Aurelius Victor: LIBER ET INCERTORVM LIBRI

A Iano et Saturno conditoribus, per succedentes sibimet reges, usque ad consulatum decimum Constantii, digesta ex auctoribus Verrio Flacco, Antiate (ut quidem idem Verrius maluit dicere, quam Antia), tum ex annalibus pontificum, dein Cincio, Egnatio, Veratio, Fabio Pictore, Licinio Macro, Varrone, Caesare, Tuberone, atque ex omni priscorum historia; proinde ut quisque neotericorum asseveravit, hoc est et Livias et Victor Afer.

From Janus and Saturn as founders, through the kings succeeding one another, down to the 10th consulship of Constantius, compiled from the authors Verrius Flaccus, Antias (as indeed the same Verrius preferred to say, rather than Antia), then from the Annals of the Pontiffs, then Cinctius, Egnatius, Veratius, Fabius Pictor, Licinius Macro, Varro, Caesar, Tubero, and from all the history of the ancients; accordingly as each of the neoterics asserted, that is both Livy and Victor the African.

1 1 Primus in Italiam creditur venisse Saturnus; ut etiam Maronis Musa testatur illis versibus:

1 1 First into Italy is believed to have come Saturn; as even Maro’s Muse bears witness in those verses:

Primus ab aetherio venit Saturnus Olympo,
Arma Iovis fugiens, cet.

First from ethereal Olympus came Saturn,
fleeing the arms of Jove, etc.

2 Tanta autem usque id tempus antiquorum hominum traditur fuisse simplicitas, ut venientes ad se advenas, qui modo consilio ac sapientia praediti ad instruendam vitam formandosque mores aliquid conferrent, quod eorum parentes atque originem ignorabant, caelo et terra edites non solum ipsi crederent, verum etiam posteris affirmarent, veluti hunc ipsum Saturnum, quem Caeli et Terrae filium esse dixerunt. 3 Quod cum ita existimetur, certum tamen est priorem Ianum in Italiam devenisse ab eoque postea venientem exceptum esse Saturnum. 4 Unde intelligendum est Vergilium quoque non ignoratione veteris historiae, sed suo more primum dixisse Saturnum, non ante quem nemo, sed principem, ut:

2 So great, however, up to that time, is reported to have been the simplicity of the men of old, that when newcomers came to them, provided only that they were endowed with counsel and wisdom to contribute something for instructing life and forming morals, since they did not know their parentage and origin, they would believe them to be born of Sky and Earth, and would not only themselves believe it, but even affirm it to their descendants—just as this very Saturn, whom they said to be the son of Sky and Earth. 3 Although this is thought to be so, nevertheless it is certain that Janus had arrived earlier into Italy, and that Saturn, coming afterwards, was received by him. 4 Whence it is to be understood that Vergil too said first of Saturn not from ignorance of ancient history, but in his own manner—not “before whom no one [came],” but “the chief,” as:

Troiae qui primus ab oris.

Of Troy who first from the shores.

5 Cum procul dubio constet ante Aeneam priorem Antenorem in Italiam esse pervectum eumque non in ora litori proxima, sed in interioribus locis, id est Illyrico, urbem Patavium condidisse, ut quidem idem supradictus Vergilius illis versibus ex persona Veneris apud Iovem de aerumnis Aeneae sui conquerentis:

5 Since it stands beyond doubt that before Aeneas the earlier Antenor was borne across into Italy, and that he founded the city Patavium not on the strand nearest the coast, but in interior places, that is, in Illyricum, as indeed the same aforesaid Vergil in those verses, in the person of Venus before Jove, complaining about the hardships of her Aeneas:

Antenor potuit mediis elapsus Achivis
Illyricos penetrare sinus atque intima tutus cet.

Antenor was able, having slipped away from the Achaeans in their midst,
to penetrate the Illyrian bays and, safe, the innermost parts etc.

6 Quare autem addiderit tutus, suo loco plenissime annotavimus in commentatione, quam hoc scribere coepimus, cognita ex libro, qui inscriptus est De Origine Patavina. 7 Itaque nunc primus ex ea quoque significatione est, e qua illud etiam in secundo Aeneidos de enumeratione eorum, qui equo durio degrediebantur. 8 Nam cum nominasset Thessandrum, Sthenelum, Ulixem, Acamanta, Thoanta, Neoptolemum, post intulit: primusque Machaon. 9 De quo quaeri potest: quomodo potest primus dici, post tantos, qui supra dicti sunt? Verum intelligemus primum pro principe, vel quia is ad perfectum illis temporibus circa peritiam medicae artis praecipuus fuisse traditur.

6 Why moreover he added safe, we have annotated most fully in its place in the commentary which we began to write on this, learned from the book which is entitled On the Patavian Origin. 7 And so now first is also from that signification, from which is that passage as well in the second book of the Aeneid, concerning the enumeration of those who were dismounting from the hard horse. 8 For when he had named Thessander, Sthenelus, Ulysses, Acamas, Thoas, Neoptolemus, afterward he added: and Machaon first. 9 About which one may ask: how can first be said after so many who are named above? Truly we shall understand first as “chief,” or because he is reported in those times to have been preeminent to perfection with respect to expertise in the medical art.

2, 1 Sed ut ad propositum revertamur, ferunt Creusam Erechthei regis Atheniensium filiam speciosissimam stupratam ab Apolline enisam puerum, eumque Delphos olim educandum esse missum; ipsam vero a patre istarum rerum inscio Xutho cuidam comiti collocatam. 2 Ex qua cum ille pater non posset exsistere, Delphos eum petiisse ad consulendum oraculum, quomodo pater fieri posset. Tam illi deum respondisse, ut quem postera die obviam habuisset, eum sibi adoptaret.

2, 1 But, to return to the proposed subject, they relate that Creusa, daughter of Erechtheus, king of the Athenians, most beautiful, having been violated by Apollo, bore a boy, and that he was sent to Delphi once upon a time to be reared; but she herself, her father being ignorant of these matters, was settled in marriage with a certain companion, Xuthus. 2 Since by her he could not become a father, he sought Delphi to consult the oracle how he might become a father. Then the god answered him thus: that whomever he should meet on the following day, he should adopt as his own.

3 Itaque supra dictum puerum, qui ex Apolline genitus erat, obviam illi fuisse eumque adoptatum. 4 Cum adolevisset, non contentum patrio regno cum magna classe in Italiam devenisse occupatoque monte urbem ibidem constituisse eamque ex suo nomine Ianiculum cognominasse.

3 Thus the boy mentioned above, who had been begotten from Apollo, met him and was adopted. 4 When he had grown up, not content with his paternal kingdom, he arrived in Italy with a great fleet, and, the mountain having been occupied, he established a city there and named it Janiculum from his own name.

3 1 Igitur Iano regnante apud indigenas rudes incultosque Saturnus regno profugus, cum in Italiam devenisset, benigne exceptus hospitio est ibique haud procul a Ianiculo arcem suo nomine Saturniam constituit. 2 Isque primus agriculturam edocuit ferosque homines et rapto vivere assuetos ad compositam vitam eduxit, secundum quod Vergilius in octavo sic ait:

3 1 Therefore, with Janus reigning among the natives, rude and uncultivated, Saturn, a fugitive from his kingdom, when he had come into Italy, was kindly received with hospitality, and there, not far from the Janiculum, he established a citadel by his own name, Saturnia. 2 And he was the first to teach agriculture and led forth savage men, accustomed to live by rapine, into an ordered life, according to which Vergil in the eighth so says:

Haec loca indigenae Fauni Nymphaeque tenebant,
Gensque virum truncis et duro robore nata,
Quis neque mos neque cultus erat nec iungere tauros
Aut componere opes norant aut parcere parto,
Sed rami atque asper victu venatus alebat.

These places the native Fauns and Nymphs held,
and a race of men born from trunks and from hard oak,
for whom neither custom nor culture existed, nor did they know to yoke bulls
or to amass wealth, or to spare what had been gained,
but a branch and the hunt, harsh in fare, sustained them.

3 Omissoque Iano, qui nihil aliud quam ritum colendorum deorum religionesque intulerat, se Saturno maluit annectere, qui vitam moresque feris etiam tum mentibus insinuans ad communem utilitatem, ut supra diximus, disciplinam colendi ruris edocuit, ut quidem indicant illi versus:

3 And with Janus set aside, who had introduced nothing other than the rite of honoring the gods and religious observances, he preferred to attach himself to Saturn, who, insinuating a way of life and morals into minds still then wild, for the common utility, as we said above, thoroughly taught the discipline of cultivating the countryside, as indeed those verses indicate:

Is genus indocile ac dispersum montibus altis
Composuit legesque dedit Latiumque vocari
Maluit.

