39.6. in the sequel this act of generosity led to a growing intimacy between the women, and the boy, as one reared from childhood in the palace, was held in affection and esteem; it was his mother's misfortune, who by the capture of her native town came into the power of its enemies, which gave rise to the belief that Servius was born of a slave woman.
39.6. inde tanto beneficio et inter mulieres familiaritatem auctam et puerum, ut in domo a paruo eductum, in caritate atque honore fuisse; fortunam matris, quod capta patria in hostium manus uenerit, ut serua natus crederetur fecisse.
40.1. It was now about thirty-eight years since Tarquinius had begun to reign, and not only the king, but the Fathers and the commons too, held Servius Tullius in the very highest honour.
40.1. duodequadragesimo ferme anno ex quo regnare coeperat Tarquinius, non apud regem modo sed apud patres plebemque longe maximo honore Ser. Tullius erat.
40.2. Now the two sons of Ancus had always considered it a great outrage that they had been ousted from their father's kingship by the crime of their guardian, and that Rome should be ruled by a stranger whose descent was derived from a race not only remote but actually not even Italian. But their indignation was vastly increased by the prospect that even after Tarquinius' death the sovereignty would not revert to them, but, plunging down to yet baser depths, would fall into the hands of slaves; so that where, a hundred years before, Romulus, a god's son and himself a god, had borne sway, so long as he remained on earth, in that self-same state a slave and the son of a slave woman would be king. It would be not only a general disgrace to the Roman name, but particularly to their own house, if during the lifetime of Ancus' sons it should be open not only to strangers, but even to slaves to rule over the Romans.
40.2. tum Anci filii duo etsi antea semper pro indignissimo habuerant se patrio regno tutoris fraude pulsos, regnare Romae aduenam non modo uicinae sed ne Italicae quidem stirpis, tum impensius iis indignitas crescere si ne ab Tarquinio quidem ad se rediret regnum, sed praeceps inde porro ad seruitia caderet, ut in eadem ciuitate post centesimum fere annum quam Romulus deo prognatus deus ipse tenuerit regnum donec in terris fuerit, id seruus serua natus possideat. cum commune Romani nominis tum praecipue id domus suae dedecus fore, si Anci regis uirili stirpe salua non modo aduenis sed seruis etiam regnum Romae pateret.
40.4. They therefore determined to repel that insult with the sword. But resentment at their wrong urged them rather against Tarquinius himself than against Servius, not only because the king, if he survived, would be more formidable to avenge the murder than a subject would be, but because if Servius should be dispatched it seemed probable that the kingdom would be inherited by whomsoever else Tarquinius might choose to be his son-in-law. For these reasons they laid their plot against the king himself.
40.4. ferro igitur eam arcere contumeliam statuunt; sed et iniuriae dolor in Tarquinium ipsum magis quam in Seruium eos stimulabat, et quia grauior ultor caedis, si superesset, rex futurus erat quam priuatus; tum Seruio occiso, quemcumque alium generum delegisset, eundem regni heredem facturus uidebatur; ob haec ipsi regi insidiae parantur.
40.5. Two very desperate shepherds were selected to do the deed. Armed with the rustic implements to which they were both accustomed, they feigned a brawl in the entrance-court of the palace and, making as much noise as possible, attracted the attention of all the royal attendants; then they appealed to the king, until their shouts were heard inside the palace and they were sent for and came before him.
40.5. ex pastoribus duo ferocissimi delecti ad facinus, quibus consueti erant uterque agrestibus ferramentis, in uestibulo regiae quam potuere tumultuosissime specie rixae in se omnes apparitores regios conuertunt; inde, cum ambo regem appellarent clamorque eorum penitus in regiam peruenisset, uocati ad regem pergunt.
40.6. At first each raised his voice and tried to shout the other down. Being repressed by the lictor and bidden to speak in turn, they finally ceased to interrupt each other, and one of them began to state his case, as they had planned beforehand.
40.6. primo uterque uociferari et certatim alter alteri obstrepere; coerciti ab lictore et iussi in uicem dicere tandem obloqui desistunt; unus rem ex composito orditur.
40.7. While the king, intent upon the speaker, turned quite away from the other shepherd, the latter lifted his axe and brought it down upon his head. Then, leaving the weapon in the wound, they both ran out of doors.
40.7. cum intentus in eum se rex totus auerteret, alter elatam securim in caput deiecit, relictoque in uolnere telo ambo se foras eiciunt.
41.1. The dying Tarquinius had hardly been caught up in the arms of the bystanders when the fugitives were seized by the lictors. Then there was an uproar, as crowds hurried to the scene, asking one another in amazement what the matter was. In the midst of the tumult Tanaquil gave orders to close the palace, and ejected all witnesses. She busily got together the remedies needful for healing a wound, as if there were still hope, taking at the same time other measures to protect herself in case her hope should fail her.
41.1. Tarquinium moribundum cum qui circa erant excepissent, illos fugientes lictores comprehendunt. clamor inde concursusque populi, mirantium quid rei esset. Tanaquil inter tumultum claudi regiam iubet, arbitros eiecit. simul quae curando uolneri opus sunt, tamquam spes subesset, sedulo comparat, simul si destituat spes, alia praesidia molitur.
41.2. Having hastily summoned Servius, she showed him her husband's nearly lifeless body, and grasping his right hand, besought him not to suffer the death of his father-in-law to go unpunished, nor his mother-in-law to become a jest to her enemies.
41.2. Seruio propere accito cum paene exsanguem uirum ostendisset, dextram tenens orat ne inultam mortem soceri, ne socrum inimicis ludibrio esse sinat.
41.3. “To you, Servius,” she cried, “if you are a man, belongs this kingdom, not to those who by the hands of others have committed a dastardly crime. Arouse yourself and follow the guidance of the gods, who once declared by the token of divine fire poured out upon this head that you should be a famous man. Now is the time for that heaven-sent flame to quicken you! Now wake in earnest! We, too, were foreigners, yet we reigned. Consider what you are, not whence you were born. If your own counsels are benumbed in this sudden crisis, at least use mine.”
