Petrarch: DE VIRIS ILLUSTRIBUS

1. Romulus Romanorum regum primus Romaneque reipublice parens fuit, ardentis animi vir in primis atque armis eximius; talem venturis nempe successibus fata prospexerant, quo auctore, tot circumtonanibus vicinorum minis e dumosis collibus in celum usque venturi imperii fundamenta consurgerent.

1. Romulus was the first of the kings of the Romans and the parent of the Roman republic, a man of burning spirit foremost and outstanding in arms; indeed the Fates had foreseen such a one for the successes to come, with him as author, so that, amid the neighbors’ menaces thundering all around, from the bushy hills the foundations of the empire to come might rise up even to heaven.

2. Neque enim tuto poterat molli aree tanta rerum moles imponi; solum stabile vehementisque ducem spiritus res tanta poscebat. Affuit, atque ubi prius herbarum vix armento satis herculeo, vix capellis Faustuli abunde frondium esse consueverat, illic arcem omnium terrarum struxit ac supremum mortalibus principatum.

2. For not safely could so great a mass of affairs be imposed upon a soft foundation; such a matter demanded a stable soil and a leader of vehement spirit. He appeared, and where previously there had scarcely been enough grasses for the herd—by Hercules!—scarcely an abundance of foliage for Faustulus’s little goats, there he built the citadel of all the lands and the supreme principate for mortals.

3. Is ergo cum Remo fratre simul Rea Silvia, que et Ilia dicta, matre haud dubia, Marte autem seu ficto patre seu credito genitus, ubi primum lucis limen attigit, non in matre solum sed in se etiam ac fratre sevitiam Amulii Albanorum regis expertus est.

3. He therefore, together with his brother Remus, with Rhea Silvia—who is also called Ilia—for a mother not at all doubtful, but begotten by Mars, whether a father feigned or one credited, as soon as he touched the threshold of light, experienced the savagery of Amulius, king of the Albans, not only upon his mother but upon himself also and his brother.

4. A quo in Tyberim mergi iussi casu quodam seu, quod de tanto futuro imperio credi licet, divina providentia liberati sunt immensis rebus insperata primordia preparante. Supergresso enim forte ripas amne inaccessibilique alveo stagnantibus secus ripam vadis, abiecti, abeuntibus regii sceleris ministris, incolumes evasere.

4. By whom they were ordered to be plunged into the Tiber, they were freed by some chance—or, as may be believed concerning so great a future empire, by divine providence preparing unhoped-for primordial beginnings for immense affairs. For, the stream having by chance overflowed its banks, and the channel being inaccessible, with shallows stagnant along the bank, when they were cast out, the ministers of the royal crime departing, they escaped unharmed.

5. Eo rursus seu vera seu ficta lupa - utraque enim fama est - infantum vagitu excita et quasi humanitus miserata diverterat; cuius lacte alti interim, donec a pastore regio - Faustulus is erat quem supra nominavi - labellis fere ubera sugentes, lupa illos itidem relambente, reperti et usque ad pubertatis annos caritate patria educati sunt.

5. Thereupon again a she-wolf, whether real or feigned - for both reports exist -, roused by the wailing of the infants and, as if humanly, pitying them, had turned aside; by whose milk they were in the meantime nourished, until by the royal shepherd - Faustulus was he whom I named above - while with their little lips almost sucking the teats, the she-wolf likewise licking them, they were found and were reared up to the years of puberty by paternal affection.

6. Enimvero tunc in dies magis ac magis indoles emergere factisque clarescere, iam cari undique lateque terribiles nil inausum linquere, iamque altor ipse rebus monitus in ea, quam ab initio conceperat, opinione firmari regios adolescentes fore.

6. Indeed then their inborn character day by day more and more began to emerge and to grow illustrious by deeds, already, beloved and on every side and far and wide formidable, they left nothing unattempted, and now the fosterer himself, admonished by the circumstances, was being confirmed in that opinion which he had conceived from the beginning, that the youths were of royal stock.

