LATN101: SCHOLA DE HOSTIBUS ROMANORUM
Commentariolum Prō Fabulā Ab Urbe Condita: Romulus
et Remus1
1 Ex hāc fīliā: i.e. Rhea Silva; while tradition claims that she conceived the children with Mars, Livy
euhemerizes the myth (gives a rational explanation of divine action), saying that she was assaulted by
an unknown man but chose to claim Mars as the real father.
nātī sunt: 3rd perfect deponent nascor
2 ut: as; with indicative
nec...nec: neither…nor
4 inīcī: passive infinitive of iniciō (in + iaciō)
iussit: 3rd sing perfect, iubeō
Forte: by chance; ablative as adv. formed not from the adj. fortis, -e, ‘brave,’ but from the noun fors fortis
f. ‘luck’
5 eī quī: those who...; ‘they who…’; eī is nominative pl. from is, ea, id, as the relative makes clear
(agreeing in number and gender)
altam: altus can mean ‘high’ or ‘deep’
poterant: imperfect of possum
6 posuērunt: 3rd perfect of possum
tenuī: ablative sing, 3rd decl. i-stem adjectives will have an ‘-i' in the ablative sing
7 sīc enim...: thinking of the relationship being established by this adverb and conjunction used together;
Don’t translate enim or nam as “for”; In the English of 2016 nam and enim means something like “you
see” or “—understand?—”
est trāditum: impersonal perfect passive trādō, hence the neuter participle.
9 eam: i.e. the fem. sing lupa
nūtrientem: present participle < nūtriō
Ab...: by...; ablative of agent
10 ēducātī sunt: note that the ‘A’ in the stem shows that this this 3rd perfect passive comes from 1st
conjugation ēdūcō, -āre and not 3rd conjugation ēdūcō, ēdūcere
Cum prīmum: As soon as...; ‘When first...’ prīmum is an adverbial accusative.
11 coepērunt: 3rd perfect; coepī is a defective verb and only appears in perfect, plurperfect, and future
perfect (the perfect system).
in: when controlling a personal accusative (rather than a place), means against
praedā: the loot is often cattle not treasure
impetūs facere: to make attacks; a common idiom; impetūs is 4th decl. accusative pl.
Modified from G. Steadman’s Fabulae Ab Urbe Condita (https://geoffreysteadman.com/fabulae-ab-urbe-condita/),
which is modified from Stanford-Scott’s A Junior Latin Reader (1919), which is modifed from L’Homond’s De Viris
Illustribus urbis Romae a Romulo ad Augustum (1779) , which is modified from Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita (14 CE).
1
12 pāstoribusque: and among the shepherds; dative indirect object of dīvidere
13 quoddam: a certain…; indefinite pronoun
14 captum...trādidērunt: In English, we prefer to use two main verbs, ‘cēpērunt et trādidērunt,’ whereas
in Latin, the Romans typically made the first action into a participle (captum) and employ one finite verb
(trādidērunt)
Puerōs...ēgisse: perfect infinitive < agō in indirect discourse (reported speech or thought or feeling);
since the praeda are often cattle, it is sensible that the verb means ‘drive' here.
ad: for...; ad + accusative often expresses purpose
18 puerōs...ēducārī: present passive of 1st conj. ēducō, not 3rd conj. ēdūcō, in indirect discourse.
apud: + accusative, at the house of...
19 sē: reflexive, in indirect discourse the antecedent, as often, is the subject of the main clause and not
the accusative subject of the indirect discourse
perīculō: ablative of cause
mōtus: i.e. ‘having been upset,’ moveō very often denotes emotion rather than physical motion;
Faustulus is still the subject
Rōmulō: to...; dative indirect object
Forte: by chance; ablative as adv., from fors, fortis and not fortis, forte
20 frātrēs geminōs esse: that...; indirect discourse, with infinitive sum, esse; the second accusative is an
accusative predicative noun
comparāns: nominative sing present participle
21 et...et: both...and...; all objects of the participle e-ōrum: genitive pl. of is, ea, id
Remī: genitive of possession with animum. The story assumes that admirable traits and a virtuous
character found among the nobility are inheritable and therefore that Romulus and Remus can easily be
distinguished from everyone else.
22 manū: a group or band; elsewhere ‘hand’
23 aliā parātā manū: ablative absolute
24 Albānum: i.e. of Alba Longa
Numitōrī avō: dative of interest
25 eīs: an ablative pl. demonstrative adj., translate this form of is, ea, id as ‘these’ or ‘those’
25 ubi expositī (erant): where...; ellipsis, a relative clause; pluperfect passive, supply ‘erant’ which is
missing through ellipsis, a stylistic device where the author leaves out words that must be understood.
ubique: ~ et ubi...; a second relative clause parallel to the first is added
1 Uterque: a nominative sing adj. with iuvenis
eamque: ~ et eam; et joins the two infinitives and eam refers to the fem. sing urbs
2 quod: because...; causal quod clause
rēs: nominative sing, the noun is 5th decl.
dēcernī: present passive infinitive
3 ūsī sunt: 3rd perfect ūtor, translate this deponent in the active voice and governs an ablative (auguriīs)
prius: a comparative adverb
vīsī sunt: 3rd perfect passive videō
Rōmulō: dative indirect object
4 duodecim (vultūrēs): nominative subject; ellipsis, supply the missing noun
sēsē: an emphatic form of the reflexive sē
uterque: each (one)
rēx: predicate nominative following perfect passive appelātus est
5 rēgnum: this word may mean ‘kingship,’ or ‘kingdom,’ the power or the place, depending on the context
cum...rapuissent: when...; pluperfect subjunctive; what is the force of the subjective?
īrātī: nominative pl. Who are īrātī?
7 ex alīa fāmā: i.e. in another version of the story.
illūdēns: nominative sing present participle
9 pereat: May...perish; optative subject (subject of wish), 3rd sing present subject < pereō.
quīcumque: whosoever...; or ‘(anyone) who;’ a relative pronoun introducing a relative clause that ends
with mea. The missing antecedent is subject of pereat.
trānsiliet: future indicative
10 potītus est: 3rd sing perfect < potior, a deponent verb so understand as an active action. Like ūtor
above this verb governs an ablative object (imperiō).
11 urbem...Rōmam appellāvit: called (x) (y); this verb governs a double accusative construction: the first
accusative is a direct object (x) whereas the second is an accusative predicate (y)
suō: a reflexive possessive adjective, the antecedent is the subject
12 prīmum: first (of all); an adverbial accusative
ipse: intensive pronoun, modifying the understood subject ‘he’
Vocātā...multitūdine: ablative absolute
13 iūra: neuter accusative pl. < iūs iūris n.
14 sellam...togam...līctōrēs: all are accusative in apposition to accusative plural īnsignia; the curule
chair is a specially designed chair, the toga contails the dyed purple stripe, and the lictors are
bodyguards who carry the fasces
sūmpsit: i.e. adopted
15 Asylum: this is the proper name for the ridge located between the two peaks of the Capitoline Hill; our
word for ‘refuge’ is derived from Romulus’use of the location in this passage
in monte Capitōlīnō: Although described as a mountian, the Capitolium is actually a large hill and so we
translate this phrase as ‘on the Capitoline Hill.’
15 quō: to where; a relative adverb, not a relative pronoun, quō is often employed to express place to
which
16 causā: for the sake of...; + preceding genitive; causā is a preposition
17 patrēs: a predicate nominative; translate after appellātī sunt; the senators were likely the patres
familias of the leading families in Rome