41.3. 'tuum est' inquit, 'Serui, si uir es, regnum, non eorum qui alienis manibus pessimum facinus fecere. erige te deosque duces sequere qui clarum hoc fore caput diuino quondam circumfuso igni portenderunt. nunc te illa caelestis excitet flamma; nunc expergiscere uere. et nos peregrini regnauimus; qui sis, non unde natus sis reputa. si tua re subita consilia torpent, at tu mea consilia sequere.'
41.4. When the shouting and pushing of the crowd could hardly be withstood, Tanaquil went up into the upper storey of the house, and through a window looking out upon the Nova Via —for the king lived near the temple of Jupiter the Stayer — addressed the populace.
41.4. cum clamor impetusque multitudinis uix sustineri posset, ex superiore parte aedium per fenestras in Nouam uiam uersas—habitabat enim rex ad Iouis Statoris—populum Tanaquil adloquitur.
41.5. She bade them be of good cheer: the king had been stunned by a sudden blow; the steel had not sunk deep into his body; he had already recovered consciousness; the blood had been wiped away and the wound examined; all the symptoms were favourable; she trusted that they would soon see Tarquinius himself; meanwhile she commanded that the people should obey Servius Tullius, who would dispense justice and perform the other duties of the king.
41.5. iubet bono animo esse; sopitum fuisse regem subito ictu; ferrum haud alte in corpus descendisse; iam ad se redisse; inspectum uolnus absterso cruore; omnia salubria esse; confidere propediem ipsum eos uisuros; interim Ser. Tullio iubere populum dicto audientem esse; eum iura redditurum obiturumque alia regis munia esse.
41.6. Servius went forth in the royal robe, accompanied by lictors, and sitting in the king's seat rendered judgment in some cases, while in regard to others he gave out that he would consult the king. In this way for several days after Tarquinius had breathed his last he concealed his death, pretending that he was merely doing another's work, while he was really strengthening his own position; then at last the truth was allowed to be known, from the lamentations which arose within the palace. Servius surrounded himself with a strong guard, and ruled at first without the authorization of the people, but with the consent of the Fathers.
41.6. Seruius cum trabea et lictoribus prodit ac sede regia sedens alia decernit, de aliis consulturum se regem esse simulat. itaque per aliquot dies cum iam exspirasset Tarquinius celata morte per speciem alienae fungendae uicis suas opes firmauit; tum demum palam factum est comploratione in regia orta. Seruius praesidio firmo munitus, primus iniussu populi, uoluntate patrum regnauit.
41.7. The sons of Ancus, upon the arrest of the agents of their crime and the report that the king was alive and that Servius was so strong, had already gone into voluntary exile at Suessa Pometia.
41.7. Anci liberi iam tum comprensis sceleris ministris ut uiuere regem et tantas esse opes Serui nuntiatum est, Suessam Pometiam exsulatum ierant.
42.1. Servius now took steps to assure his position by private as well as public measures. In order that the sons of Tarquinius might not show the same animosity towards himself which the sons of Ancus had felt towards Tarquinius, he married his two daughters to the young princes, Lucius and Arruns Tarquinius.
42.1. nec iam publicis magis consiliis Seruius quam priuatis munire opes, et ne, qualis Anci liberum animus aduersus Tarquinium fuerat, talis aduersus se Tarquini liberum esset, duas filias iuuenibus regiis, Lucio atque Arrunti Tarquiniis iungit;
42.2. But he could not break the force of destiny by human wisdom; and jealousy of his power, even among the members of his household, created an atmosphere of treachery and hostility. Most opportune for the tranquil preservation of the existing state of things was a war which was undertaken against the people of Veii —for the truce had now run out —and the other Etruscans.
42.2. nec rupit tamen fati necessitatem humanis consiliis quin inuidia regni etiam inter domesticos infida omnia atque infesta faceret. peropportune ad praesentis quietem status bellum cum Ueientibus—iam enim indutiae exierant—aliisque Etruscis sumptum.
42.3. In this war the bravery and good fortune of Tullius were conspicuous; and when he had utterly defeated the vast army of his enemies, he found on returning to Rome that his title to the kingship was no longer questioned, whether he tested the feeling of the Fathers or that of the commons.
42.3. in eo bello et uirtus et fortuna enituit Tulli; fusoque ingenti hostium exercitu haud dubius rex, seu patrum seu plebis animos periclitaretur, Romam rediit.
42.4. He then addressed himself to what is by far the most important work of peace: as Numa had established religious law, so Servius intended that posterity should celebrate himself as the originator of all distinctions among the citizens, and of the orders which clearly differentiate the various grades of rank and fortune.
42.4. adgrediturque inde ad pacis longe maximum opus, ut quemadmodum Numa diuini auctor iuris fuisset, ita Seruium conditorem omnis in ciuitate discriminis ordinumque quibus inter gradus dignitatis fortunaeque aliquid interlucet posteri fama ferrent.
42.5. For he instituted the census, a most useful thing for a government destined to such wide dominion, since it would enable the burdens of war and peace to be borne not indiscriminately, as heretofore, but in proportion to men's wealth. He then distributed the people into classes and centuries according to the following scale, which was based upon the census and was suitable either for peace or war:
42.5. censum enim instituit, rem saluberrimam tanto futuro imperio, ex quo belli pacisque munia non uiritim, ut ante, sed pro habitu pecuniarum fierent; tum classes centuriasque et hunc ordinem ex censu discripsit, uel paci decorum uel bello.
43.1. Out of those who had a rating of a hundred thousand assess or more he made eighty centuries, forty each of seniors and of juniors; these were all known as the first class; the seniors were to be ready to guard the city, the juniors to wage war abroad.