He composed the indocile race, scattered on high mountains,
and gave laws, and preferred that it be called Latium.
He preferred it.

4 Is tum etiam usum signandi aeris ac monetae in formam incutiendae ostendisse traditur, in quam ab una parte caput eius imprimeretur, altera navis, qua vectus illo erat. 5 Unde hodieque aleatores posito nummo opertoque optionem collusoribus ponunt enuntiandi, quid putent subesse, caput, aut navem: quod nunc vulgo corrumpentes naviam dicunt. 6 Aedes quoque sub clivo Capitolino, in qua pecnuiam conditam habebat, aerarium Saturni hodieque dicitur. 7 Verum quia, ut supra diximus, prior illuc Ianus advenerat, cum eos post obitum divinis honoribus cumulandos censuissent, in sacris omnibus primum locum Iano detuleruat, usque eo, ut etiam, cum aliis diis sacrificium fit, dato ture in altaria, Ianus prior nominetur, cognomento quoque addito Pater, secundum quod noster sic intulit:

4 He then also is reported to have shown the use of stamping bronze and of coin to be struck into a form, on which on one side his head was imprinted, on the other a ship, by which he had been carried thither. 5 Whence even today gamblers, when a coin has been placed and covered, set for their fellow-players the option of announcing what they think lies beneath, head or ship: which now, corrupting it in the common speech, they call naviam. 6 The temple also under the Capitoline slope, in which he used to have money stored, is even today called the Treasury of Saturn. 7 But because, as we said above, Janus had arrived there earlier, when they had judged that they should heap them with divine honors after death, in all sacred rites they awarded the first place to Janus, to such a degree that even when sacrifice is made to the other gods, incense having been given upon the altars, Janus is named first, with the cognomen also added, Father, according to which our own thus brought in:

Hanc Ianus Pater, hanc Saturnus condidit arcem.

This citadel Father Janus, this Saturn founded.

Ac subinde: Ianiculum huic, illi fuerat Saturnia nomen.

And presently: Janiculum had been the name for this one, Saturnia for that one.

Eique, eo quod mire praeteritorum memor, tum etiani futuri

And to him, because he was marvelously mindful of things past, and also of the future

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Rex arva Latinus et urbes
Iam senior longa placidas in pace regebat.

King Latinus was reigning over the fields and the cities,
Now, a senior, in long and placid peace.

quo regnante Troianos refert in Italiam devenisse, quaeritur, quomodo Sallustius dicat: Cumque his Aborigines, genus hominum agreste, sine legibus, sine imperio, liberum atque solutum?

under whose reign he relates that the Trojans came into Italy, the question is raised, how does Sallust say: And along with these the Aborigines, a rustic race of men, without laws, without authority, free and unbound?

4 1 Quidam autem tradunt terris diluvio coopertis passim multos diversarum regionum in montibus, ad quos confugerant, constitisse: ex quibus quosdam aedem quaerentes pervectos in Italiam Aborigines appellatos, Graeca scilicet appellatione, a cacuminibus montium, quae illi ´orhª faciunt. 2 Alii volunt eos, quod errantes illo venerint, primo Aberrigines, post mutata una littera altera adempta Aborigines cognominatos. 3 Eos advenientes Picus excepit permissos vivere ut vellent.

4 1 Some, however, hand down that, the lands being covered by a deluge, many people of diverse regions settled here and there on the mountains to which they had fled; of these, certain men, seeking a dwelling, having been conveyed to Italy, were appellated Aborigines, with a Greek appellation, from the peaks of the mountains, which they call ´orhª. 2 Others maintain that, because they came there wandering, they were at first called Aberrigines, afterwards, with one letter changed and another taken away, surnamed Aborigines. 3 Picus received them on their arrival, permitting them to live as they wished.

Post Picum regnavit in Italia Faunus, quem a fando dictum volunt, quod is solet futura praecinere versibus, quos Saturnios dicimus; quod genus metri in vaticinatione Saturniae primum proditum est. 5 Eius rei Ennius testis est, cum ait:

After Picus, Faunus reigned in Italy, whom they would have to be named from speaking (fando), because he is accustomed to pre-sing the future in verses, which we call Saturnians; which kind of meter was first brought forth in the vaticination of Saturnia. 5 Of this matter Ennius is a witness, when he says:

Versibus, quos olim Fauni vatesque canebant.

In verses, which once the Fauns and vates sang.

6 Hunc Faunum plerique eundem Silvanum a silvis, Inuum deum, quidam etiam Pana vel Pan esse dixerunt.

6 Most have said this Faunus to be the same as Silvanus, from the woods, the god Inuus; some even said him to be Pana or Pan.

5 1 Igitur regnante Fauno ante annos circiter sexaginta, quam Aeneas in Italiam deferretur, Euander Arcas, Mercurii et Carmentis Nymphae filius, simul cum matre eodem venit. 2 quam quidam memoriae prodiderunt primo Nicostraten dictam, post Garmentam, de carminibus, eo quod videlicet omnium litterarum peritissima futurorumque prudens versibus canere sit solita, adeo, ut plerique velint non tam ipsam a carmine Carmentam, quam carmina, a qua dicta essent, appellata. 3 Huius admonitu transvectus in Italiam Euander ob singularem eruditionem atque scientiam litterarum brevi tempore in familiaritatem Fauni se insinuant atque ab eo hospitaliter benigneque exceptus non parvum agri modum ad incolendum accepit, quem suis comitibus distribuit exaedificatis domiciliis in eo monte, quem primo tum illi a Pallante Pallanteum, postea nos Palatium diximus; ibique Pani deo fanum dedicavit, quippe is familiaris Arcadiae deus est, teste etiam Marone, qui ait:

5 1 Therefore, with Faunus reigning about sixty years before Aeneas was borne into Italy, Evander the Arcadian, son of Mercury and the Nymph Carmentis, came there together with his mother. 2 whom some have handed down to memory as at first called Nicostrata, afterward Garmenta, from songs, because, to wit, being most expert in all letters and prudent of things to come, she was accustomed to sing in verses; to such a degree that many are willing to say that it was not so much she herself who was called Carmenta from carmen as that the songs were called carmina from her by whom they were named. 3 At her admonition, conveyed across into Italy, Evander, on account of his singular erudition and knowledge of letters, in a short time insinuated himself into the familiarity of Faunus; and by him hospitably and benignly received, he obtained no small measure of land to inhabit, which he distributed to his companions, domiciles having been built on that hill which at first in those days they called Pallanteum from Pallas, afterward we have called the Palatine; and there he dedicated a shrine to the god Pan, for he is the familiar god of Arcadia, Maro also being witness, who says:

Pan Deus Arcadiae captam te, Luna, fefellit.

Pan, the god of Arcadia, deceived you, Luna, and took you captive.

Primus itaque omnium Euander Italicos homines legere et scribere edocuit litteris, partim quas ipse antea didicerat; idemque frugea in Graecia primum inventas ostendit serendique usum edocuit terraeque excolendae gratia primus boves in Italia iunxit.

Therefore Euander, first of all, taught the Italian people to read and to write with letters, partly those which he himself had previously learned; and he likewise showed the grains first invented in Greece and taught the use of sowing, and for the sake of cultivating the land he was the first to yoke oxen in Italy.

6 1 Eo regnante forte Recaranus quidam, Graecae originis, ingentis corporis et magnarum virium pastor, qui erat forma et virtute ceteris antecellens, Hercules appellatus, eodem venit. 2 Cumque armenta eius circa flumen Albulam pascerentur, Cacus Euandri servus, nequitiae versutus et praeter cetera furacissimus, Recarani hospitia bovea surripuit ac, ne quod esset indicium, aversas in speluncam attraxit. 3 Cumque Recaranus vicinis regionibus peragratis scrutatisque omnibus eiuscemodi latebris desperasset inventurum utcumque aequo animo dispendium ferens, excedere his finibus constituerat.

6 1 While he was reigning, by chance a certain Recaranus, of Greek origin, a herdsman of huge body and great strength, who was excelling the others in form and in virtue, called Hercules, came there. 2 And when his herds were grazing around the river Albula, Cacus, Evander’s servant, crafty in knavery and, beyond the rest, most thievish, stole Recaranus’s oxen from their quarters and, lest there be any indication, dragged them backward into a cave. 3 And when Recaranus, after traversing the neighboring regions and searching all hiding-places of that kind, had despaired of finding them, bearing the loss with an even spirit as best he could, he had resolved to depart from these borders.

