[5.1] And when the people approved, he appointed a day on which he proposed to consult the auspices concerning the sovereignty; and when the time was come, he rose at break of day and went forth from his tent. Then, taking his stand under the open sky in a clear space and first offering the customary sacrifice, he prayed to King Jupiter and to the other gods whom he had chosen for the patrons of the colony, that, if it was their pleasure he should be king of the city, some favourable signs might appear in the sky.
[2] μετὰ δὲ τὴν εὐχὴν ἀστραπὴ διῆλθεν ἐκ τῶν ἀριστερῶν ἐπὶ τὰ δεξιά. τίθενται δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι τὰς ἐκ τῶν ἀριστερῶν ἐπὶ τὰ δεξιὰ ἀστραπὰς αἰσίους, εἴτε παρὰ Τυρρηνῶν διδαχθέντες, εἴτε πατέρων καθηγησαμένων κατὰ τοιόνδε: τινά, ὡς ἐγὼ πείθομαι, λογισμόν, ὅτι καθέδρα μέν ἐστι καὶ στάσις ἀρίστη τῶν οἰωνοῖς μαντευομένων ἡ βλέπουσα πρὸς ἀνατολάς, ὅθεν ἡλίου τε ἀναφοραὶ γίνονται καὶ σελήνης καὶ ἀστέρων πλανήτων τε καὶ ἀπλανῶν, ἥ τε τοῦ κόσμου περιφορά, δι᾽ ἣν τοτὲ μὲν ὑπὲρ γῆς ἅπαντα τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ γίνεται, τοτὲ δὲ ὑπὸ γῆς, ἐκεῖθεν ἀρξαμένη τὴν ἐγκύκλιον ἀποδίδωσι κίνησιν.
[2] After this prayer a flash of lightning darted across the sky from the left to the right. Now the Romans look upon the lightning that passes from the left to the right as a favourable omen, having been thus instructed either by the Tyrrhenians or by their own ancestors. Their reason is, in my opinion, that the best seat and station for those who take the auspices is that which looks toward the east, from whence both the sun and the moon rise as well as the planets and fixed stars; and the revolution of the firmament, by which all things contained in it are sometimes above the earth and sometimes beneath it, begins its circular motion thence.
[3] τοῖς δὲ πρὸς ἀνατολὰς βλέπουσιν ἀριστερὰ μὲν γίνεται τὰ πρὸς τὴν ἄρκτον ἐπιστρέφοντα μέρη, δεξιὰ δὲ τὰ πρὸς μεσημβρίαν φέροντα: τιμιώτερα δὲ τὰ πρότερα πέφυκεν [p. 161] εἶναι τῶν ὑστέρων. μετεωρίζεται γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν βορείων μερῶν ὁ τοῦ ἄξονος πόλος, περὶ ὃν ἡ τοῦ κόσμου στροφὴ γίνεται, καὶ τῶν πέντε κύκλων τῶν διεζωκότων τὴν σφαῖραν ὁ καλούμενος ἀρκτικὸς ἀεὶ τῇδε φανερός: ταπεινοῦται δ᾽ ἀπὸ τῶν νοτίων ὁ καλούμενος ἀνταρκτικὸς κύκλος ἀφανὴς κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος.
[3] Now to those who look toward the east the parts facing toward the north are on the left and those extending toward the south are on the right, and the former are by nature more honourable than the latter. For in the northern parts the pole of the axis upon which the firmament turns is elevated, and of the five zones which girdle the sphere the one called the arctic zone is always visible on this side; whereas in the southern parts the other zone, called the antarctic, is depressed and invisible on that side.
[4] εἰκὸς δὴ κράτιστα τῶν οὐρανίων καὶ μεταρσίων σημείων ὑπάρχειν, ὅσα ἐκ τοῦ κρατίστου γίνεται μέρους, ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐστραμμένα πρὸς τὰς ἀνατολὰς ἡγεμονικωτέραν μοῖραν ἔχει τῶν προσεσπερίων, αὐτῶν δέ γε τῶν ἀνατολικῶν ὑψηλότερα τὰ βόρεια τῶν νοτίων, ταῦτα ἂν εἴη κράτιστα.
[4] So it is reasonable to assume that those signs in the heavens and in mid-air are the best which appear on the best side; and since the parts that are turned toward the east have preëminence over the western parts, and, of the eastern parts themselves, the northern are higher than the southern, the former would seem to be the best.
