Ancô rêgnante Lûcius Tarquinius, Tarquiniîs,[2] ex Etrûriae urbe,
profectus,[3] cum coniuge et fortûnîs omnibus Rômam commigrâvit.
Additur haec fâbula: advenientî[4] aquila pilleum sustulit[5] et super
carpentum,[6] cuî[7] Tarquinius însidêbat, cum mâgnô clangôre volitâns
rûrsus[8] capitî[9] aptê reposuit; inde sublîmis[10] abiit. Tanaquil
coniux, caelestium[11] prôdigiôrum perîta, rêgnum[12] eî portendî {6}
intellêxit; itaque, virum complexa, excelsa[13] et alta[13] spêrâre
[[18]]
eum iussit. Hâs spês côgitâtiônêsque sêcum portantês urbem
ingressî[1] sunt, domiciliôque ibi comparâtô Tarquinius pecûniâ et
indûstriâ dîgnitâtem atque etiam Ancî rêgis familiâritâtem {10}
cônsecûtus[2] est; â quô tûtor lîberîs relîctus[3] rêgnum intercêpit
et ita
administrâvit, quasi[4] iûre adeptus[5] esset.
[Illustration: AUGUR]
Tarquinius Prîscus Latînôs bellô domuit; Circum[6] Mâximum
aedificâvit; dê[7] Sabînîs triumphâvit; mûrum[8] lapideum urbî
circumdedit. Equitum centuriâs[9] duplicâvit, {15}
nômina mûtâre nôn potuit, dêterritus, ut ferunt,
Attî Nâviî auctôritate. Attus enim, eâ
tempestâte[10] augur inclitus, id fierî posse negâbat,
nisi[11] avês addîxissent[11]; îrâtus rêx in[12]
experîmentum artis eum interrogâvit, fierîne posset[13] {20}
quod ipse mente concêpisset[14]; Attus auguriô
âctô fierî posse respondit. "Atquî hôc"[15] inquit
rêx "agitâbam, num côtem illam secâre
novâculâ possem."[13] "Potes[16] ergô" inquit
augur, et rêx secuisse dîcitur. Tarquinius fîlium tredecim {25}
annôrum,[17] quod in proeliô hostem percussisset,[18] praetextâ[19]
[[19]]
bullâque[1] dônâvit; unde[2] haec[3] ingenuôrum puerôrum însîgnia esse
coepêrunt.
Supererant[4] duo Ancî fîliî, quî, aegrê ferentês sê paternô[5]
rêgnô fraudâtôs esse,[6] rêgî însidiâs parâvêrunt. Ex pâstôribus {30}
duôs ferôcissimôs dêligunt ad patrandum facinus. Eî simulâtâ
rixâ in vêstibulô rêgiae tumultuantur. Quôrum[7] clâmor cum[8]
penitus in rêgiam pervênisset, vocâtî ad rêgem pergunt. Prîmô
uterque vôciferârî coepit et certâtim[9] alter alterî obstrepere.
Cum vêrô iussî essent in vicem dîcere, ûnus ex[10] compositô rem {35}
ôrdîtur; dumque intentus in eum sê rêx tôtus âvertit, alter
êlâtam[11] secûrim in êius caput dêiêcit, et relîctô[12] in vulnere
têlô ambô forâs sê prôripiunt.
[Footnotes: VI (pages 17-19)
17.2: #Tarquiniîs . . . urbe#: 'from Tarquinii, a city of
Etruria.' Cf. p. 8, n. 5.
17.3: _proficîscor_.
17.4: Sc. _Rômam_: 'while on his way to Rome.' The participle
agrees with _eî_ understood, which is a dat. of separation, or
disadvantage, with #sustulit#: H 427 (385, 2): M 539: A 229:
G 345, R. 1: B 188, 2, _d_.
17.5: _tollô_.
17.6: A two-wheeled carriage, with curtains and an awning.
17.7: #cuî#: 'in which.' Why dat.?
17.8: #rûrsus . . . reposuit#: since _repônô_ = 'to put _back_,'
or 'to place _again_,' #rûrsus# is unnecessary.
17.9: More often _repônô_ is followed by _in_ with the abl., or
the acc.
17.10: #sublîmis abiit#: 'flew high up in the air and departed.'