4 At vero Euander, excellentissimae iustitiae vir, postquam rem uti acta erat, comperit, servum noxae dedit bovesque restitui fecit. 5 Tum Recaranus sub Aventino Inventori Patri aram dedicavit appellavitque Maximam, et apud eam decimam sui pecoris profanavit. 6 Cumque ante moris esset, uti homines decimam fructuum regibus suis praestarent, aequius sibi ait videri deos potius illo honore impartiendos esse quam regea; inde videlicet tractum, ut Herculi decimam profanari mos esset, secundum quod Plautus In partem, inquit, Herculaneam, id est, decimam.

4 But indeed Evander, a man of most excellent justice, after he found out how the matter had been done, gave up the slave for the offense and had the oxen restored. 5 Then Recaranus beneath the Aventine dedicated an altar to the Inventor Father and called it the Greatest, and at it he set apart the tenth of his herd. 6 And whereas before it had been the custom that men should render a tenth of their fruits to their kings, he said it seemed more equitable to himself that the gods rather should be imparted with that honor than kings; whence evidently it was derived that it was the custom for the tenth to be set apart for Hercules, according to which Plautus says, “Into the Herculanean share,” that is, the tenth.

7 Consecrata igitur ara Maxima profanataque apud eam decima Recaranus, eo quod Carmentis invitata ad id sacrum non affuisset, sanxit, ne cui feminae fas esset vesci ex eo, quod eidem arae sacratum esset: atque ab ea re divina feminae in totum remotae.

7 Therefore, with the Ara Maxima consecrated and the tenth profaned at it, Recaranus, because Carmentis, though invited, had not been present at that sacrum, sanctioned that it should not be lawful for any woman to eat from that which had been consecrated to the same altar: and by that divine rite women were altogether removed.

7 1 Haec Cassius libro primo. At vero in libris Pontificalium traditur Hercules, Iove atque Alcmena genitus, superato Geryone, agens nobile armentum, cupidus eius generis boves in Graecia instituendi, forte in ea loca venisse et ubertate pabuli delectatus, ut ex longo itinere homines sui et pecora reficerentur, aliquamdiu sedem ibi constituisse. 2 Quae cum in valle, ubi nunc est circus maximus, pascerentur, neglecta custodia, quod nemo credebatur ausurus violare Herculis praedam, latronem quendam regionis eiusdem, magnitudine corporis et virtute ceteris praevalentem, octo boves in speluncam, quo minus furtum vestigiis colligi posset, candis abstraxisse.

7 1 These things Cassius, in the first book. But indeed in the Books of the Pontificals it is handed down that Hercules, begotten of Jove and Alcmena, after Geryon had been overcome, driving a noble herd, eager to institute in Greece cattle of that kind, by chance came into those places; and, delighted by the abundance of fodder, so that his men and the cattle might be refreshed from the long journey, he established a seat there for some time. 2 And when these were grazing in the valley where now the Circus Maximus is, the guard being neglected—because no one was believed likely to dare to violate Hercules’ prey—a certain brigand of that same region, surpassing the rest in magnitude of body and in virtue, dragged by the tails eight oxen into a cave, so that the theft might the less be traced by footprints.

3 Cumque inde Hercules proficiscens reliquum armentum casu praeter eandem speluncam ageret, forte quadam inclusas boves transeuntibus admugisse atque ita furtum detectum; 4 interfectoque Caco Euandrum re comporta hospiti obviam ivisse gratantem, quod tanto malo fines suos liberasset, compertoque, quibus parentibus ortus Hercules esset, rem ita, uti erat gesta, ad Faunum pertulisse. Tum eum quoque amicitiam Herculis cupidissime appetisse. Quam opinionem sequi metuit noster Maro.

3 And when from there Hercules, setting out, by chance was driving the remaining herd past that same cave, by a certain chance the cows shut inside lowed to those passing by, and thus the theft was detected; 4 and, with Cacus slain, that Evander, with the thing brought back, went to meet the guest, offering congratulations, because he had freed his borders from so great an evil, and, when it was discovered from which parents Hercules had sprung, that he reported the matter, just as it had been done, to Faunus. Then he too most eagerly sought the friendship of Hercules. Which opinion our Maro feared to follow.

8 1 Cum ergo Recaranus sive Hercules patri Inventori aram maximam consecrasset, duos ex Italia, quos eadem sacra certo ritu administranda edoceret, ascivit, Potitium et Pinarium. 2 Sed eorum Potitio, quia prior venerat, ad comedenda exta admisso Pinarius, eo quod tardius venisset, posterique eius submoti. Unde hodieque servatur: Nemini Pinariae gentis in eis sacris vesci licet.

8 1 Since therefore Recaranus, or Hercules, had consecrated the greatest altar to his father Inventor, he enrolled two from Italy—whom he taught that the same sacred rites be administered with a fixed rite—Potitius and Pinarius. 2 But to Potitius among them, because he had come earlier, admission was granted to eat the entrails; Pinarius, because he had come later, and his descendants, were excluded. Whence even today it is observed: To no one of the Pinaria gens is it permitted to partake in those rites.

3 Eosque alio vocabulo prius appellatos nonnulli volunt, post vero Pinarios dictos apo tou peinan, quod videlicet ieiuni ac per hoc esurientes ab eiusmodi sacrificiis discedant. 4 Isque mos permansit usque Appium Claudium censorem, ut Potitiia sacra facientibus vescentibusque de eo bove, quem immolaverant, postquam inde nihil reliquissent, Pinarii deinde admitterentur. 5 Verum postea Appius Claudius accepta pecunia Potitios illexit, ut administrationem sacrorum Herculis servos publicos edocerent nes non etiam mulieres admitterent.

3 And some wish that they were previously called by another appellation, but afterwards called Pinarii apo tou peinan, because, evidently, fasting and therefore hungry, they depart from sacrifices of this kind. 4 And that custom endured down to Appius Claudius the censor, that, when the Potitii were performing the sacred rites and feasting on that ox which they had immolated, after they had left nothing from it, then the Pinarii were admitted. 5 But afterwards Appius Claudius, upon receiving money, enticed the Potitii to instruct the public slaves in the administration of the sacred rites of Hercules, and moreover to admit women as well.

6 Quo facto aiunt intra dies triginta omnem familiam Potitiorum, quae prior in sacris habebatur, exstinctam atque ita sacra penes Pinarios resedisse eosque tam religione quam etiam pietate edoctos mysteria eiusmodi fideliter custodisse.

6 When this had been done, they say that within thirty days the entire house of the Potitii, which had been held first in the rites, was extinguished, and thus the rites remained in the possession of the Pinarii; and that they, instructed as much in religion as also in piety, faithfully safeguarded mysteries of this sort.

9 1 Post Faunum Latino, eius filio, in Italia regnante, Aeneas, Ilio Achivis prodito ab Antenore aliisque principibus, cum prae se deos penates patremque Anchisen humeris gestanc nec non et parvulum filium manu trahens noctu excederet, orta luce cognitus ab hostibus, eo quod tanta onustus pietatis sarcina erat, non modo a nullo interpellatus, sed etiam a rege Agamemnone, quo vellet, ire permissus Idam petit; ibique navibus fabricatis cum multis diversi sexus oraculi admonitu Italiam petit, ut docet Alexander Ephesius libro primo belli Marsici. 2 At vero Lutatius non modo Antenorem, sed etiam ipsum Aeneam proditorem patriae fuisse tradit: 3 cui cum a rege Agamemnone permissum esset ire, quo vellet, et humeris suis, quod potissimum putaret, hoc ferret, nihil illum praeter deos penates et patrem duosque parvulos filios, ut quidam tradunt, ut vero alii, unum, cui Iulo cognomen, post etiam Ascanio fuerit, secum extulisse. 4 Qua pietate motos Achivorum principes remisisse, ut reverteretur domum atque inde omnia secum, quae vellet, auferret.

9 1 After Faunus, with Latinus, his son, ruling in Italy, Aeneas—Troy betrayed to the Achaeans by Antenor and other princes—when he was bearing before him the household gods (the Penates) and carrying his father Anchises upon his shoulders and also drawing by the hand his very small son, was departing by night; at daybreak, recognized by the enemies, because he was laden with so great a burden of pietas, he was not only interrupted by no one, but even by King Agamemnon was permitted to go wherever he wished—he makes for Ida; and there, ships having been fashioned, with many of diverse sex, at the admonition of an oracle he makes for Italy, as Alexander of Ephesus teaches in the first book of the Marsic War. 2 But indeed Lutatius hands down that not only Antenor, but even Aeneas himself, was a betrayer of his fatherland: 3 to whom, when it had been permitted by King Agamemnon to go where he wished, and to carry on his shoulders whatever he thought best, he took out with him nothing except the household gods and his father and two very small sons, as some relate; but, as others say, one, to whom the cognomen Iulus—afterwards also Ascanius—belonged, he carried off with him. 4 Moved by which pietas, the princes of the Achaeans allowed him to return home and from there to carry away with him whatever he wished.