7. Id aliquandiu celatum tandem patuit. Remo capto a satellitibus regis et pene destinato atque ad solatium iniurie materno avo Numitori tradito, cuius in agros fratres ambo impetum fecisse fefebantur; quo conspecto, non in iram versus, ut mos est, pro iniuria illata,

7. That, concealed for some time, at length became manifest. Remus, seized by the king’s attendants and all but destined, and, as a solace for the injury, handed over to his maternal grandfather Numitor, into whose fields the two brothers were reported to have made an assault; upon seeing him, he did not turn into anger, as is the custom, for the injury inflicted,

8. sed latenti quadam animi dulcedine erga illum motus et, audito quod gemini essent extimataque hinc etate hinc effigie generosa minimeque pastoria, nepotum in memoriam adductus querendoque circumstantias, pedetentim eo pervenerat ut hunc paulominus nepotum suorum alterum esse minime dubitaret, itaque liberius illum habere non ut captivum sed, quod vere erat, ut suum.

8. but moved by a certain latent sweetness of spirit toward him, and, on hearing that they were twins and, estimating now from the age, now from the figure—noble and by no means pastoral—brought into the memory of his grandsons and by inquiring into the circumstances, he had by degrees come to this point: that he scarcely doubted that this one was, almost, one of his grandsons; and so he more freely held him not as a captive but, as he truly was, as his own.

9. Hinc in perniciem regis pronior via; siquidem, patefacta Romulo non modo presenti conditione fraterni status sed origine etiam utriusque in id tempus poccultata, admonete putativo eos patre non sua, ut crediderant, sed regia stirpe progenitos, eitaque per ordinem et eorum simul et avi ac matris iniuria, rebus cognitis animosior Romulus et non modo liberaturus fratrem, sed illum seque et avum et matrem vindicaturus accingitur; non aperto quidem impetu, impar viribus, sed clanculum iuvenibus hinc atque hinc missis, qui una hora in regiam convenirent.

9. Hence the way was more inclined toward the king’s ruin; since, laid open to Romulus not only the present condition of his brother’s status but also the origin of them both, hidden until that time, their putative father admonishing that they were begotten not of his own stock, as they had believed, but of royal stock, and thus, step by step, the injury done both to them and to their grandsire and mother; the facts being known, a more high-spirited Romulus girds himself, not only about to free his brother, but to vindicate him and himself and their grandsire and mother; not by open onset, unequal in forces, but secretly, with young men sent from this side and that, who at one hour might assemble in the royal palace.

10. Sic dispositis insidiis et in tempus accurente Remo, in Amulium irruitur incautum et tale nichil opinantem. Ceso rege, Numitor, Amulii frater et ab illo pridem regno pulsus, restituitur, non minus nepotum repertorum quam recuperati regni insperat sorte letus.

10. With the ambushes thus arranged and Remus arriving in time, they rush upon Amulius, unwary and expecting nothing of the sort. The king having been cut down, Numitor, the brother of Amulius and long since driven from the kingdom by him, is restored, no less gladdened by the discovery of his grandsons than by the recovery of the kingdom, by an unhoped-for lot.

11. Inde autem quod ingentibus animis augustum avitum regnum videretur, Alba avo derelicta ipsi, vel infantie cunabula vel periculi sui locum amantes, ad iacienda illic nove urbis fundamenta festinant.

11. Then, however, because to their huge spirits the august ancestral kingdom seemed such, Alba having been left to their grandsire, they themselves, loving either the cradles of their infancy or the place of their peril, hasten to lay there the foundations of a new city.

12. Sic auspicato horrida et ut proprie dicam pastoralis regia, mox futura aurea, in Palatino monte construitur et, fratre quidem auspiciis victo, Romuli solius ex nomine urbi nomen inditum, orbi postmodum populisque et regibus formidandum.

12. Thus, with auspices taken, a rough—and, to speak properly, pastoral—royal palace, soon to be golden, is constructed on the Palatine Mount, and, the brother indeed defeated in the auspices, the city’s name was bestowed from the name of Romulus alone, thereafter to be formidable to the world and to peoples and kings.

13. Ceterum seu hinc orto certamine, seu contempto fratris edicto Remus nova menia transcendens interficitur et, sive imperii cupiditas sive ille iustitie rigor fuit, variat enim in multis vetustissime rei fides, unus Romulus regni frena sortitus patrios simul externosque sacrorum ritus instituit, regiumque habitum et insignia ac lictores duodecim sibi assumpsit, et novas leges edidit, unicum et populi glutinum et pacis ac concordie fundamentum.

