbīs, I, 46.
12.22 abeō.
12.23 oblīta (oblivīscor) frātrum: ‘you who have forgotten,’ or ‘since you have forgotten.’ For the genitives frātrum and patriae, see H 454 (406, II): M 588: A 219: G 376: B 206, 1. Cf. the English ‘forgetful of.’ For the repetition of oblīta see n. 11.
13.1 ‘fare, perish.’ The subject is fēmina, or illa fēmina, as suggested by quaecumque. How? With the whole sentence cf. Sīc . . . mea, I, 47, and see note there.
13.2 facinus, by its derivation from faciō, properly = ‘a deed,’ whether good or bad, but generally ‘a crime.’
13.3 = senātōribus, who were officially styled Patrēs Cōnscrīptī. patribus plēbīque virtually = omnibus.
13.4 ‘court.’
13.5 See Vocab., līctor.
13.6 The tense has dramatic force and = ‘was (actually) putting on.’
13.7 caedō.
13.8 amplector.
13.9 clause of negative purpose: see p. 9, n. 6.
13.10 cōnspiciō. The subjunctive may be explained (1) as caused by attraction to faceret, H 652, 1 (529, II): M 793: A 342: G 663: B 324, or (2) as in informal indir. disc.
13.11 abl. of separation (cf. p. 1, n. 6), to be joined with orbum faceret, which = orbāret.
13.12 After a negative clause the Romans often use que or et, where the English idiom requires but.
13.13 why abl.? see p. 4, n. 1.
13.14 Cf. p. 6, n. 21.
13.15 ‘a (certain) street.’ The street referred to ran up the slope of the Esquiline Hill.
13.16 See Vocab., iugum. The father of Horatius, by making him pass, as it were, beneath the yoke, symbolically executed the sentence of death passed by the judges.
13.17 Sc. Tigillum. Livy says that this beam was renewed from time to time at public expense, even down to his own day. Another memorial of this fight was the Pīla (‘Column’) Horātia, adjoining the Forum, on which Horatius is said to have hung the spoils taken from the Curiatii.
13.18 pāx Albāna = pāx cum Albā īcta.
13.19 maneō.
13.20 cum . . . vidēret: subjunctive of cause. See p. 2, n. 13; p. 4, n. 12; and p. xx, H 2.
14.1 quod . . . fīnīsset: ‘because (as they said),’ etc. The subjunctive is due to the implied indirect discourse, and expresses the thought, not of the writer, but of Mettius’ subjects. See p. xxi, H 4.
14.2 ūnō . . . certāmine: ‘by one contest (only), and that a contest in which but few fought.’ Cf. l. 4.
14.3 ut . . . corrigeret: ‘to set the matter straight,’ i.e. to regain the good will of his people. Join this clause with what follows.
14.4 in auxilium: ‘to give aid,’ an expression of purpose. Cf. ad supplicium, I, 29, and note. Tullus summoned Mettius in accordance with the treaty made before the fight between the Horatii and the Curiatii (l. 7).
14.5 Quā rē . . . intellēctā (intellegō): ‘when he noticed this state of things.’ For quā, see p. 4, n. 3.
14.6 ait . . . circumvenīrentur: Tullus’ purpose in making this statement was partly to frighten the enemy, partly to reassure his own men. Livy relates that Tullus had stationed his own forces against the Veientes, the Albans against the Fidenates. The withdrawal of Mettius exposed the flank of the Romans to attack from the Fidenates, and so was regarded at once by the Romans as proof of treachery.
14.7 abl. of separation (cf. p. 1, n. 6). ligāre and its compounds are construed with either (1) the simple ablative, or (2) the ablative with ab, dē, or ex.
14.8 in . . . est: ‘was torn limb from limb.’
14.9 distrahō.
14.10 iubeō.
14.11 crēscō.
14.12 abl. of means.
14.13 quō . . . habitārētur: ‘that it might be more densely inhabited,’ i.e. that a larger number of people might be induced to live there. In purpose clauses containing a comparative, quō is used instead of ut: H 568, 7 (497, 2): M 909: A 317, b: G 545, 2; B 282, a. This quō is the abl. sing. neut. of the relative pronoun, and = ut eō, ‘that thereby.’
14.14 eam . . . cēpit (capiō): ‘Tullus chose it (the mountain) as the site of his palace,’ Why is eam feminine, although referring to mōns Caelius, which is masculine? Cf. p. 5, n. 14.
14.15 Auctārum . . . fīdūciā: ‘because of the confidence (begotten) of his increased strength,’ or ‘by his confidence in his increased strength.’ In the former case the gen. is subjective; in the latter it is objective; H 440, 1 and 2 (396, II and III): M 553, 571: A 213, 1, 2: G 363, 1 and 2: B 199, 200.
14.16 efferō.
15.1 īnsequor.
15.2 bellicōsus = a causal clause quod ipse bellicōsus erat.
15.3 mīlitiae quam domī: ‘in war than in peace.’ See H 484, 2 (426, 2): M 622: A 258, d: G. 411, R. 2: B 232, 2; xvi, A 1.
15.4 = ‘the fighting men,’ because iuvenēs (men under 45) were eligible for military duty.
15.5 sed ipse quoque: ‘but (i.e. in spite of this statement) he too.’
15.6 ‘so completely.’
15.7 frangō.
15.8 spīritūs illī ferōcēs: ‘that high spirit of his’; illī = ‘that for which he was so famous.’ Cf. l. 2.
15.9 fulmine īctum . . . cōnflagrāsse = fulmine īctum esse et cōnflagrāsse. Instead of using two coördinated verbs with a common subject, Latin regularly represents the first verb by a perf. pass. part., or by the past part. of a deponent verb, in agreement with that common subject. Cf. p. 2, n. 8, and p. xxiv, L 5.