[5] ὡς δέ τινες ἱστοροῦσιν ἐκ παλαιοῦ τε καὶ πρὶν ἢ παρὰ Τυρρηνῶν μαθεῖν τοῖς Ῥωμαίων προγόνοις αἴσιοι ἐνομίζοντο αἱ ἐκ τῶν ἀριστερῶν ἀστραπαί. Ἀσκανίῳ γὰρ τῷ ἐξ Αἰνείου γεγονότι, καθ᾽ ὃν χρόνον ὑπὸ Τυρρηνῶν, οὓς ἦγε βασιλεὺς Μεσέντιος, ἐπολεμεῖτο καὶ τειχήρης ἦν, περὶ τὴν τελευταίαν ἔξοδον, ἣν ἀπεγνωκὼς ἤδη τῶν πραγμάτων ἔμελλε ποιεῖσθαι, μετ᾽ ὀλοφυρμοῦ τόν τε Δία καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους αἰτουμένῳ θεοὺς αἴσια σημεῖα δοῦναι τῆς ἐξόδου φασὶν αἰθρίας οὔσης ἐκ τῶν ἀριστερῶν ἀστράψαι τὸν οὐρανόν. τοῦ δ᾽ ἀγῶνος ἐκείνου λαβόντος τὸ κράτιστον τέλος διαμεῖναι παρὰ τοῖς ἐκγόνοις αὐτοῦ νομιζόμενον αἴσιον τόδε τὸ σημεῖον.
[5] But some relate that the ancestors of the Romans from very early times, even before they had learned it from the Tyrrhenians, looked upon the lightning that came from the left as a favourable omen. For they say that when Ascanius, the son of Aeneas, was warred upon and besieged by the Tyrrhenians led by their king Mezentius, and was upon the point of making a final sally out of the town, his situation being now desperate, he prayed with lamentations to Jupiter and to the rest of the gods to encourage this sally with favourable omens, and thereupon out of a clear sky there appeared a flash of lightning coming from the left; and as this battle had the happiest outcome, this sign continued to be regarded as favourable by his posterity.
[1] τότε δ᾽ οὖν ὁ Ῥωμύλος ἐπειδὴ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ δαιμονίου βέβαια προσέλαβε, συγκαλέσας τὸν δῆμον [p. 162] εἰς ἐκκλησίαν καὶ τὰ μαντεῖα δηλώσας βασιλεὺς ἀποδείκνυται πρὸς αὐτῶν καὶ κατεστήσατο ἐν ἔθει τοῖς μετ᾽ αὐτὸν ἅπασι μήτε βασιλείας μήτε ἀρχὰς λαμβάνειν, ἐὰν μὴ καὶ τὸ δαιμόνιον αὐτοῖς ἐπιθεσπίσῃ, διέμεινέ τε μέχρι πολλοῦ φυλαττόμενον ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων τὸ περὶ τοὺς οἰωνισμοὺς νόμιμον, οὐ μόνον βασιλευομένης τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ κατάλυσιν τῶν μονάρχων ἐν ὑπάτων καὶ στρατηγῶν καὶ τῶν
[6.1] When Romulus, therefore, upon the occasion mentioned had received the sanction of Heaven also, he called the people together in assembly; and having given them an account of these omens, he was chosen king by them and established it as a custom, to be observed by all his successors, that none of them should accept the office of king or any other magistracy until Heaven, too, had given its sanction. And this custom relating to the auspices long continued to be observed by the Romans, not only while the city was ruled by kings, but also, after the overthrow of the monarchy, in the elections of their consuls, praetors and other legal magistrates;
[2] ἄλλων τῶν κατὰ νόμους ἀρχόντων αἱρέσει. πέπαυται δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς χρόνοις, πλὴν οἷον εἰκών τις αὐτοῦ λείπεται τῆς ὁσίας αὐτῆς ἕνεκα γινομένη. ἐπαυλίζονται μὲν γὰρ οἱ τὰς ἀρχὰς μέλλοντες λαμβάνειν καὶ περὶ τὸν ὄρθρον ἀνιστάμενοι ποιοῦνταί τινας εὐχὰς ὑπαίθριοι, τῶν δὲ παρόντων τινὲς ὀρνιθοσκόπων μισθὸν ἐκ τοῦ δημοσίου φερόμενο
ι ἀστραπὴν αὐτοῖς μηνύειν ἐκ τῶν ἀριστερῶν φασιν τὴν οὐ
[2] but it has fallen into disuse in our days except as a certain semblance of it remains merely for form’s sake. For those who are about to assume the magistracies pass the night out of doors, and rising at break of day, offer certain prayers under the open sky; whereupon some of the augurs present, who are paid by the State, declare that a flash of lightning coming from the left has given them a sign, although there really has not been any.
[3] γενομένην. οἱ δὲ τὸν ἐκ τῆς φωνῆς οἰωνὸν λαβόντες ἀπέρχονται τὰς ἀρχὰς παραληψόμενοι οἱ μὲν αὐτὸ τοῦθ᾽ ἱκανὸν ὑπολαμβάνοντες εἶναι τὸ μηδένα γενέσθαι τῶν ἐναντιουμένων τε καὶ κωλυόντων οἰωνῶν, οἱ δὲ καὶ παρὰ τὸ βούλημα τοῦ θεοῦ κωλύοντος, ἔστι γὰρ ὅτε βιαζόμενοι καὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς ἁρπάζοντες μᾶλλον ἢ λαμβάνοντες.