43.1. ex iis qui centum milium aeris aut maiorem censum haberent octoginta confecit centurias, quadragenas seniorum ac iuniorum;
43.2. The armour which these men were required to provide consisted of helmet, round shield, greaves, and breast-plate, all of bronze, for the protection of their bodies; their offensive weapons were a spear and a sword.
43.2. prima classis omnes appellati; seniores ad urbis custodiam ut praesto essent, iuuenes ut foris bella gererent; arma his imperata galea, clipeum, ocreae, lorica, omnia ex aere; haec ut tegumenta corporis essent: tela in hostem hastaque et gladius.
43.3. There were added to this class two centuries of mechanics, who were to serve without arms; to them was entrusted the duty of fashioning siege-engines in war.
43.3. additae huic classi duae fabrum centuriae quae sine armis stipendia facerent; datum munus ut machinas in bello ferrent.
43.4. The second class was drawn up out of those whose rating was between a hundred thousand and seventy-five thousand; of these, seniors and juniors, twenty centuries were enrolled. The arms prescribed for them were an oblong shield in place of the round one, and everything else, save for the breast-plate, as in the class above.
43.4. secunda classis intra centum usque ad quinque et septuaginta milium censum instituta, et ex iis, senioribus iunioribusque, uiginti conscriptae centuriae; arma imperata scutum pro clipeo et praeter loricam omnia eadem.
43.5. He fixed the rating of the third class at fifty thousand; a like number of centuries was formed in this class as in the second, and with the same distinction of ages; neither was any change made in their arms, except that the greaves were omitted.
43.5. tertiae classis [in] quinquaginta milium censum esse uoluit; totidem centuriae et hae eodemque discrimine aetatium factae; nec de armis quicquam mutatum, ocreae tantum ademptae.
43.6. In the fourth class the rating was twenty-five thousand; the same number of centuries was formed, but their equipment was changed, nothing being given them but a spear and a javelin.
43.6. in quarta classe census quinque et uiginti milium, totidem centuriae factae, arma mutata:
43.7. The fifth class was made larger, and thirty centuries were formed. These men carried slings, with stones for missiles. Rated with them were the horn-blowers and trumpeters, divided into two centuries. Eleven thousand was the rating of this class.
43.7. nihil praeter hastam et uerutum datum. quinta classis aucta; centuriae triginta factae; fundas lapidesque missiles hi secum gerebant; [in] his accensi cornicines tubicinesque in duas centurias distributi; undecim milibus haec classis censebatur.
43.8. Those who were assessed at less than this amount, being all the rest of the population, were made into a single century, exempt from military service. When the equipment and distribution of the infantry had been thus provided for, Servius enrolled twelve centuries of knights out of the leading men of the state.
43.8. hoc minor census reliquam multitudinem habuit; inde una centuria facta est, immunis militia. ita pedestri exercitu ornato distributoque, equitum ex primoribus ciuitatis duodecim scripsit centurias;
43.9. He likewise formed six other centuries —three had been instituted by Romulus —employing the same names which had been hallowed to their use by augury. For the purchase of horses they were allowed ten thousand asses each from the state treasury, and for the maintenance of these horses unmarried women were designated, who had to pay two thousand asses each, every year. All these burdens were shifted from the shoulders of the poor to those of the rich.
43.9. sex item alias centurias, tribus ab Romulo institutis, sub iisdem quibus inauguratae erant nominibus fecit. ad equos emendos dena milia aeris ex publico data, et, quibus equos alerent, uiduae attributae quae bina milia aeris in annos singulos penderent. haec omnia in dites a pauperibus inclinata onera.
43.10. The latter were then granted special privileges: for manhood suffrage, implying equality of power and of rights, was no longer given promiscuously to all, as had been the practice handed down by Romulus and observed by all the other kings; but gradations were introduced, so that ostensibly no one should be excluded from the suffrage, and yet the power should rest with the leading citizens.
43.10. deinde est honos additus. non enim, ut ab Romulo traditum ceteri seruauerant reges, uiritim suffragium eadem ui eodemque iure promisce omnibus datum est; sed gradus facti, ut neque exclusus quisquam suffragio uideretur et uis omnis penes primores ciuitatis esset;
43.11. For the knights were called upon to vote first; then the eighty centuries of the first class: if there were any disagreement there, which rarely happened, it was provided that the centuries of the second class should be called; and they almost never descended so far as to reach the lowest citizens.
43.11. equites enim uocabantur primi, octoginta inde primae classis centuriae; ibi si uariaret —quod raro incidebat—secundae classis; nec fere unquam infra ita descenderunt ut ad infimos peruenirent.
43.12. Nor ought it to cause any surprise that the present organization, which exists since the increase of the tribes to thirty-five, and the doubling of their number in the matter of the junior and senior centuries, does not correspond with the total established by Servius Tullius.
43.12. nec mirari oportet hunc ordinem qui nunc est post expletas quinque et triginta tribus, duplicato earum numero centuriis iuniorum seniorumque, ad institutam ab Ser. Tullio summam non conuenire.
43.13. For, having divided the City according to its inhabited regions and hills into four parts, he named them “tribes,” a word derived, I suppose, from “tribute”; for this likewise the same king planned to have apportioned equitably, on the basis of the census; nor had these tribes anything whatever to do with the distribution or the number of the centuries.
43.13. quadrifariam enim urbe diuisa [regionibus] collibus qui habitabantur, partes eas tribus appellauit, ut ego arbitror, ab tributo; nam eius quoque aequaliter ex censu conferendi ab eodem inita ratio est; neque eae tribus ad centuriarum distributionem numerumque quicquam pertinuere.
44.1. Upon the completion of the census, which had been expedited by fear of a law that threatened with death and imprisonment those who failed to register, Servius issued a proclamation calling on all Roman citizens, both horse and foot, to assemble at daybreak, each in his own century, in the Campus Martius.