13. But whether, with a contest arisen hence, or with his brother’s edict contemned, Remus, overleaping the new walls, is slain; and whether it was desire for dominion or that rigor of justice—for the credence of a most ancient affair varies among many—Romulus alone, having obtained the reins of the kingdom, instituted both ancestral and foreign sacred rites, and assumed for himself the royal habit and insignia and twelve lictors, and issued new laws, the unique glue of the people and the foundation of peace and concord.

14. Tria hinc maxime providenda videbantur, et consilium scilicet et augmentum cepte urbis et longevitas; erat enim parvis in menibus magna raritas accolarum, eaque ipsa brevissimi temporis spem dabat propagande sobolis deficiente commercio.

14. From here three things seemed especially to be provided for, namely counsel, the augmentation of the begun city, and longevity; for within the small walls there was a great scarcity of dwellers, and that very fact gave hope of a very brief time for the propagation of progeny, with intermarriage failing.

15. Primum igitur centum ex patribus in senatus lectis -ab etate dicto ordine, nam patrum nomen ab amore curaque reipublice ortum erat-, secundum vero dus inter lucos instituto asilo effectum -sic sanctum templum Greci vocant-, quo aperto multa illico vicinis e regionibus turba confluxerat; tertium nuptiis fiendum apparebat, virilis enim tantum sexus nonnisi unius populum spondebat etatis.

15. First, therefore, a hundred from the fathers were enrolled into the Senate — the order so named from age, for the name “fathers” had arisen from love and care of the republic —; secondly, an asylum established among the groves produced its effect — thus the Greeks call a sacred temple —, which, once opened, at once a great crowd had flocked together to from the neighboring regions; third, it appeared that this should be accomplished by nuptials, for a people of the male sex only promised but a single age.

16. Que quoniam superbe quin et ignominiose a finitimis negabantur, vi et ingenio parte sunt; siquidem, repulse ira et dolore dissimulato interim ac supresso, exquisitos rex Neptuno ludos parat edicique diem per vicinos populos iubet. Qui affuit, concursus ingens utriusque sexus proximis ex urbibus atque oppidis Rome fuit et ludorum studio nec minus visende nove illius et ceu subito nate urbis desiderio. Medio igitur spectaculo, versis in ludos omnium oculis animisque, ex condicto rapte virgines, non ad stuprum sed ad nuptias spemque progeniei.

16. And since these things were being denied by the neighbors arrogantly and even ignominiously, they were procured by force and ingenuity; indeed, with the anger and grief of the repulse meanwhile concealed and suppressed, the king prepares exquisite games to Neptune and orders a day to be proclaimed through the neighboring peoples. At this there was present a huge concourse of both sexes from the nearest cities and towns to Rome, drawn by zeal for the games and no less by the desire of seeing that new city, as if suddenly born. Therefore, in the middle of the spectacle, with the eyes and minds of all turned to the games, by prearrangement the maidens were seized—not for defilement but for marriages and the hope of progeny.

18. Itaque inter indignationem et lacrimas delinite blanditiis raptorum, ante alios Romuli, singule singulis matrimonio iunguntur. Hinc multorum causa radixque certaminum. Questi patres et affines virginium violentiam perfidiamque hospitum, a quibus invitati ad ludos gravissima omnium iniuria se affectos dicerent, raptim se ex urbe proripiunt reversique domum mesti querelas ingeminant, scelus exaggerant, arma capiunt, ultionem parant.

18. And so, amid indignation and tears, soothed by the blandishments of their abductors—above all by Romulus—they, one by one, are joined to single men in matrimony. Hence the cause and root of many contests. The fathers and kinsmen, complaining of the violence against the maidens and the perfidy of their hosts, by whom, invited to the games, they said they had been afflicted with the most grievous injury of all, hurry themselves headlong out of the city; and having returned home, downcast, they redouble their complaints, exaggerate the crime, take up arms, prepare vengeance.