[3] And the others, taking their omen from this report, depart in order to take over their magistracies, some of them assuming this alone to be sufficient, that no omens have appeared opposing or forbidding their intended action, others acting even in opposition to the will of the god; indeed, there are times when they resort to violence and rather seize than receive the magistracies.
[4] δἰ οὓς πολλαὶ μὲν ἐν γῇ στρατιαὶ [p. 163] Ῥωμαίων ἀπώλοντο πανώλεθροι, πολλοὶ δ᾽ ἐν θαλάττῃ στόλοι διεφθάρησαν αὔτανδροι, ἄλλαι τε μεγάλαι καὶ δειναὶ περιπέτειαι τῇ πόλει συνέπεσον αἱ μὲν ἐν ὀθνείοις πολέμοις, αἱ δὲ κατὰ τὰς ἐμφυλίους διχοστασίας, ἐμφανεστάτη δὲ καὶ μεγίστη καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἐμὴν ἡλικίαν, ὅτε Λικίννιος Κρᾶσσος ἀνὴρ οὐδενὸς δεύτερος τῶν καθ᾽ ἑαυτὸν ἡγεμόνων στρατιὰν ἦγεν ἐπὶ τὸ Πάρθων ἔθνος, ἐναντιουμένου τοῦ δαιμονίου πολλὰ χαίρειν φράσας τοῖς ἀποτρέπουσι τὴν ἔξοδον οἰωνοῖς μυρίοις ὅσοις γενομένοις. ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ μὲν τῆς εἰς τὸ δαιμόνιον ὀλιγωρίας, ᾗ χρῶνταί τινες ἐν τοῖς καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς χρόνοις, πολὺ ἔργον ἂν εἴη λέγειν.
[4] Because of such men many armies of the Romans have been utterly destroyed on land, many fleets have been lost with all their people at sea, and other great and dreadful reverses have befallen the commonwealth, some in foreign wars and others in civil dissensions. But the most remarkable and the greatest instance happened in my time when Licinius Crassus, a man inferior to no commander of his age, led his army against the Parthian nation contrary to the will of Heaven and in contempt of the innumerable omens that opposed his expedition. But to tell about the contempt of the divine power that prevails among some people in these days would be a long story.
[1] ὁ δὲ Ῥωμύλος ἀποδειχθεὶς τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ὑπό τε ἀνθρώπων καὶ θεῶν βασιλεὺς τά τε πολέμια δεινὸς καὶ φιλοκίνδυνος ὡμολόγηται γενέσθαι καὶ πολιτείαν ἐξηγήσασθαι τὴν κρατίστην φρονιμώτατος. διέξειμι δ᾽ αὐτοῦ τὰς πράξεις τάς τε πολιτικας καὶ τὰς κατὰ πολέμους, ὧν καὶ λόγον ἄν τις ἐν ἱστορίας ἀφηγήσει ποιήσαιτο.
[7.1] Romulus, who was thus chosen king by both men and gods, is allowed to have been a man of great military ability and personal bravery and of the greatest sagacity in instituting the best kind of government. I shall relate such of his political and military achievements as may be thought worthy of mention in a history;
[2] ἐρῶ δὲ πρῶτον ὑπὲρ τοῦ κόσμου τῆς πολιτείας, ὃν ἐγὼ πάντων ἡγοῦμαι πολιτικῶν κόσμων αὐταρκέστατον ἐν εἰρήνῃ τε καὶ κατὰ πολέμους. ἦν δὲ τοιός2δε: τριχῇ νείμας τὴν πληθὺν ἅπασαν ἑκάστῃ τῶν μοιρῶν τὸν ἐπιφανέστατον ἐπέστησεν ἡγεμόνα. ἔπειτα τῶν τριῶν πάλιν μοιρῶν ἑκάστην εἰς δέκα μοίρας διελών, ἴσους ἡγεμόνας καὶ τούτων ἀπέδειξε [p. 164] τοὺς ἀνδρειοτάτους: ἐκάλει δὲ τὰς μὲν μείζους μοίρας τρίβους, τὰς δ᾽ ἐλάττους κουρίας, ὡς καὶ κατὰ τὸν ἡμέτερον βίον ἔτι προσαγορεύονται.
[2] and first I shall speak of the form of government that he instituted, which I regard as the most self-sufficient of all political systems both for peace and for war. This was the plan of it: He divided all the people into three groups, and set over each as leader its most distinguished man. Then he subdivided each of these three groups into ten others, and appointed as many of the bravest men to be the leaders of these also. The larger divisions he called tribes and the smaller curiae, as they are still termed even in our day.