44.1. censu perfecto quem maturauerat metu legis de incensis latae cum uinculorum minis mortisque, edixit ut omnes ciues Romani, equites peditesque, in suis quisque centuriis, in campo Martio prima luce adessent.
44.2. There the whole army was drawn up, and a sacrifice of a pig, a sheep, and a bull was offered by the king for its purification. This was termed the “closing of the lustrum,” because it was the last act in the enrolment. Eighty thousand citizens are said to have been registered in that census; the most ancient of the historians, Fabius Pictor, adds that this was the number of those capable of bearing arms.
44.2. ibi instructum exercitum omnem suouetaurilibus lustrauit, idque conditum lustrum appellatum, quia is censendo finis factus est. milia octoginta eo lustro ciuium censa dicuntur; adicit scriptorum antiquissimus Fabius Pictor, eorum qui arma ferre possent eum numerum fuisse.
44.3. To meet the wants of this population it was apparent that the City must expand, and so the king added two hills, the Quirinal and the Viminal, after which he proceeded to enlarge the Esquiline, going there to live himself, that the place might obtain a good reputation. He surrounded the City with a rampart, trenches, and a wall, and so extended the “pomerium.”
44.3. ad eam multitudinem urbs quoque amplificanda uisa est. addit duos colles, Quirinalem Uiminalemque; Uiminalem inde deinceps auget Esquiliis; ibique ipse, ut loco dignitas fieret, habitat; aggere et fossis et muro circumdat urbem; ita pomerium profert.
44.4. This word is interpreted by those who look only at its etymology as meaning “the tract behind the wall,” but it signifies rather “the tract on both sides of the wall,” the space which the Etruscans used formerly to consecrate with augural ceremonies, where they proposed to erect their wall, establishing definite limits on either side of it, so that they might at the same time keep the walls free on their inward face from contact with buildings, which now, as a rule, are actually joined to them, and on the outside keep a certain area free from human uses.
44.4. pomerium uerbi uim solam intuentes postmoerium interpretantur esse; est autem magis circamoerium, locus quem in condendis urbibus quondam Etrusci qua murum ducturi erant certis circa terminis inaugurato consecrabant, ut neque interiore parte aedificia moenibus continuarentur, quae nunc uolgo etiam coniungunt, et extrinsecus puri aliquid ab humano cultu pateret soli.
44.5. This space, which the gods forbade men to inhabit or to till, was called “pomerium” by the Romans, quite as much because the wall stood behind it as because it stood behind the wall; and as the city grew, these consecrated limits were always pushed out for as great a distance as the walls themselves were to be advanced.
44.5. hoc spatium quod neque habitari neque arari fas erat, non magis quod post murum esset quam quod murus post id, pomerium Romani appellarunt; et in urbis incremento semper quantum moenia processura erant tantum termini hi consecrati proferebantur.
45.1. When the king had promoted the grandeur of the state by enlarging the City, and had shaped all his domestic policy to suit the demands of peace as well as those of war, he was unwilling that arms should always be the means employed for strengthening Rome's power, and sought to increase her sway by diplomacy, and at the same time to add something to the splendour of the City.
45.1. aucta ciuitate magnitudine urbis, formatis omnibus domi et ad belli et ad pacis usus, ne semper armis opes adquirerentur, consilio augere imperium conatus est, simul et aliquod addere urbi decus.
45.2. Even at that early date the temple of Diana at Ephesus enjoyed great renown. It was reputed to have been built through the cooperation of the cities of Asia, and this harmony and community of worship Servius praised in superlative terms to the Latin nobles, with whom, both officially and in private, he had taken pains to establish a footing of hospitality and friendship.
45.2. iam tum erat inclitum Dianae Ephesiae fanum; id communiter a ciuitatibus Asiae factum fama ferebat. eum consensum deosque consociatos laudare mire Seruius inter proceres Latinorum, cum quibus publice priuatimque hospitia amicitiasque de industria iunxerat. saepe iterando eadem perpulit tandem, ut Romae fanum Dianae populi Latini cum populo Romano facerent.
45.3. By dint of reiterating the same arguments he finally carried his point, and a shrine of Diana was built in Rome by the nations of Latium conjointly with the Roman People. This was an admission that Rome was the capital —a point which had so often been disputed with force of arms. But though it seemed that the Latins had lost all interest in this contention after the repeated failure of their appeals to war, there was one man amongst the Sabines who thought that he saw an opportunity to recover the empire by a shrewd plan of his own.
45.3. ea erat confessio caput rerum Romam esse, de quo totiens armis certatum fuerat. id quamquam omissum iam ex omnium cura Latinorum ob rem totiens infeliciter temptatam armis uidebatur, uni se ex Sabinis fors dare uisa est priuato consilio imperii reciperandi.
45.4. In the Sabine country, on the farm of a certain head of a family, there was born a heifer of extraordinary size and beauty;
45.4. bos in Sabinis nata cuidam patri familiae dicitur miranda magnitudine ac specie; fixa per multas aetates cornua in uestibulo templi Dianae monumentum ei fuere miraculo.
45.5. a marvel to which the horns afterwards bore testimony, for they were fastened up for many generations in the vestibule of Diana's temple.
45.5. habita, ut erat, res prodigii loco est, et cecinere uates cuius ciuitatis eam ciuis Dianae immolasset, ibi fore imperium;
45.6. This heifer was regarded as a prodigy, as indeed it was; soothsayers prophesied that the state whose citizens should sacrifice the animal to Diana would be the seat of empire, and this prediction had reached the ears of the priest of Diana's shrine. On the earliest day which seemed suitable for the sacrifice, the Sabine drove the heifer to Rome, and bringing her to the shrine of Diana, led her up to the altar. There the Roman priest, moved by the great size of the victim, which had been much talked of, and recalling the prophecy, asked the Sabine, “What is this that you are doing, stranger? Would you sacrifice, unpurified, to Diana? Not so! First bathe in a running stream; the Tiber flows by in the bottom of the valley.”