19. Fit ex omnibus populis conventus ad Titum Tatium Sabinorum regem, quod illic et potentie plurimum esset et iniurie. Verum, quia preceps ira moras consiliumque non recipit et pro ardore animorum apparatus belli segnis videbatur, quisque per se, non expectantes alterutrum, in bellum ruunt, primique omnium Ceninenses cum exercitu in Romanos fines irrumpunt.

19. A convocation from all the peoples is made to Titus Tatius, king of the Sabines, because there was there the most both of potency and of injury. But, since precipitous anger admits neither delays nor counsel, and in proportion to the ardor of spirits the apparatus of war seemed sluggish, each on his own, not awaiting one another, rush into war, and first of all the Ceninenses, with an army, burst into the Roman borders.

20. Quibus occurrens Romulus hostes in fugam vertit, regemque hostium Acronem singulari certamine congressus interficit, urbemque illorum et fuga populi et morte regis attonitam facili capit incursu.

20. Romulus, encountering them, turned the enemies to flight, and, having engaged Acron, the king of the enemies, in singular combat, he slew him, and their city, astonished both by the flight of the people and the death of the king, he captures with an easy incursion.

21. Ipse victor Romam rediens victi regis exuvias in Capitolium defert, templumque Rome primum extruit dedicatque sub nomine Feretrii Iovis, quo victores romani duces nonnisi de singulari prelio cesis hostium ducibus opima que vocant ferrent spolia. Illic ergo venturi temporis ad exemplum cesi regis spolia suffixit, rarum valde sed eximium posterorum decus.

21. He himself, the victor, returning to Rome, carries the spoils of the conquered king into the Capitol, and he builds and dedicates the first temple at Rome under the name of Jupiter Feretrius, where victorious Roman leaders would bring the spoils—what they call the spolia opima—but only from enemy leaders slain in single combat. There, therefore, for an example to the time to come, he affixed the spoils of the slain king—a thing very rare indeed, but a singular ornament of posterity.

22. Proximi Anthemates, in Romanos agros facto impetu, victi sunt amissumque oppidum; sed Hersilie romulee coniugis interventu, que una raptarum erat raptarumque omnium preces ac vota regis auribus in vehebat, misericordiam adepti victricemque in urbem recepti sunt.

22. The neighboring Anthemates, having made an inrush into the Roman fields, were defeated and lost their town; but by the intervention of Hersilia, the consort of Romulus, who was one of the seized women and was bearing into the king’s ears the prayers and vows of all the seized, having obtained mercy they were received into the victorious city.

23. Dehinc Crustumeni arma moventes facili Marte fraguntur, enitescente in dies Romuli virtute, tranlatisque Romam victis crescente urbe hostium ruinis. Plus negotii cum Sabinis fuit qui, quo serius eo maturius agentes, capta per dolum aece Capitolii, proditrice virgine filia Spurii Tarpei qui custos arcis erat -a quo rupi nomen -, adhuc tenere urbis in visceribus anceps prelium intulerunt e loco superiore pugnantes.

23. Thereafter the Crustumenians, moving arms, are broken with an easy Mars, Romulus’s virtue shining forth day by day, and with the defeated transferred to Rome the city grew by the ruins of its enemies. There was more business with the Sabines, who—acting the later, the more maturely—having taken by guile the Capitoline citadel, through the betrayer maiden, the daughter of Spurius Tarpeius, who was the guardian of the citadel - whence the cliff its name -, even brought a two-headed (doubtful) battle into the very entrails of the city, fighting from the higher ground.

24. In quo quidem corruente Hostio Hostilio, qui pro partibus romanis acerrime dum potuit steterat, romana acies omnis avertitur, reluctantem quoque ipsum Romulum impellens.

24. In which, with Hostius Hostilius falling—who had stood most fiercely for the Roman side as long as he could—the entire Roman battle line is turned in flight, impelling even Romulus himself, though resisting.

25. Ille autem, cum nichil humane opis iam speraret, armatas ad celum manus erigens, Iovemque ceu presentem compellans, consternatosque animos suorum celesti ope firmaret ac sisteret, Statori Iovi templum. ut scriptoribus placet secundum Rome, vovit et, quasi receptis celo votis audentior, iam Iovem iubere clara suis voce denuntians.