Itaque eum magnis cum opibus pluribusque sociis utriusque sexus a Troia digressum longo mari emenso per diversas terrarum oras in Italiam devenisse ac primum Thraciam appulsum Aenum ex suo nomine condidisse. 5 Dein cognita Polymestoris perfidia ex Polydori nece inde digressum pervectumque ad insulam Delum atque illinc ab eo Laviniam, Anii sacerdotis Apollinis filiam, in matrimonium ascitam, ex cuius nomine Lavinia litora appellata. 6 Postquam is multa maria permensus appulsus sit ad Italiae promontorium, quod eat in Baiano circa Averni lacum, ibique gubernatorem Misenum morbo absumptum sepultum ab eo; ex cuius nomine urbem Misenun appellatam, ut etiam scribit Caesar Pontificalium libro primo, qui tam en hunc Misenum non gubernatorem, sed tubicinem fuisse tradit.

Accordingly, that he, with great resources and many companions of both sexes, having departed from Troy and, a long sea having been traversed, through various coasts of the lands, arrived in Italy, and first, having put in at Thrace, founded Aenus from his own name. 5 Then, the perfidy of Polymestor having been recognized from the murder of Polydorus, he departed thence and was conveyed to the island of Delos, and from there by him Lavinia, the daughter of Anius, priest of Apollo, was taken into marriage, from whose name the Lavinian shores were so called. 6 After he, having measured many seas, had put in at the promontory of Italy, which lies in the Baian district around Lake Avernus, there his helmsman Misenus, consumed by disease, was buried by him; from whose name the city Misenum was named, as Caesar also writes in the first book of the Pontificalia, who nevertheless hands down that this Misenus was not a helmsman, but a trumpeter.

7 Inde non immerito utramque opinionem secutus Maro sic intulit:

7 Thence, not without merit, Maro, having followed both opinions, introduced thus:

At pius Aeneas ingenti mole sepulcrum
Imponit suaque arma viro remumque tubamque.

But pious Aeneas places a sepulchre of vast mass,
and sets upon the man his own arms, an oar, and a trumpet.

8 Quamyis auctore Homero quidam asserant tubae usum Troianis temporibus etiam tunc ignoratum.

8 Although, with Homer as author, some assert that the use of the trumpet was even then unknown in Trojan times.

10 1 Addunt praeterea quidam, Aeneam in eo litore Euxini cuiusdam comitis matrem ultime aetatis affectam circa stagnum, quod est inter Misenon Avernumque, extulisse atque inde loco nomen inditum; cumque comperisset ibidem Sibyllani mortalibus futura praecinere in oppido, quod vocatur Cimbarionis, venisse eo sciscitatum de statu fortunarum suarum aditisque fatis vetitum, ne is cognatam in Italia sepeliret Prochytam, cognatione sibi coniunctam, quam incolumem reliquerat. 2 Et postquam ad classem rediit repperitque mortuam, in insula proxima sepelisse, quae nunc quoque eodem est nomine, ut scribunt Vulcatius et Acilius Piso. 3 Inde profectum pervenisse in eum locum, qui nunc portas Caietae appellatur ex nomine nutricis eius, quam ibidem amissam sepeliit.

10 1 Some, moreover, add that Aeneas on that shore buried the mother of a certain companion Euxinus, afflicted with utmost age, near the lagoon which is between Misenum and Avernus, and that from this the place received its name; and when he had learned that there the Sibyl pre-sings to mortals their futures in the town which is called Cimbarionis, he came thither to inquire about the state of his fortunes, and, the Fates having been approached, it was forbidden that he bury in Italy Prochyta, a kinswoman joined to him by kinship, whom he had left unharmed. 2 And after he returned to the fleet and found her dead, he buried her on the nearest island, which even now has the same name, as Vulcatius and Acilius Piso write. 3 Then, having set out from there, he came to that place which is now called the Gates of Caieta from the name of his nurse, whom, lost there, he buried.

4 At vero Caesar et Sempronius aiunt Caietae cognomen fuisse, non nomen, ex eo scilicet inditum, quod eius consilio impulsuque matres Troianae taedio longi navigii classem ibidem incenderint, Graeca scilicet appellatione apo tou kaiein, quod est incendere. 5 Inde ad eam Italiae oram, quae ab arbusto eiusdem generis Laureus appellata est, Latino regnante pervectum cum patre Anchise filioque et ceteris suorum navibus egressum in litore accubuisse, consumptoque, quod fuerat cibi, crustam etiam de farreis mensis, quas sacratas secum habebat, comedisse.

4 But indeed Caesar and Sempronius say that Caieta was a cognomen, not a nomen, namely assigned from this: that by her counsel and impulse the Trojan mothers, weary of the long voyaging, set the fleet on fire there—namely from the Greek appellation apo tou kaiein, which is to set on fire. 5 Thence to that shore of Italy, which from a grove of the same kind was called Laureus, with Latinus reigning, he was conveyed; and, with his father Anchises, his son, and the rest of his people, having disembarked from the ships, he reclined on the shore; and when what there was of food had been consumed, he even ate the crust from the farrean (spelt) tables, which he carried with him as consecrated.

11 1 Tum Anchisa coniciente illum esse miseriarum errorisque finem, quippe meminerat Venerem sibi aliquando praedixisse, cum in externo litore esurie compulsi sacratasque mensas invasissent, illum condendae sedis fatalem locum fore, 2 scrofam etiam incientem cum e navi produxissent, ut eam immolarent, et se ministrorum manibus eripuisset, recordatum Aeneam, quod aliquando ei responsum esset urbi condendae quadrupedem futuram ducem, 3 cum simulacris deorum penatum prosecutum, atque illum, ubi illa procubuit enisaque est porculos triginta, ibidem auspicatum † postquam Lavinium dixit, ut scribit Caesar libro primo et Lutatius libro secundo.

11 1 Then Anchises, conjecturing that that was the end of miseries and errancy, since he remembered that Venus had at some time predicted to him that, when on a foreign shore, compelled by hunger, they had attacked the consecrated tables, that place would be the fated locus for establishing a seat, 2 and that, when they had led out from the ship a sow as well, to immolate her, and she had snatched herself from the hands of the attendants, Aeneas recalled that at some time it had been answered to him that a quadruped would be the leader for founding the city, 3 and that, accompanied by the images of the household gods, he had followed her, and that he, where she lay down and, having strained, brought forth thirty piglets, took the auspices in that same place; afterwards he called it Lavinium, as Caesar writes in the first book and Lutatius in the second book.

12 1 At vero Domitius non orbes farreos, ut supra dictum est, sed mensarum vice sumendi cibi gratia apium, cuius maxima erat ibidem copia, fuisse substratum, quod ipsum consumptis aliis edulibus eos comedisse, ac post subinde intellexisse illas esse mensas, quas illos comesturos praedictum esset. 2 Cum interim immolata sue in litore sacrificium perageret, traditur forte advertisse Argivam classem, in qua Ulixes erat; cumque vereretur, ne ab hoste cognitus periculum subiret, itemque rem divinam interrumpere summum nefas duceret, caput velamento obduxisse atque ita pleno ritu sacra perfecisse. Inde posteris traditum morem ita sacrificandi, ut scribit Marcus Octavius libro primo.

12 1 But indeed Domitius says that not round spelt-cakes, as was said above, but, in place of tables for the sake of taking food, celery—of which there was a very great supply there—had been spread beneath; that this very thing, when the other eatables had been consumed, they ate, and afterward soon understood that those were the tables which it had been foretold that they would eat. 2 While meanwhile, with a sow having been immolated on the shore, he was performing the sacrifice, it is handed down that by chance he noticed the Argive fleet, in which Ulysses was; and since he feared lest, recognized by the enemy, he might incur danger, and also judged it the highest impiety to interrupt the divine rite, he covered his head with a veil and thus, with the rite complete, finished the sacred things. Thence the custom was handed down to posterity of sacrificing thus, as Marcus Octavius writes in the first book.