45.6. idque carmen peruenerat ad antistitem fani Dianae Sabinusque ut prima apta dies sacrificio uisa est, bouem Romam actam deducit ad fanum Dianae et ante aram statuit. ibi antistes Romanus, cum eum magnitudo uictimae celebrata fama mouisset, memor responsi Sabinum ita adloquitur: 'quidnam tu, hospes, paras?' inquit, 'inceste sacrificium Dianae facere? quin tu ante uiuo perfunderis flumine? infima ualle praefluit Tiberis.'
45.7. The stranger, touched by a scruple and wishing to do everything according to ritual, that the prodigy might be answered by the event, at once descended to the Tiber. Meanwhile the Roman offered the heifer to Diana, an act which was exceedingly acceptable to the king and the citizens.
45.7. religione tactus hospes, qui omnia, ut prodigio responderet euentus, cuperet rite facta, extemplo descendit ad Tiberim; interea Romanus immolat Dianae bouem. id mire gratum regi atque ciuitati fuit.
46.1. Servius had by this time a definite prescriptive right to the supreme power. Still, hearing that the young Tarquinius now and then threw out a hint that he was reigning without the consent of the people, he proceeded to gain the goodwill of the commons by dividing among all the citizens the land obtained by conquest from the enemy; after which he made bold to call upon the people to vote whether he should be their ruler, and was declared king with such unanimity as none of his predecessors had experienced.
46.1. Seruius quamquam iam usu haud dubie regnum possederat, tamen quia interdum iactari uoces a iuuene Tarquinio audiebat se iniussu populi regnare, conciliata prius uoluntate plebis agro capto ex hostibus uiritim diuiso, ausus est ferre ad populum uellent iuberentne se regnare; tantoque consensu quanto haud quisquam alius ante rex est declaratus.
46.2. Yet the circumstance did not lessen Tarquinius's hopes of obtaining the kingship. On the contrary, perceiving that the bestowal of land on the plebeians was in opposition to the wishes of the senate, he felt that he had got the better opportunity of vilifying Servius to the Fathers and of increasing his own influence in the senate-house. He was a hot-headed youth himself, and he had at hand, in the person of Tullia his wife, one who goaded on his restless spirit.
46.2. neque ea res Tarquinio spem adfectandi regni minuit; immo eo impensius quia de agro plebis aduersa patrum uoluntate senserat agi, criminandi Serui apud patres crescendique in curia sibi occasionem datam ratus est, et ipse iuuenis ardentis animi et domi uxore Tullia inquietum animum stimulante.
46.3. For the royal house of Rome produced an example of tragic guilt, as others had done, in order that loathing of kings might hasten the coming of liberty, and that the end of reigning might come in that reign which was the fruit of crime.
46.3. tulit enim et Romana regia sceleris tragici exemplum, ut taedio regum maturior ueniret libertas ultimumque regnum esset quod scelere partum foret.
46.4. This Lucius Tarquinius —whether he was the son or the grandson of King Tarquinius Priscus is uncertain; but, following the majority of historians, I would designate him son —had a brother, Arruns Tarquinius, a youth of a gentle disposition.
46.4. hic L. Tarquinius —Prisci Tarquini regis filius neposne fuerit parum liquet; pluribus tamen auctoribus filium ediderim—fratrem habuerat Arruntem Tarquinium mitis ingenii iuuenem.
46.5. These two, as has been said before, had married the two Tullias, daughters of the king, themselves of widely different characters. Chance had so ordered matters that the two violent natures should not be united in wedlock, thanks doubtless to the good fortune of the Roman People, that the reign of Servius might be prolonged and the traditions of the state become established.
46.5. his duobus, ut ante dictum est, duae Tulliae regis filiae nupserant, et ipsae longe dispares moribus. forte ita inciderat ne duo uiolenta ingenia matrimonio iungerentur fortuna, credo, populi Romani, quo diuturnius Serui regnum esset constituique ciuitatis mores possent.
46.6. It was distressing to the headstrong Tullia that her husband should be destitute of ambition and enterprise. With her whole soul she turned from him to his brother; him she admired, him she called a man and a prince: she despised her sister because, having got a man for a mate, she lacked a woman's daring.
46.6. angebatur ferox Tullia nihil materiae in uiro neque ad cupiditatem neque ad audaciam esse; tota in alterum auersa Tarquinium eum mirari, eum uirum dicere ac regio sanguine ortum: spernere sororem, quod uirum nacta muliebri cessaret audacia.
46.7. Their similarity soon brought these two together, as is generally the case, for evil is strongly drawn to evil; but it was the woman who took the lead in all the mischief. Having become addicted to clandestine meetings with another's husband, she spared no terms of insult when speaking of her own husband to his brother, or of her sister to that sister's husband. She urged that it would have been juster for her to be unmarried and for him to lack a wife than for them to be united to their inferiors and be compelled to languish through the cowardice of others.
46.7. contrahit celeriter similitudo eos, ut fere fit: malum malo aptissimum; sed initium turbandi omnia a femina ortum est. ea secretis uiri alieni adsuefacta sermonibus nullis uerborum contumeliis parcere de uiro ad fratrem, de sorore ad uirum; et se rectius uiduam et illum caelibem futurum fuisse contendere, quam cum impari iungi ut elanguescendum aliena ignauia esset;
46.8. If the gods had given her the man she deserved she would soon have seen in her own house the royal power which she now saw in her father's.
46.8. si sibi eum quo digna esset di dedissent uirum, domi se propediem uisuram regnum fuisse quod apud patrem uideat.
46.9. It was not long before she had inspired the young man with her own temerity, and, having made room in their respective houses for a new marriage, by deaths which followed closely upon one another, they were joined together in nuptials which Servius rather tolerated than approved.