25. But he, when he now hoped for nothing of human aid, raising his armed hands to heaven and addressing Jupiter as though present, so that by celestial help he might strengthen and steady the dismayed spirits of his men, vowed a temple to Jupiter Stator, as the writers relate, at Rome; and, as if his vows had been received in heaven, bolder now, proclaiming to his own in a clear voice that Jupiter was giving the command.

26. Hinc, et regis exemplum et Iovis imperium secuta, acies in hostem redit; quorum insperato reditu et ante aciem pugnantis Romuli acri incursu mutatus pugne status; et iam fugiant qui fugabant. Inter quos ipse quoque Metius Curtius, Sabinorum secundum regem vir clarissimus et illo die ante alios factis ac virtute conspicuus, impetum non tulit.

26. From here, having followed both the king’s example and Jove’s command, the battle-line returns against the enemy; by their unexpected return, and by the keen incursion of Romulus fighting before the battle-line, the state of the fight was changed; and now they flee who had been making others flee. Among whom Metius Curtius himself also, a most illustrious man, second to the king of the Sabines, and on that day conspicuous before others by deeds and by valor, did not withstand the assault.

27. Palus illi proxima et discrimini fuit et saluti, in quam territi saltu cornipedis invectus magno suorum metu, in adversam tandem ripam hortantium viamque monstrantium confirmatus vocibus emersit; et hinc quoque paludis ortum nomen : lacum curtium dixere. Hoc recepto aucti suis animi rursumque, variente licet iam fortuna inclinataque in Sabinos belli mole, concurritur.

27. The marsh nearest to him was both a crisis and a salvation, into which, borne in by the terrified leap of his horn‑footed steed, to the great fear of his own men, he was carried; at last, strengthened by the voices of those urging him on and showing the way, he emerged to the opposite bank; and from this too the marsh got the origin of its name : they called it the Lake Curtius. With him recovered, their spirits were increased, and again, although fortune was now varying and the mass of the war was inclined against the Sabines, they clash together.

28. Hoc in statu insperate viam pacis invenit pietas : pugnantibus hinc viris hinc patribus, sexus immemor ac periculi raptarum acies intervenit, laccrimosis precibus miserando habitu vel belli finem vel, si pergerent, in se prius belli causam verti gladios obsecrantes, quam se se in presens cede mutua, in longum vero sobolem immeritam ex se ortam, hi filios hi nepotes, tristi parricidio inquinarent, necdum culpe capacibus eternam infamiam irrogarent.

28. In this situation, unexpectedly, piety found a way of peace : with the men on this side and the fathers on that still fighting, the battle-line of the abducted women, forgetful of sex and of danger, intervened, with tearful prayers and in pitiable attire beseeching either an end of the war or, if they persisted, that the swords be turned first upon themselves, the cause of the war, rather than that they should now, in the present, stain themselves with mutual slaughter, and in the long term their undeserving offspring sprung from themselves—here sons, there grandsons—with sad parricide, and that they impose eternal infamy upon those not yet capable of fault.

29. Flectuntur hinc inde animi ireque franguntur. Mirum dictu, in utroque exercitu fragor subito compressus armorum et bellantium strepitus; tam mitis per modo tam rabidas mentes stupor incesserat! Nec latere diu potuit; mutati ilicet affectus erupere et pietatem quies et silentium pax secuta est.

29. On both sides the spirits are bent and the angers are broken. Wondrous to say, in each army the clash of arms and the din of the fighters was suddenly stilled; so mild a stupor had come upon minds so lately rabid! Nor could it lie hidden long; straightway the changed feelings erupted, and Quiet followed Piety, and Peace, Silence.

30. Iunctis regum dextris, ictum fedus et aucta mirum in modum civitas Sabinorum transitu; nec minus utriusuqe gentis erga optime meritas matronas auctus amor, ante alios Romuli, qui illarum eximie pietati magnos ac debitos honores tribuit.

30. With the kings’ right hands joined, a treaty was struck, and the commonwealth was augmented in a wondrous manner by the coming over of the Sabines; nor was the love of each nation toward the matrons who had most excellently deserved any less increased—above others, Romulus’s, who bestowed upon their exceptional piety great and due honors.