17.11: #caelestium . . . perîta#: 'skilled in (interpreting)
portents from heaven.' The Romans regarded the Etruscans as
exceptionally skillful in such matters. For the gen., see H 451, 1
(399, I, 2). M 573: A 218, _a_: G 374: B 204, 1.
17.12: #rêgnum eî portendî intellêxit#: 'perceived that the sign
indicated that he was to be king.' How literally? According to
Livy, the significance of the omen lay in these facts: It came
from a favorable quarter of the sky (which, to the Romans, was the
east); it concerned his _head_, the _supreme_ part of his being;
hence the removal of his cap by the eagle, the bird of Jupiter,
'king of gods and men,' and its restoration, implied that his
_cap_ was to be removed and replaced by a _crown_.
17.13: neuter plural adjectives, used as nouns: 'an exalted
destiny.'
18.1: _ingredior_.
18.2: _cônsequor_.
18.3: _relinquô_.
18.4: H 584 (513, II): M 944, 945: A 312, and N. 1: G 602 and R.:
B 307.
18.5: _adipîscor_.
18.6: #Circum Mâximum#: see map, p. xxviii. In its final form it
could accommodate nearly 300,000 spectators. The Romans of the
Empire were passionately devoted to the chariot races of the
circus. For a good description of a Roman circus, see Lew
Wallace's _Ben Hur_, Book V, Chap. XII.
18.7: #dê Sabînîs triumphâvit#: 'he triumphed over'; lit., 'he got
a triumph out of.' See Vocab., _triumphus_.
18.8: #mûrum . . . circumdedit#: 'he built a stone wall round the
city.' According to Livy, the wall was merely begun by Tarquin and
finished by his successor, Servius Tullius.
18.9: Cf. II, 42. Livy says that when Romulus formed the three
centuries of horsemen he called one _Ramnês_, after his own name,
another _Titiênsês_, after King Tatius. Tarquin desired to name
the new centuries after himself.
18.10: = _tempore_.
18.11: #nisi . . . addîxissent#: 'unless the birds gave consent,'
i.e. without taking the _auspicia_ and finding them favorable. Cf.
I, 42. The subjunctive is due to the indirect discourse. For the
tense, see p. 6, n. 1.
18.12: #in experîmentum artis#: 'to test his art.' Cf. p. 14,
n. 4.
18.13: Cf. Cf.] p. 3, n. 2.
18.14: Cf. p. 6, n. 1. The king said '_Potestne fierî quod in
mente concêpî?_'
18.15: #hôc# is emphatic, 'Ah, but what I had in mind was _this_.'
18.16: #Potes ergô#: 'well, you can.'
18.17: descriptive gen.: H 440, 3 (396, V): M 558: A 215: G 365:
B 203.
18.18: Cf. p. 14, n. 1.
18.19: Sc. _togâ_.
19.1: See Vocab., _bulla_.
19.2: = _ex quô_: 'in consequence of this circumstance.'
19.3: Cf. p. 5, n. 14, and p. 16, n. 9.
19.4: 'were still alive.'
19.5: = _patris_. Cf. the use of _rêgius_, I, 17.
19.6: The infinitive depends on #aegrê ferentês#. Phrases
expressive of emotion, whether of joy or of sorrow, are often
followed by the infinitive with subject accus.
19.7: Cf. p. 4, n. 3.
19.8: The conjunction of the subordinate clause is often preceded
by one or two words, sometimes by a larger number.
19.9: #certâtim . . . obstrepere#: 'to (try to) drown each other's
voices'; lit., 'in eager rivalry to make noise one against (_ob_)
the other.' Why is _alterî_ dative?
19.10: #ex compositô#: 'according to previous agreement.'
19.11: #êlâtam secûrim . . . dêiêcit# = _extulit_ ('raised') _et
dêiêcit_. Cf. p. 2, n. 8.
19.12: #relîctô . . . têlô#: we say, 'leaving the weapon--they
flee,' i.e. we treat the two actions as simultaneous. The Romans
say more exactly: 'having left--they flee,' i.e. the act of
leaving is viewed as prior to that of flight.]
#VII. Servius Tullius, Romanorum rex sextus# [[stripped text]]