46.9. celeriter adulescentem suae temeritatis implet; [Arruns Tarquinius et Tullia minor] prope continuatis funeribus cum domos uacuas nouo matrimonio fecissent, iunguntur nuptiis, magis non prohibente Seruio quam adprobante.
47.1. From that moment the insecurity of the aged Tullius and the menace to his authority increased with each succeeding day. For the woman was already looking forward from one crime to another, nor would she allow her husband any rest by night or day, lest the murders they had done before should be without effect.
47.1. tum uero in dies infestior Tulli senectus, infestius coepit regnum esse; iam enim ab scelere ad aliud spectare mulier scelus. nec nocte nec interdiu uirum conquiescere pati, ne gratuita praeterita parricidia essent:
47.2. She had not wanted a man just to be called a wife, just to endure servitude with him in silence; she had wanted one who should deem himself worthy of the sovereignty, who bethought him that he was the son of Tarquinius Priscus, who preferred the possession of the kingship to the hope of it.
47.2. non sibi defuisse cui nupta diceretur, nec cum quo tacita seruiret; defuisse qui se regno dignum putaret, qui meminisset se esse Prisci Tarquini filium, qui habere quam sperare regnum mallet.
47.3. “If you are he,” she cried, “whom I thought I was marrying, I call you both man and king; if not, then I have so far changed for the worse, in that crime is added, in your case, to cowardice. Come, rouse yourself!”
47.3. 'si tu is es cui nuptam esse me arbitror, et uirum et regem appello; sin minus, eo nunc peius mutata res est quod istic cum ignauia est scelus.
47.4. “You are not come, like your father, from Corinth or Tarquinii, that you must make yourself king in a strange land; the gods of your family and your ancestors, your father's image, the royal palace, with its throne, and the name of Tarquinius create and proclaim you king. Else, if you have no courage for this, why do you cheat the citizens? why do you suffer yourself to be looked on as a prince? Away with you to Tarquinii or Corinth!”
47.4. quin accingeris? non tibi ab Corintho nec ab Tarquiniis, ut patri tuo, peregrina regna moliri necesse est: di te penates patriique et patris imago et domus regia et in domo regale solium et nomen Tarquinium creat uocatque regem.
47.5. “Sink back into the rank of your family, more like your brother than your father!” With these and other taunts she excited the young man's ambition.
47.5. aut si ad haec parum est animi, quid frustraris ciuitatem? quid te ut regium iuuenem conspici sinis? facesse hinc Tarquinios aut Corinthum; deuoluere retro ad stirpem, fratri similior quam patri.'
47.6. Nor could she herself submit with patience to the thought that Tanaquil, a foreign woman, had exerted her spirit to such purpose as twice in succession to confer the royal power —upon her husband first, and again upon her son-in-law — if Tullia, the daughter of a king, were to count for nothing in bestowing and withdrawing a throne. Inspired by this woman's frenzy Tarquinius began to go about and solicit support, especially among the heads of the lesser families, whom he reminded of his father's kindness to them, and desired their favour in return; the young men he attracted by gifts; both by the great things he promised to do himself, and by slandering the king as well, he everywhere strengthened his interest.
47.6. his aliisque increpando iuuenem instigat, nec conquiescere ipsa potest si, cum Tanaquil, peregrina mulier, tantum moliri potuisset animo ut duo continua regna uiro ac deinceps genero dedisset, ipsa regio semine orta nullum momentum in dando adimendoque regno faceret.
47.7. At length, when it seemed that the time for action was now come, he surrounded himself with a body of armed men and burst into the Forum. Then, amidst the general consternation which ensued, he seated himself on the throne in front of the Curia, and commanded, by the mouth of a herald, that the senators should come to King Tarquinius at the senate-house. They at once assembled: some of them already prepared beforehand, others afraid that they might be made to suffer for it if they did not come; for they were astounded at this strange and wonderful sight, and supposed that Servius was utterly undone.
47.7. his muliebribus instinctus furiis Tarquinius circumire et prensare minorum maxime gentium patres; admonere paterni beneficii ac pro eo gratiam repetere; allicere donis iuuenes; cum de se ingentia pollicendo tum regis criminibus omnibus locis crescere. postremo ut iam agendae rei tempus uisum est, stipatus agmine armatorum in forum inrupit. inde omnibus perculsis pauore, in regia sede pro curia sedens patres in curiam per praeconem ad regem Tarquinium citari iussit.
47.9. Tarquinius then went back to the very beginning of Servius's family and abused the king for a slave and a slave-woman's son who, after the shameful death of his own father, Tarquinius Priscus, had seized the power;
47.9. conuenere extemplo, alii iam ante ad hoc praeparati, alii metu ne non uenisse fraudi esset, nouitate ac miraculo attoniti et iam de Seruio actum rati.
47.10. there had been no observance of the interregnum, as on former occasions; there had been no election held; not by the votes of the people had sovereignty come to him, not with the confirmation of the Fathers, but by a woman's gift.
47.10. ibi Tarquinius maledicta ab stirpe ultima orsus: seruum seruaque natum post mortem indignam parentis sui, non interregno, ut antea, inito, non comitiis habitis, non per suffragium populi, non auctoribus patribus, muliebri dono regnum occupasse.
47.11. Such having been his birth, and such his appointment to the kingship, he had been an abettor of the lowest class of society, to which he himself belonged, and his hatred of the nobility possessed by others had led him to plunder the leading citizens of their land and divide it amongst the dregs of the populace.
47.11. ita natum, ita creatum regem, fautorem infimi generis hominum ex quo ipse sit, odio alienae honestatis ereptum primoribus agrum sordidissimo cuique diuisisse;
47.12. All the burdens which had before been borne in common he had laid upon the nation's foremost men. He had instituted the census that he might hold up to envy the fortunes of the wealthy, and make them available, when he chose to draw upon them, for largesses to the destitute.