31. Duo nunc etiam supersunt bella: cum Fidenatibus alterum, qui, dum surgentis imperii vires timent suspectasque habent, ante illas quam oporteret expertisunt. Ingressis hostiliter in romanos fines Romulus obviam profectus, haud procul urbe hostium castra posuit, ingenioque metum simulans credulum in insidias hostem traxit.

31. Two wars even now remain: the other, with the Fidenates, who, while they fear the forces of the rising imperium and hold them suspect, tested them earlier than was fitting. When they had entered hostilely into Roman territory, Romulus set out to meet them, pitched his camp not far from the enemy’s city, and by stratagem, feigning fear, drew the credulous enemy into an ambush.

32. Hinc terror improvisus et repens fuga, usqueadeo ut, victis victoribusque permixtis, custodes portarum vix inter hostem civemque discernerent: intromissi omnes, capta urbs. Alterum cum Veientibus bellum fuit, et Fidenatium amore et Romanorum odio excitum: et his acie victis, pervastato agro, pacem postulantibus, parte finium adempta, centum annorum indutie permittuntur.

32. Hence an unforeseen terror and a sudden flight, to such an extent that, with vanquished and victors intermingled, the keepers of the gates could scarcely discern between foe and citizen: all were admitted, the city captured. The other war was with the Veientes, stirred up by affection for the Fidenates and hatred of the Romans: and when these were defeated in line of battle, the countryside thoroughly ravaged, as they sued for peace, with a portion of their boundaries taken away, a truce of one hundred years was granted.

33. Hec Romuli primordia, hic vite cursus, hec series rerum fuit, quibus apud illud agreste genus hominum necdum satis eruditos vulgi animos tam paterne quam proprie divinitatis fidem meruit, vir nec animi egens nec ingenii, bello inclitus, domi prudens.

33. These were the beginnings of Romulus, this the course of his life, this the sequence of affairs, whereby among that rustic race of men, the minds of the common crowd not yet sufficiently erudite, he merited faith in a divinity as much paternal as properly his own, a man lacking neither spirit nor ingenuity, illustrious in war, prudent at home.

34. Populi equitumque centurias instituit; ut utrunque pacis ac belli tempus suis presidiis niteretur, trcentis insuper expeditissimis armatis ad tutelam sui corporis eque in pace ac bello usus est, qui celeres dicti sunt, a celeritate derivatum nomen. Quibus artibus et dum vixit clarus et post mortem clarior, populo tamen quam senatu acceptior senatui; hinc suspitio in patres.

34. He instituted centuries of the people and of the equestrians; so that both the time of peace and the time of war might lean upon its own safeguards, besides he employed three hundred most expeditious armed men for the protection of his person, equally in peace and in war, who were called the Celeres, the name derived from celerity. By these arts he was famous while he lived and more famous after death, yet more acceptable to the people than to the senate; hence suspicion against the Fathers.

35. Nam cum annos septem et triginta regnasset, reique militaris solitas curas agens ad paludem Capre, contione in camois habita, recenseret exercitum, et solis repentina defectio, literarum nesciis ac viris militaribus improvisa, simulque tempestas horribilis, que ingenti pluvia et fulminum stridore detonuit, preripuere undique regis aspectum, neque ipse usquam amplius visus est: mirum ac pene incredibile, tanti regis exitum, populo spectante cui dilectissimum fuisse nullus regnat, tam dubium tamque occultum esse potuisse.

35. For when he had reigned thirty-seven years, and, attending to the customary cares of military affairs at the Capra marsh, an assembly having been held on the fields, he was reviewing the army, a sudden eclipse of the sun—unexpected to men unlettered and to military men—and at the same time a horrible tempest, which thundered with a vast downpour and the hissing of lightnings, snatched away on every side the sight of the king, nor was he anywhere seen thereafter: a wonder and almost unbelievable, that the end of so great a king, the people looking on—by whom he is acknowledged to have been most beloved—could have been so doubtful and so hidden.

36. Opiniones rei varie. Aliqui ad celum raptum deorumque concilio adscriptumvolunt: magnus saltus homini armato et peccatis presso et sanguine lubrico et veri Dei celestisque vie nescio, sed nichil est quod non sibi vehemens et immodicus amor fingat.

36. The opinions of the matter are various. Some want him snatched up to heaven and enrolled in the council of the gods: a great leap for a man armed and pressed by sins and made lubricous with blood, and ignorant of the true God and of the celestial way, but there is nothing which vehement and immoderate love does not feign for itself.