3 At vero Domitius libro primo docet sorte Apollinis Delphici monitum Aeneam, ut Italiam peteret atque ubi duo maria invenisset prandiumque cum menais comesset, ibi urbem uti conderet. 4 Itaque egressum in agrum Laurentem, cum paululum e litore processiset, pervenisse ad duo stagna aquae salsae vicina inter se; ibique cum se lavisset, ac refectum cibo, cum apium quoque, quod tunc vice mensae substratum fuerat, consumpsisset, existimantem procul dubio illa esse duo maria, quod in illis stagnis aquae marinae species esset, mensasque, quae erant ex stramine apii, comestas urbem in eo loco condidisse eamque, quod in stagno laverit, Lavinium cognominasse. Tum deinde a Latino rege Aboriginum, data ei, quae incoleret, iugera quingenta.

3 But indeed Domitius in book one teaches that by the lot of the Delphic Apollo Aeneas was warned to seek Italy and that, where he had found two seas and had eaten his lunch together with the tables, there he should found a city. 4 And so, having gone ashore into the Laurentian field, when he had advanced a little from the shore, he came to two pools of briny water near to each other; and there, when he had washed himself and, refreshed with food, had also consumed the apium (parsley) which at that time had been laid beneath in place of a table, thinking without doubt that these were the two seas—because in those pools there was a semblance of sea-water—and that the tables, which were of the straw of apium, had been eaten, he founded a city in that place and, because he had washed in the pool, he gave it the surname Lavinium. Then thereafter by Latinus, king of the Aborigines, there were given to him 500 iugera to inhabit.

5 At Cato in Origine generis Romani ita docet: Suem triginta porculos peperisse in eo loco, ubi nunc est Lavinium, cumque Aeneas ibi urbem condere constituisset propterque agri sterilitatem maereret, per quietem ei visa deorum penatum simulacra adhortantium, ut perseveraret in condenda urbe, quam coeperat; nam post annos totidem, quot foetus illius suis essent, Troianos in loca fertilia atque uberiorem agrum transmigraturos et urbem clarissimi nominis in Italia condituros.

5 But Cato in the Origin of the Roman race teaches thus: that a sow bore thirty piglets in that place where Lavinium now is; and when Aeneas had decided to found a city there and was grieving because of the barrenness of the field, in sleep the simulacra of the gods, the Penates, were seen by him, exhorting him to persevere in founding the city which he had begun; for after as many years as there were offspring of that sow, the Trojans would transmigrate into fertile places and to a more bountiful field, and would found in Italy a city of most illustrious name.

13 1 Igitur Latinum Aboriginum regem, cum ei nuntiatum esset multitudinem advenarum classe advectam occupavisse agram Laurentem, adversum subitos inopinatosque hostes incunctanter suas copias eduxisse ac priusquam signum dimicandi daret, animadvertisse Troianos militariter instructos, cum sui lapidibus ac sudibus armati, tum etiam veste aut pellibus, quae eis integumento erant, sinistris manibus involutis processissent. 2 Itaque suspense certamine per colloquium inquisito, qui essent quidve peterent, utpote qui in hoc consilium auctoritate numinum cogebatur (namque extis ac somniis saepe admonitus erat tutiorem se adversum hostes fore, si copias suas cum advenis coniunxisset) 3 cumque cognovisset Aeneam et Anchisen bello patria pulsos cum simulacris deorum errantes sedem quaerere, amicitiam foedere inisse dato invicem iureiurando, ut communes quosque hostes amicosve haberent. 4 Itaque coeptum a Troianis muniri locum, quem Aeneas ei nomine uxoris suae, Latini regis filiae, quae iam ante desponsata Turno Herdonio fuerat, Lavinium cognominavit.

13 1 Therefore Latinus, king of the Aborigines, when it was reported to him that a multitude of newcomers, conveyed by a fleet, had occupied the Laurentian field, led out his forces without delay against sudden and unlooked-for enemies; and before he gave the signal for fighting, he noticed the Trojans marshaled militarily, whereas his own men, armed with stones and stakes, had advanced with their left hands wrapped in garments or hides which served them as a covering. 2 Accordingly, with the contest held in suspense, by a parley inquiry was made who they were and what they sought, inasmuch as he was being compelled by the authority of the divinities into this plan (for by entrails and by dreams he had often been admonished that he would be safer against enemies if he should join his forces with the newcomers). 3 And when he learned that Aeneas and Anchises, driven from their fatherland by war, were wandering with the effigies of the gods, seeking a seat, they entered friendship by a treaty, a mutual oath being given, that they should hold whatever enemies or friends in common. 4 Therefore the place began to be fortified by the Trojans, which Aeneas surnamed Lavinium after his wife, the daughter of King Latinus, who earlier had been betrothed to Turnus Herdonius.

5 At vero Amatam, Latini regis uxorem, cum indigne ferret Laviniam repudiato Turno, consobrino suo, Troiano advenae collocatam, Turnum ad arma concitavisse; eumque mox coacto Rutulorum exercitu tetendisse in agrum Laurentem et adversus eum Latinum pariter cum Aenea progressum inter proeliantes circumventum occisumque. 6 Nec tamen amisso socero Aeneas Rutulis obsistere desiit, namque et Turnum interemit. 7 Hostibus fusis fugatisque victor Lavinium se cum suis recepit consensuque omnium Latinorum rex declaratus est, ut scribit Lutatius libro tertio.

5 But in truth Amata, the wife of King Latinus, since she took it indignantly that Lavinia, with Turnus, her cousin, repudiated, had been bestowed on a Trojan newcomer, incited Turnus to arms; and he, soon, with the army of the Rutulians gathered, marched into the Laurentine field; and against him Latinus, having advanced equally together with Aeneas, amid the fighters was surrounded and slain. 6 Nor, however, with his father-in-law lost, did Aeneas cease to oppose the Rutulians, for he even slew Turnus. 7 With the enemies routed and put to flight, the victor withdrew to Lavinium with his own men, and by the consensus of all the Latins was declared king, as Lutatius writes in the third book.

8 Piso quidem Turnum matruelem Amatae fuisse tradit interfectoque Latino mortem ipsam sibimet conscivisse.

8 Piso indeed relates that Turnus was Amata’s maternal cousin, and that, with Latinus slain, he took his own life.

14 1 Igitur Aeneam occiso Turno rerum potitum; cum adhuc irarum memor Rutulos bello persequi instituisset, illos sibi ex Etruria auxilium Mezentii regis Agillaeorum ascivisse ac imploravisse pollicitos, si Victoria parta foret, omnia, quae Latinorum essent, Mezentio cessura. 2 Tum Aeneam, quod copiis inferior erat, multis rebus, quae necessario tuendae erant, in urbem comportatis castra sub Lavinio collocasse praepositoque his filio Euryleone ipsum electo ad dimicandum tempore copias in aciem produxisse circa Numici fluminis stagnum; ubi cum acerrime dimicaretur, subitis turbinibus infuscato aere repente caelo tantum imbrium effusum tonitrubus etiam consecutis flammarumque fulgoribus, ut omnium non oculi modo praestringerentur, verum etiam mentes quoque confusae essent; cumque universis utriusque partis dirimendi proelia cupiditas inesset, nihilo minus in illa tempestatis subitae confusione interceptum Aeneam nusquam deinde comparuisse. 3 Traditur autem, non proviso, quod propinquus flumini esset, ripa depulsus forte in fluvium decidisse, atque ita proelium diremptum; dein post apertis fugatisque nubibus cum serena facies effulsisset, creditum est vivum eum caelo assumptum.

14 1 Therefore Aeneas, with Turnus slain, got possession of affairs; and when, still mindful of his angers, he had resolved to pursue the Rutulians with war, they enrolled and implored for themselves aid out of Etruria from Mezentius, king of the Agillaeans, promising that, if Victory were won, all things that were the Latins’ would cede to Mezentius. 2 Then Aeneas, because he was inferior in troops, after many things that had of necessity to be guarded were carried into the city, pitched a camp beneath Lavinium; and having set his son Euryleon over these, he himself, the time for fighting having been chosen, led his forces into the battle-line around the pool of the river Numicius; where, as the fighting was most fierce, with the air darkened by sudden whirlwinds, the sky suddenly poured so much rain, thunderclaps also following and flashes of flames, that not only the eyes of all were dazzled, but even their minds were confounded; and although in all on either side there was a desire to break off the battles, nonetheless, in that confusion of the sudden tempest, Aeneas, cut off, thereafter appeared nowhere. 3 It is handed down, however, that, not having foreseen it, because he was near the river, being driven from the bank he by chance fell into the stream, and thus the battle was broken off; then after, the clouds having opened and been put to flight, when a serene aspect had shone forth, it was believed that he, alive, was assumed into heaven.