47.12. omnia onera quae communia quondam fuerint inclinasse in primores ciuitatis; instituisse censum ut insignis ad inuidiam locupletiorum fortuna esset et parata unde, ubi uellet, egentissimis largiretur.
48.1. In the midst of this harangue Servius, who had been aroused by the alarming news, came up and immediately called out in a loud voice from the vestibule of the Curia: “What means this, Tarquinius?”
48.1. huic orationi Seruius cum interuenisset trepido nuntio excitatus, extemplo a uestibulo curiae magna uoce 'quid hoc' inquit, 'Tarquini, rei est? qua tu audacia me uiuo uocare ausus es patres aut in sede considere mea?'
48.2. “With what assurance have you dared, while I live, to convene the Fathers or to sit in my chair?” Tarquinius answered truculently that it was his own father's seat he occupied; that the king's son was a fitter successor to his kingdom than a slave was; that Tullius had long enough been suffered to mock his masters and insult them. Shouts arose from the partisans of each, and the people began to rush into the senate-house; it was clear that he would be king who won the day.
48.2. cum ille ferociter ad haec—se patris sui tenere sedem; multo quam seruum potiorem filium regis regni heredem; satis illum diu per licentiam eludentem insultasse dominis—, clamor ab utriusque fautoribus oritur et concursus populi fiebat in curiam, apparebatque regnaturum qui uicisset.
48.3. Tarquinius was now compelled by sheer necessity to go on boldly to the end. Being much superior to Servius in youth and strength, he seized him by the middle, and bearing him out of the senate-house, flung him down the steps. He then went back into the Curia to hold the senate together.
48.3. tum Tarquinius necessitate iam et ipsa cogente ultima audere, multo et aetate et uiribus ualidior, medium arripit Seruium elatumque e curia in inferiorem partem per gradus deiecit; inde ad cogendum senatum in curiam rediit.
48.4. The king's servitors and companions fled. The king himself, half fainting, was making his way home without the royal attendants, when the men whom Tarquinius had sent in pursuit of the fugitive came up with him and killed him.
48.4. fit fuga regis apparitorum atque comitum; ipse prope exsanguis cum sine regio comitatu domum se reciperet ab iis qui missi ab Tarquinio fugientem consecuti erant interficitur.
48.5. It is believed, inasmuch as it is not inconsistent with the rest of her wickedness, that this deed was suggested by Tullia. It is agreed, at all events, that she was driven in her carriage into the Forum, and nothing abashed at the crowd of men, summoned her husband from the Curia and was the first to hail him king.
48.5. creditur, quia non abhorret a cetero scelere, admonitu Tulliae id factum. carpento certe, id quod satis constat, in forum inuecta nec reuerita coetum uirorum euocauit uirum e curia regemque prima appellauit.
48.6. Tarquinius bade her withdraw from so turbulent a scene. On her way home she had got to the top of the Vicus Cyprius, where the shrine of Diana recently stood, and was bidding her driver turn to the right into the Clivus Urbius, to take her to the Esquiline Hill, when the man gave a start of terror, and pulling up the reins pointed out to his mistress the prostrate form of the murdered Servius.
48.6. a quo facessere iussa ex tanto tumultu cum se domum reciperet peruenissetque ad summum Cyprium uicum, ubi Dianium nuper fuit, flectenti carpentum dextra in Urbium cliuum ut in collem Esquiliarum eueheretur, restitit pauidus atque inhibuit frenos is qui iumenta agebat iacentemque dominae Seruium trucidatum ostendit.
48.7. Horrible and inhuman was the crime that is said to have ensued, which the place commemorates —men call it the Street of Crime —for there, crazed by the avenging spirits of her sister and her former husband, they say that Tullia drove her carriage over her father's corpse, and, herself contaminated and defiled, carried away on her vehicle some of her murdered father's blood to her own and her husband's penates, whose anger was the cause that the evil beginning of this reign was, at no long date, followed by a similar end.
48.7. foedum inhumanumque inde traditur scelus monumentoque locus est—Sceleratum uicum uocant—quo amens, agitantibus furiis sororis ac uiri, Tullia per patris corpus carpentum egisse fertur, partemque sanguinis ac caedis paternae cruento uehiculo, contaminata ipsa respersaque, tulisse ad penates suos uirique sui, quibus iratis malo regni principio similes propediem exitus sequerentur.
48.8. Servius Tullius had ruled forty-four years, so well that even a good and moderate successor would have found it hard to emulate him. But there was this to enhance his renown, that just and lawful kingship perished with him. Yet, mild and moderate though his sway was, some writers state that he had intended to resign it, as being a government by one man, had not the crime of one of his family interrupted his plans for the liberation of his country.
48.8. Ser. Tullius regnauit annos quattuor et quadraginta ita ut bono etiam moderatoque succedenti regi difficilis aemulatio esset; ceterum id quoque ad gloriam accessit quod cum illo simul iusta ac legitima regna occiderunt. id ipsum tam mite ac tam moderatum imperium tamen quia unius esset deponere eum in animo habuisse quidam auctores sunt, ni scelus intestinum liberandae patriae consilia agitanti interuenisset.
49.1. Now began the reign of Lucius Tarquinius, whose conduct procured him the surname of Superbus, or the Proud. For he denied the rites of sepulture to his own father-in-law, asserting that Romulus had also perished without burial. He put to death the leading senators, whom he believed to have favoured the cause of Servius and, conscious that a precedent for gaining the kingship by crime might be found in his own career and turned against himself, he assumed a body-guard.
49.1. inde L. Tarquinius regnare occepit, cui Superbo cognomen facta indiderunt, quia socerum gener sepultura prohibuit, Romulum quoque insepultum perisse dictitans, primoresque patrum, quos Serui rebus fauisse credebat, interfecit; conscius deinde male quaerendi regni ab se ipso aduersus se exemplum capi posse, armatis corpus circumsaepsit;
49.3. He had indeed no right to the throne but might, since he was ruling neither by popular decree nor senatorial sanction.