37. Tempestate igitur sopita, cum a patribus, qui una circumfusi steterant, populo visendi avido et regem suum certatim requirenti responsum esset abiisse illum ad superos, adstipulante uno tste creditum.

37. Therefore, the tempest being lulled, when by the fathers, who had stood together encircled, to the people avid to behold and vyingly inquiring after their king, the answer had been given that he had gone to the gods above, with one witness assenting, it was believed.

38. Iulius Proculus is fuit, insigni, quantum intelligi datur, apud suos sanctitatis fama et, quod constat, nobilitate generis preclara, ut qui, albanis ortus ex regibus Romamque cum Romulo commigrans, fundator Iulie gentis fuit.

38. Julius Proculus—he was, so far as it can be understood, of distinguished fame for sanctity among his own, and, as is established, illustrious in the nobility of his lineage, as one who, sprung from the Alban kings and co-migrating to Rome with Romulus, was the founder of the Julian gens.

39. Qui prodire ausus in publicum, meste multitudini letum attulit rumorem, eo ipso die Romulum celo demissum plusquam mortali habitu sibi affuisse testatus, et tremore maximo faciem eius suspicere non audenti hoc iussisse: nuntiaret civibus suis artes bellicas excolerent, certi omnem humanam potentiam eorum armis imparem fore, suam urbem, sic diis placitum, omnium caput ac dominam futuram esse terrarum; atque his dictis ablatum ex oculis in celum ascendisse.

39. He, having dared to come forth into the public, brought to the sad multitude the rumor of death, testifying that on that very day Romulus, sent down from heaven, had been present to him in a more-than-mortal guise, and that, as he with the greatest trembling did not dare to look up at his face, he ordered this: that he should announce to his fellow-citizens to cultivate the military arts, being certain that all human power would be unequal to their arms; that his city—thus it pleased the gods—would be the head and mistress of all the lands; and that, these things said, he was taken from his sight and ascended into heaven.

40. Hec narranti iurantique Iulio fides habita et divinitatis solatio mitigatus dolor mortis et lenita ira, quam in patres plebs tam cari regis morte conceperat: ita facile quod cupiunt credunt omnes. Alii laniatum a patribus occasione tempestatis arrepta, palustrique forsan limmo, nequa vestigia cedis extarent, inter tenebras abditum opinantur.

40. Credence was given to Julius as he narrated and swore these things, and the grief of death was mitigated by the solace of divinity, and the anger, which the plebs had conceived against the Fathers at the death of so dear a king, was softened: thus all easily believe what they desire. Others suppose that, the opportunity of a storm having been seized, he was torn to pieces by the Fathers, and, perhaps with marshy slime, lest any vestiges of the slaughter should stand forth, he was hidden amid the darkness.

41. Ea, ut Livius ait "perobscura fama", ut vero aliis iisque clarissimis scriptoribus videtur utique vera est, quamvis, ut ibidem ait idem, "illamalteram admiratio viri et pavor presens nobilitaverit".

41. These things, as Livy says, are a "very obscure report"; but to others, and those most illustrious writers, it seems altogether true, although, as in the same place the same man says, "that other account admiration of the man and present fear have made notable."

42. Potest et illud forsitan credi, quod quidam suspicati sunt, neque in celum divonitus sublatum neque in terris humanitus laceratum, sed tempestate ipse atque impetu fulminis absumptum, cuius qui aderant quo proprius eo magis attonitis atque insciis, accidisse.

42. It can perhaps also be believed, what certain men suspected: that he was neither lifted into heaven by divine agency nor torn to pieces on earth by human agency, but was consumed by a tempest and by the impetus of a thunderbolt—an occurrence which befell while those who were present, the nearer they were, were all the more thunderstruck and unaware.

43. Et opinionum quidem in rebus ambiguis iudiciique libertas multiplex, veritas una non amplius; sed hec ipsa in Romuli exitu, ut in plerisque aliis, alte habet.

43. And indeed, in ambiguous matters there is manifold freedom of opinions and of judgment; the truth is single, no more; but this very thing, in Romulus’s exit, as in very many others, lies deep.