4 Idemque tamen post ab Ascanio et quibusdam aliis visus affirmatur super Numici ripam eo habitu armisque, quibus in proelium processerat. Quae res immortalitatis eius famam confirmavit. Itaque illi eo loco templum consecratum appellarique placuit Patrem indigetem. 5 Dein filius eius Ascanius, idem qui Euryleo, omnium Latinorum iudicio rex appellatus est.

4 And yet the same is affirmed afterward to have been seen by Ascanius and by certain others upon the bank of the Numicus, in the attire and arms with which he had gone forth into battle. This matter confirmed the fame of his immortality. And so it pleased that in that place a temple be consecrated to him and that he be called Father Indiges. 5 Then his son Ascanius, the same who was Euryleon, by the judgment of all the Latins was called king.

15 1 Igitur summam imperii Latinorum adeptus Ascanius cum continuis proeliis Mezentium persequi instituisset, filius eius Lausus collem Laviniae arcis occupavit. Cumque id oppidum circumfusis omnibus copiis regis teneretur, Latini legatos ad Mezentium miserunt sciscitatum, qua condicione in deditionem eos accipere vellet; 2 cumque ille inter alia onerosa illud quoque adiceret, ut omne vinum agri Latini aliquot annis sibi inferretur, consilio atque auctoritate Ascanii placuit ob libertatem mori potius quam illo modo servitutem subire. 3 Itaque vino ex omni vindemia Iovi publice voto consecratoque Latini urbe eruperunt fasoque praesidio interfectoque Lauso Mezentium fugam facere coegerunt.

15 1 Therefore, Ascanius, having attained the summa of command of the Latins, when he had set himself to pursue Mezentius with continuous battles, Lausus his son occupied the hill of the citadel of Lavinium. And when that town was held with all the king’s forces poured around it, the Latins sent envoys to Mezentius to inquire on what condition he would be willing to receive them in surrender; 2 and when he, among other onerous terms, added this too, that all the wine of the Latin territory for several years be brought in to himself, by the counsel and authority of Ascanius it pleased them to die for liberty rather than to undergo servitude in that way. 3 And so, the wine from the whole vintage having been consecrated to Jupiter by a public vow, the Latins burst forth from the city, and, with divine Right as their guard, and Lausus slain, they forced Mezentius to take flight.

4 Is postea per legatos amicitiam societatemque Latinorum impetravit, ut docet Lucius Caesar libro primo, itemque Aulus Postumius in eo volumine, quod de adventu Aeneae conscripsit atque edidit. 5 Igitur Latini Ascanium ob insignem virtutem non solum Iove ortum crediderunt, sed etiam per diminutionem declinato paululum nomine primo Iolum, dein postea Iulum appellarunt; a quo Iulia familia manavit, ut scribunt Caesar libro secundo et Cato in Originibus.

4 He afterwards, through envoys, obtained the friendship and alliance of the Latins, as Lucius Caesar teaches in book 1, and likewise Aulus Postumius in that volume which he composed and published concerning the advent of Aeneas. 5 Therefore the Latins, on account of Ascanius’s distinguished virtue, believed him not only to be sprung from Jove, but also, by diminution with the name a little declined, at first appellated him Iolus, then afterward Iulus; from whom the Julian family flowed, as Caesar writes in book 2 and Cato in the Origins.

16 1 Interim Lavinia ab Aenea gravida relicta, metu veluti insecuturi se Ascanii, in silvam profugit ad magistrum patrii pecoris Tyrrhum ibique enisa est puerum, qui a loci qualitate Silvius est dictus. 2 At vero vulgus Latinorum existimans clam ab Ascanio interfectam magnam ei invidiam conflaverat, usque eo, ut armis quoque ei vim denuntiaret. 3 Tum Ascanius iureiurando se purgans, cum nihil apud eos proficeret, petita dilatione <ad> inquirendum, iram praesentem vulgi aliquantulum fregit pollicitusque est se ingentibus praemiis cumulaturum eum, qui sibi Laviniam investigasset; mox recuperatem cum filio in urbem Lavinium reduxit dilexitque honore materno.

16 1 Meanwhile Lavinia, left behind by Aeneas pregnant, from fear, as though Ascanius were going to pursue her, fled into the forest to Tyrrhus, the master of the ancestral herd, and there she brought forth a boy, who from the character of the place was called Silvius. 2 But indeed the common crowd of the Latins, supposing that she had been secretly killed by Ascanius, had kindled great ill-will against him, to the point that they even threatened him with violence by arms. 3 Then Ascanius, purging himself by oath, since he was accomplishing nothing with them, a postponement having been sought <ad> inquirendum, somewhat broke the present anger of the crowd, and he promised that he would heap with huge rewards the one who should track down Lavinia for him; soon, having recovered her with her son, he led her back into the city Lavinium and honored her with maternal honor.

4 Quae res rursum ei magnum favorem populi conciliavit, ut scribunt Gaius Caesar et Sextus Gellius in origine gentis Romanae. 5 At vero alii tradunt, cum Ascanius ab universo populo ad restituendam Laviniam cogeretur iuraretque se neque interemisse neque scire, ubi esset, Tyrrhum petito silentio in illa contionis frequentia professum indicium, si sibi Laviniaeque pueroque ex ea nato fides incolumitatis daretur; tumque eum accepta fide Laviniam in urbem cum filio reduxisse.

4 Which matter again won for him great favor of the people, as Gaius Caesar and Sextus Gellius write in the Origin of the Roman race. 5 But others hand down that, when Ascanius was being compelled by the whole people to restore Lavinia and was swearing that he had neither slain her nor knew where she was, Tyrrhus, having sought silence amid that crowded assembly, declared information on condition that a pledge of safety be given to himself and to Lavinia and to the boy born from her; and then, the pledge accepted, he brought Lavinia back into the city with her son.

17 1 Post haec Ascanius completis in Lavinio triginta annis recordatus novae urbis condendae tempus advenisse ex numero porculorum, quos pepererat sus alba, circumspectis diligenter finitimis regionibus, speculatus montem editum, qui nunc ab ea urbe, quae in eo condita est, Albanus nuncupatur, civitatem communit eamque ex forma, quod ita in longum porrecta est, Longam, ex colore suis Albam cognominavit. 2 Cumque illuc simulacra deorum penatium transtulisset, postridie apud Lavinium apparuerunt, rursusque relata Albam appositisque custodibus nescio quantis se Lavinium in pristinam sedem identidem receperunt. 3 Itadue tertio nemo ausus est amovere ea, ut scriptam est in annalium pontificum quarto libro, Cincii et Caesaris secundo, Tuberonis primo.

17 1 After these things, Ascanius, with thirty years completed in Lavinium, recalling that the time for founding a new city had arrived from the number of piglets which the white sow had borne, after carefully surveying the neighboring regions, having espied an elevated mountain, which now from that city that was founded upon it is called the Alban [Mount], fortified a city, and from its form—because it is thus stretched out in length—he surnamed it Longa, and from the color of the sow he surnamed it Alba. 2 And when he had transferred thither the simulacra of the household gods, the Penates, on the next day they appeared at Lavinium; and, when they were brought back again to Alba and guards of I know not how many were set, they repeatedly withdrew themselves to Lavinium to their former seat. 3 And so, on the third time, no one dared to remove them, as is written in the fourth book of the Annals of the Pontiffs, in the second of Cincius and of Caesar, in the first of Tubero.

4 At Ascanius postquam excessisset e vita, inter Iulum filium eius et Silvium Postumum, qui ex Lavinia genitus erat, de obtinendo imperio orta contentio est, cum dubitaretur, an Aeneae filius an nepos potior esset. Permissa disceptatione eius rei ab universia rex Silvius declaratus est. 5 Eiusdem posteri omnes cognomento Silvii usque ad conditam Romam Albae regnaverunt, ut est scriptum annalium pontificum libro quarto.

4 But after Ascanius had departed from life, a contention arose between Iulus, his son, and Silvius Postumus, who had been begotten from Lavinia, over obtaining the imperium, since it was in doubt whether the son or the grandson of Aeneas was the superior. With the disceptation of that matter committed to the whole body, Silvius was declared king. 5 All his descendants, with the cognomen “Silvii,” reigned at Alba down to the founding of Rome, as is written in the fourth book of the annals of the pontiffs.