49.3. neque enim ad ius regni quicquam praeter uim habebat ut qui neque populi iussu neque auctoribus patribus regnaret.
49.4. Moreover, as he put no trust in the affection of his people, he was compelled to safeguard his authority by fear. To inspire terror therefore in many persons, he adopted the practice of trying capital causes by himself, without advisers; and, under the pretext thus afforded, was able to inflict death, exile, and forfeiture of property, not only upon persons whom he suspected and disliked, but also in cases where he could have nothing to gain but plunder.
49.4. eo accedebat ut in caritate ciuium nihil spei reponenti metu regnum tutandum esset. quem ut pluribus incuteret cognitiones capitalium rerum sine consiliis per se solus exercebat, perque eam causam occidere, in exsilium agere, bonis multare poterat non suspectos modo aut inuisos sed unde nihil aliud quam praedam sperare posset.
49.6. It was chiefly the senators whose numbers were reduced by this procedure, and Tarquinius determined to make no new appointments to the order, that it might be the more despised for its very paucity, and might chafe less at being ignored in all business of state.
49.6. praecipue ita patrum numero imminuto statuit nullos in patres legere, quo contemptior paucitate ipsa ordo esset minusque per se nihil agi indignarentur.
49.7. For this king was the first to break with the custom handed down by his predecessors, of consulting the senate on all occasions, and governed the nation without other advice than that of his own household. War, peace, treaties, and alliances were entered upon or broken off by the monarch himself, with whatever states he wished, and without the decree of people or senate.
49.7. hic enim regum primus traditum a prioribus morem de omnibus senatum consulendi soluit; domesticis consiliis rem publicam administrauit; bellum, pacem, foedera, societates per se ipse, cum quibus uoluit, iniussu populi ac senatus, fecit diremitque.
49.8. The Latin race he strove particularly to make his friends, that his strength abroad might contribute to his security at home. He contracted with their nobles not only relations of hospitality but also matrimonial connections.
49.8. Latinorum sibi maxime gentem conciliabat ut peregrinis quoque opibus tutior inter ciues esset, neque hospitia modo cum primoribus eorum sed adfinitates quoque iungebat.
49.9. To Octavius Mamilius of Tusculum, a man by long odds the most important of the Latin name, and descended, if we may believe report, from Ulysses and the goddess Circe, he gave his daughter in marriage, and in this way attached to himself the numerous kinsmen and friends of the man.
49.9. Octauio Mamilio Tusculano—is longe princeps Latini nominis erat, si famae credimus, ab Ulixe deaque Circa oriundus—, ei Mamilio filiam nuptum dat, perque eas nuptias multos sibi cognatos amicosque eius conciliat.
50.1. Tarquinius had already won great influence with the Latin nobles, when he gave notice that they should assemble on a certain day at the grove of Ferentina, saying that there were matters of common interest which he wished to discuss.
50.1. iam magna Tarquini auctoritas inter Latinorum proceres erat, cum in diem certam ut ad lucum Ferentinae conueniant indicit: esse, quae agere de rebus communibus uelit.
50.2. The Latins gathered at daybreak in large numbers; Tarquinius himself, though he did indeed keep the day, arrived but a little while before sundown. There had been much talk in the council all day about various subjects. Turnus Herdonius of Aricia had inveighed violently against the absent Tarquinius.
50.2. conueniunt frequentes prima luce: ipse Tarquinius diem quidem seruauit, sed paulo ante quam sol occideret uenit. multa ibi toto die in concilio uariis iactata sermonibus erant.
50.3. He said it was no wonder he had been given the name of Superbus at Rome —for that was the name by which they already called him, secretly and in whispers, but still quite generally; —could anything be more overbearing than to flout the whole Latin race as he was doing then?
50.3. Turnus Herdonius ab Aricia ferociter in absentem Tarquinium erat inuectus: haud mirum esse Superbo inditum Romae cognomen.—iam enim ita clam quidem mussitantes, uolgo tamen eum appellabant.—an quicquam superbius esse quam ludificari sic omne nomen Latinum?
50.4. Their leaders had been summoned from distant homes, and the very man who had called the council was not there. He was evidently trying their patience, intending, if they submitted to the yoke, to use them as his vassals. For who could fail to see that he was aiming at sovereignty over the Latins?
50.4. longe ab domo excitis, ipsum, qui concilium indixerit, non adesse. temptari profecto patientiam ut, si iugum acceperint, obnoxios premat. cui enim non apparere, adfectare eum imperium in Latinos?
50.5. If his own people had done well to intrust this to him, if indeed it had been intrusted to him at all, and had not been ravished by foul murder, then it was right that the Latins also should intrust it to him —nay, not even then, for he was of foreign birth; but if his own subjects were weary of him, as men who, one after another, were being made to suffer death, exile, confiscation, what better prospect was held out to the Latins?
50.5. quod si sui bene crediderint ciues, aut si creditum illud et non raptum parricidio sit, credere et Latinos quamquam ne sic quidem alienigenae debere:
50.6. If they were guided by the speaker they would depart every man to his own home, nor observe the day of meeting more than he who had proclaimed it was observing it. As these words and others of the same import were being uttered by the factious and turbulent Latin, who owed to these qualities his influence amongst his own people, Tarquinius came up.
50.6. sin suos eius paeniteat, quippe qui alii super alios trucidentur exsulatum eant bona amittant, quid spei melioris Latinis portendi? si se audiant, domum suam quemque inde abituros neque magis obseruaturos diem concilii quam ipse qui indixerit obseruet. haec atque alia eodem pertinentia seditiosus facinorosusque homo hisque artibus opes domi nactus cum maxime dissereret, interuenit Tarquinius.