6 Igitur regnante Latino Silvio coloniae deductae sunt Praeneste, Tibur, Gabii, Tusculum, Cora, Pometia, Labici, Crustumium, Cameria, Bovillae ceteraque oppida circumquaque.

6 Therefore, with Latinus Silvius reigning, colonies were led out to Praeneste, Tibur, Gabii, Tusculum, Cora, Pometia, Labici, Crustumium, Cameria, Bovillae, and the other towns round about.

18 1 Post eum regnavit Tiberius Silvius, Silvii filius. Qui cum adversus finitimos bellum inferentes copias eduxisset, inter proeliantes depulsus in Albulam flumen deperiit mutandique nominis exstitit causa, ut scribunt Lucius Cincius libro primo, Lutatius libro tertio. 2 Post eum regnavit Aremulus Silvius, qui tantae superbiae non adversum homines modo, sed etiam deos fuisse traditur, ut praedicaret superiorem se esse ipso Iove ac tonante caelo militibus imperaret, ut telis clipeos quaterent, dictitaretque clariorem sonum se facere.

18 1 After him Tiberius Silvius, the son of Silvius, reigned. When he had led out forces against the neighbors who were bringing war, being driven back amid the combatants he perished in the river Albula, and was the cause of the changing of the name, as write Lucius Cincius in book one, and Lutatius in book three. 2 After him Aremulus Silvius reigned, who is reported to have been of such great arrogance not only against men but even against the gods, that he used to proclaim himself superior to Jove himself, and, when the sky was thundering, would command the soldiers to beat their shields with their spears, and kept saying that he made a clearer sound.

3 Qui tamen praesenti affectus est poena: nam fulmine ictus raptusque turbine in Albanum lacum praecipitatus est, ut scriptum est annalium libro quarto et epitomarum Pisonis secundo. 4 Aufidius sane in epitomis et Domitius libro primo non fulmine ictum, sed terrae motu prolapsam simul cum eo regiam in Albanum lacum tradunt. 5 Post illum regnavit Aventinus Silvius, isque finitimis bellum inferentibus in dimicando circumventus ab hostibus prostratus est ac sepultus circa radices montis, cui ex se nomen dedit, ut scribit Lucius Caesar libro secundo.

3 Yet he was visited with immediate punishment: for, struck by a thunderbolt and snatched by a whirlwind, he was hurled headlong into the Alban Lake, as it is written in the fourth book of the Annals and in the second of Piso’s Epitomes. 4 Aufidius indeed in the Epitomes, and Domitius in book one, report that he was not struck by a thunderbolt, but that, by an earthquake, the royal palace, collapsing, fell together with him into the Alban Lake. 5 After him Aventinus Silvius reigned, and, as the neighbors were bringing war, while fighting he was surrounded by the enemy and laid low, and was buried around the roots of the mountain, to which he gave his name from himself, as Lucius Caesar writes in the second book.

19 1 Post eum Silvius Procas, rex Albanorum, duos filios Numitorem et Amulium aequis partibus heredes instituit. 2 Tum Amulius in una parte regnum tantummodo, in altera totius patrimonii summam atque omnem paternorum bonorum substantiam posuit fratrique Numitori, qui maior natu erat, optionem dedit, ut ex his, utrum mallet, eligeret. 3 Numitor <cum> privatum otium cum facultatibus regno praetulisset, Amulius regnum obtinuit.

19 1 After him, Silvius Procas, king of the Albans, appointed his two sons, Numitor and Amulius, as heirs in equal parts. 2 Then Amulius placed in the one share only the kingship, in the other the total sum of the whole patrimony and all the substance of their paternal goods, and he gave to his brother Numitor, who was older by birth, the option to choose from these whichever he preferred. 3 Numitor, <when> he had preferred private leisure with resources to the kingship, Amulius obtained the kingship.

4 Quod ut firmissime possideret, Numitoris fratris sui filium in venando interimendum curavit. Tum etiam Rheam Silviam, eius sororem, sacerdotem Vestae fieri iussit simulato somnio, quo admonitus ab eadem dea esset, ut id fieret, cum re vera ita faciendum sibi existimaret, periculosum ducens, ne quia ex ea nasceretur, qui avitas persequeretur iniurias, ut scribit Valerius Antias libro primo. 5 At vero Marcus Octavius et Licinius Macer tradunt Amulium patruum Rheae sacerdotis amore eius captum nubilo caelo obscuroque aere, cum primum illucescere coepisset, in usum sacrorum aquam petenti insidiatum in luco Martis compressisse eam; tum exactis mensibus geminos editos.

4 In order that he might possess it most firmly, he arranged that the son of his brother Numitor be slain while hunting. Then also he ordered Rhea Silvia, his sister, to become a priestess of Vesta, with a dream feigned, by which he had been admonished by that same goddess that it should be done, whereas in truth he thought it ought so to be done, considering it perilous lest someone be born from her who would pursue ancestral injuries, as Valerius Antias writes in Book One. 5 But indeed Marcus Octavius and Licinius Macer hand down that Amulius, the uncle, captivated by love for Rhea the priestess, with the sky cloudy and the air dark, when it had first begun to grow light, lay in wait for her as she was seeking water for sacred rites, and in the grove of Mars violated her; then, the months completed, twins were brought forth.

6 Quod cum comperisset, celandi facti gratia per scelus concepti necari iussit sacerdotem, partum sibi exhiberi. 7 Tumque Numitorem spe futurorum, quod hi, si adolevissent, iniuriarum suarum quandoque ultores futuri essent, alios pro eis subdidisse illosque suos veros nepotes Faustulo pastorum magistro dedisse nutriendos.

6 When he had found this out, for the sake of concealing the deed he ordered, by a crime, the priestess who had conceived to be killed, and that the offspring be presented to himself. 7 Then Numitor, in hope of future things—because these, if they should grow up, would someday be avengers of his injuries—substituted others in their place, and gave his true grandsons to Faustulus, the master of the shepherds, to be nurtured.

20 1 At vero Fabius Pictor libro primo et Vennonius solito institutoque egressam virginem in usum sacrorum aquam petitum ex eo fonte, qui erat in luco Martis, subito imbribus tonitrubusque, quae cum illa erant, disiectis a Marte compressam conturbatamque, mox recreatam consolatione dei nomen suum indicantis affirmanfisque ex ea natos dignos patre evasuros. 2 Primum igitur Amulius rex, ut comperit Rheam Silviam sacerdotem peperisse geminos, protinus imperavit deportari ad aquam profluentem atque eo abici. 3 Tum illi, quibus id imperatum erat, impositos alveo pueros circa radices montis Palatii in Tiberim, qui tum magnis imbribus stagnaverat, abiecerunt eiusque regionis subulcus Faustulus speculatus exponentes, ut vidit relabente flumine alveum, in quo pueri erant, obhaesisse ad arborem fici puerorumque vagitu lupam excitam, quae repente exierat, primo lambitu eos detersisse, dein levandorum uberum gratia mammas praebuisse, descendit ac sustulit nutriendosque Accae Larentiae, uxori suae, dedit, ut scribunt Ennius libro primo et Caesar libro secundo.

20 1 But indeed Fabius Pictor in Book 1 and Vennonius, following his usual and instituted method, relate that the virgin, having gone out to fetch water for sacred use from that spring which was in the grove of Mars, when suddenly the rains and thunders that were with her were scattered, was embraced by Mars and thrown into confusion, soon after restored by the consolation of the god, who indicated his own name and affirmed that those born from her would turn out worthy of their father. 2 First, then, King Amulius, when he learned that Rhea Silvia the priestess had borne twins, immediately ordered that they be carried off to running water and there cast away. 3 Then those to whom that had been ordered, the boys placed in a trough, threw them into the Tiber around the roots of the Palatine hill, which then had stagnated with great rains; and Faustulus, the swineherd of that region, having observed the exposers, when he saw that, as the river subsided, the trough in which the boys were had stuck fast to a fig tree, and that a she-wolf, roused by the wailing of the boys, which had suddenly come out, had first cleansed them by licking and then, for the relief of her udders, had offered her teats, went down and lifted them and gave them to Acca Larentia, his wife, to be reared, as Ennius in Book 1 and Caesar in Book 2 write.

4 Addunt quidam Faustulo inspectante picum quoque advolasse et ore pleno cibum pueris ingessisse; inde videlicet lupum picumque Martiae tutelae esse. Arborem quoque illam Ruminalem dictam, circa quam pueri abiecti erant, quod eius sub umbra pecus acquiescens meridie ruminare sit solitum.

4 Some add that, with Faustulus looking on, a woodpecker too flew up and, with a full mouth, pressed food into the boys; from this, evidently, the she-wolf and the woodpecker are under Mars’s tutelage. That tree too was called the Ruminal, around which the boys had been exposed, because beneath its shade the herd, reposing at midday, was accustomed to ruminate.

21 1 At vero Valerius tradit pueros ex Rhea Silvia natos Amulium regem Faustulo servo necandos dedisse, sed eum a Numitore exoratum, ne pueri necarentur, Accae Larentiae amicae suae nutriendos dedisse, quam mulierem, eo quod pretio corpus sit vulgare solita, lupam dictam. 2 Notum quippe ita appellari mulieres quaestum corpore facientes, unde et eiusmodi loci, in quibus hae consistant, lupanaria dicta. 3 Cum vero pueri liberalis disciplinae capaces facti essent, Gabiis Graecarum Latinarumque litterarum ediscendarum gratia commoratos, Numitore avo clam omnia submimstrante.

21 1 But indeed Valerius relates that Amulius the king had given the boys, born from Rhea Silvia, to Faustulus the slave to be killed; but that he, having been prevailed upon by Numitor that the boys not be slain, had handed them over to Acca Larentia, his mistress, to be reared; which woman, because she was accustomed to make her body common for a price, was called a she-wolf. 2 For it is well known that women making gain by means of the body are so called, whence also places of this sort, in which these stand, are called lupanaria (brothels). 3 But when the boys had become capable of liberal discipline, they stayed at Gabii for the sake of thoroughly learning the Greek and Latin letters, with their grandfather Numitor secretly supplying everything.

4 Itaque ut primum adolevissent, Romulum indicio educatoris Faustuli comperto, qui sibi avus, quae mater fuisset quidve de ea factum esset, cum armatis pastoribus Albam protinus perrexisse interfectoque Amulio Numitorem avum in regnum restitutum. Romulum autem a virium magnitudine appellatum; nam Graeca lingua rwmhn virtutem dici certum est. Alterum vero Remum dictum videlicet a tarditate, quippe talis naturae homines ab antiquis remores dici.

4 Therefore, as soon as they had grown up, Romulus—having learned by the disclosure of his fosterer Faustulus who his grandfather was, who his mother had been, and what had been done concerning her—straightway proceeded with armed shepherds to Alba, and, Amulius slain, restored his grandfather Numitor to the kingdom. Moreover, Romulus was so named from the greatness of his strength; for in the Greek tongue rwmhn is certainly said to mean virtue. The other, however, was called Remus, evidently from slowness, since men of such a nature were by the ancients called remores.

22 1 Igitur actis, quae supra diximus, et re divina facta eo in loco, qui nunc Lupercal dicitur, ludibundi discurrerunt pellibus hostiarum occursantes quosque sibimet verberantes; utque sollemne sacrificium sibi posterisque id esset, sanxerunt separatimque suos appellaverunt, Remus Fabios, Romulus Quintilios; quorum utrumque nomen etiamnunc in sacris manet. 2 At vero libro secundo Pontificalium proditur missos ab Amulio, qui Remum pecorum pastorem attraherent, cum non auderent ei vim afferre, opportunum tempus sibi ad insidiandum nactos, quod tum Romulus aberat, genus lusus simulasse, quinam eorum manibus post terga ligatis lapidem, quo lana pensitari solebat, mordicus sublatum quam longissime perferret. 3 Tum Remum fiducia virium in Aventinum usque se perlaturum spopondisse; dein postquam vinciri se passus est, Albam abstractum.

22 1 Therefore, the things which we said above having been done, and the sacred rite performed in that place which is now called the Lupercal, they ran about playfully, with the hides of the victims, meeting people and beating each other; and in order that this might be a solemn sacrifice for themselves and their posterity, they sanctioned it, and they called their own separately, Remus the Fabii, Romulus the Quintilii; both of which names even now remain in the sacred rites. 2 But indeed in the second book of the Pontificals it is put forth that men were sent by Amulius to draw Remus, a shepherd of flocks, away; since they did not dare to bring force upon him, having found an opportune time for laying an ambush for themselves, because at that time Romulus was away, they simulated a kind of game—namely, which of them, with their hands bound behind their backs, would carry as far as possible a stone by which wool used to be weighed, having lifted it with the teeth. 3 Then Remus, in confidence of his strength, pledged that he would carry himself all the way to the Aventine; then, after he allowed himself to be bound, he was dragged off to Alba.

Quod postquam Romulus comperisset, coacta pastorum manu eaque in centenos hommes distributa perticas manipulis foeni varie formatis in summo iunctas dedisse, quo facilius eo signe suum quisque ducem sequeretur. Unde institutum ut postea milites, qui eiusdem signi essent, manipulares dicerentur. 4 Itaque ab eo oppresso Amulio fratrem viculis liberatum, avum regno restitutum.

After Romulus had learned this, having gathered a band of shepherds and, with it distributed into hundreds of men, he gave out poles with maniples of hay, variously shaped, joined at the top, so that more easily, by that sign, each might follow his own leader. Whence it was instituted that thereafter the soldiers who were of the same sign were called manipulares. 4 Thus, with Amulius overpowered by him, his brother was freed from fetters, his grandfather restored to the kingdom.

23 1 Cum igitur inter se Romulus et Remus de condenda urbe tractarent, in qua ipsi pariter regnarent, Romulusque locum, qui sibi idoneus videretur, in monte Palatino designaret Romamque appellari vellet contraque item Remus in alio colle, qui aberat a Palatio milibus quinque, eundemque locum ex suo nomine Remuriam appellaret neque ea inter eos finiretur contentio, avo Numitore arbitre ascito placuit disceptatores eius coiitroversiae immortales deos sumere, ita ut, utri eorum priori secunda auspicia obvenissent, urbem conderet eamque ex suo nomine nuncuparet atque in ea regni summam teneret. 2 Cumque auspicaretur Romulus in Palatio, Remus in Aventino, sex vulturios pariter volantes a sinistra Remo prius visos, tumque ab eo missos, qui Romulo nuntiarent sibi iam data auspicia, quibus condere urbem iuberetur, itaque maturaret ad se venire. 3 Cumque ad eum Romulus venisset quaesissetque, quaenam illa auspicia fuissent, dixissetque ille sibi auspicanti sex vulturios simul apparuisse: At ego, inquit Romulua, iam tibi duodecim demonstrabo; ac repente duodecim vultures apparuisse subsecuto caeli fulgore pariter tonitruque.

23 1 Therefore, when Romulus and Remus were discussing the founding of a city in which they themselves might reign equally, and Romulus was marking out on the Palatine Hill a place which seemed to him suitable and wished it to be called Rome, while Remus likewise, on another hill which was five miles distant from the Palatine, named the same place Remuria from his own name—and since this contention was not settled between them—Numitor the grandfather having been called in as arbitrator, it pleased them to take the immortal gods as arbiters of that controversy, on the condition that whichever of them first obtained favorable auspices should found the city, name it from his own name, and hold the supreme sovereignty in it. 2 And as Romulus was taking the auspices on the Palatine and Remus on the Aventine, six vultures flying together on the left were first seen by Remus; and then he sent men to announce to Romulus that the auspices had already been granted to himself, by which he was ordered to found a city, and that he should therefore hasten to come to him. 3 And when Romulus had come to him and asked what those auspices had been, and he said that, as he was taking the auspices, six vultures had appeared at once to him: But I, said Romulus, will now show you twelve; and suddenly twelve vultures appeared, with a flash of the sky and thunder following in like manner.

4 Tum Romulus: Quid, inquit, Reme, affirmas priora, cum praesentia intuearis? Remus postquam intellexit sese regno fraudatum: Multa, inquit, in hac urbe temere sperata atque praesumpta felicisaime proventura sunt. 5 At vero Licinius Macer libro primo docet contentionis illius perniciosum exitiam fuisse; namque ibidem obsistentes Remum et Faustulum interfectos.

4 Then Romulus: “Why,” he says, “Remus, do you affirm the earlier signs, when you behold the present ones?” Remus, after he understood that he had been defrauded of the kingship: “Many things,” he says, “in this city, rashly hoped for and presupposed, will come to pass most happily.” 5 But indeed Licinius Macer in the first book teaches that the outcome of that contention was pernicious; for in that same place, while opposing, Remus and Faustulus were slain.

6 Contra Egnatius libro primo in ea contentione non modo Remum non esse occisum sed etiam ulterius a Romulo vixisse tradit.

6 On the contrary, Egnatius in the first book relates that in that contention not only was Remus not slain, but that he even outlived Romulus.