[3] εἴη δ᾽ ἂν Ἑλλάδι γλώττῃ τὰ ὀνόματα ταῦτα μεθερμηνευόμενα φυλὴ μὲν καὶ τριττὺς ἡ τρίβους, φράτρα δὲ καὶ λόχος ἡ κουρία, καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν οἱ μὲν τὰς τῶν τρίβων ἡγεμονίας ἔχοντες φύλαρχοί τε καὶ τριττύαρχοι, οὓς καλοῦσι Ῥωμαῖοι τριβούνους: οἱ δὲ ταῖς κουρίαις ἐφεστηκότες καὶ φρατρίαρχοι καὶ λοχαγοί, οὓς ἐκεῖνοι κουρίωνας ὀνομάζουσι.
[3] These names may be translated into Greek as follows: a tribe by phylê and trittys, and a curia by phratra and lochos; the commanders of the tribes, whom the Romans call tribunes, by phylarchoi and trittyarchoi; and the commanders of the curiae, whom they call curiones, by phratriarchoi and lochagoi.
[4] διῄρηντο δὲ καὶ εἰς δεκάδας αἱ φρᾶτραι πρὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἡγεμὼν ἑκάστην ἐκόσμει δεκάδα, δεκουρίων κατὰ τὴν ἐπιχώριον γλῶτταν προσαγορευόμενος. ὡς δὲ διεκρίθησαν ἅπαντες καὶ συνετάχθησαν εἰς φυλὰς καὶ φράτρας, διελὼν τὴν γῆν εἰς τριάκοντα κλήρους ἴσους ἑκάστῃ φράτρᾳ κλῆρον ἀπέδωκεν ἕνα, ἐξελὼν τὴν ἀρκοῦσαν εἰς ἱερὰ καὶ τεμένη καί τινα καὶ τῷ κοινῷ γῆν καταλιπών. μία μὲν αὕτη διαίρεσις ὑπὸ Ῥωμύλου τῶν τε ἀνδρῶν καὶ τῆς χώρας ἡ περιέχουσα τὴν κοινὴν καὶ μεγίστην ἰσότητα, τοιάδε τις ἦν.
[4] These curiae were again divided by him into ten parts, each commanded by its own leader, who was called decurio in the native language. The people being thus divided and assigned to tribes and curiae, he divided the land into thirty equal portions and assigned one of them to each curia, having first set apart as much of it as was sufficient for the support of the temples and shrines and also reserved some part of the land for the use of the public. This was one division made by Romulus, both of the men and of the land, which involved the greatest equality for all alike.
[1] ἑτέρα δὲ αὐτῶν πάλιν τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἡ τὰ φιλάνθρωπα καὶ τὰς τιμὰς διανέμουσα κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν, ἣν μέλλω διηγεῖσθαι. τοὺς ἐπιφανεῖς κατὰ γένος καὶ δι᾽ ἀρετὴν ἐπαινουμένους καὶ χρήμασιν ὡς ἐν τοῖς τότε
καιροῖς εὐπόρους, οἷς ἤδη παῖδες ἦσαν, [p. 165] διώριζεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀσήμων καὶ ταπεινῶν καὶ ἀπόρων. ἐκάλει δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἐν τῇ καταδεεστέρᾳ τύχῃ πληβείους, ὡς δ᾽ ἂν Ἕλληνες εἴποιεν δημοτικούς: τοὺς δ᾽ ἐν τῇ κρείττονι πατέρας εἴτε διὰ τὸ πρεσβεύειν ἡλικίᾳ τῶν ἄλλων, εἴθ᾽ ὅτι παῖδες αὐτοῖς ἦσαν, εἴτε διὰ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τοῦ γένους, εἴτε διὰ πάντα ταῦτα: ἐκ τῆς Ἀθηναίων πολιτείας, ὡς ἄν τις εἰκάσειε, τῆς κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον ἔτι διαμενούσης τὸ παράδειγμα λαβών.
[8.1] But there was another division again of the men only, which assigned kindly services and honours in accordance with merit, of which I am now going to give an account. He distinguished those who were eminent for their birth, approved for their virtue and wealthy for those times, provided they already had children, from the obscure, the lowly and the poor. Those of the lower rank he called “plebeians” (the Greek would call them dêmotikoi or “men of the people”), and those of the higher rank “fathers,” either because they had children or from their distinguished birth or for all these reasons. One may suspect that he found his model in the system of government which at that time still prevailed at Athens.
[2] ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ εἰς δύο μέρη νείμαντες τὸ πλῆθος εὐπατρίδας μὲν ἐκάλουν τοὺς ἐκ τῶν ἐπιφανῶν οἴκων καὶ χρήμασι δυνατούς, οἷς ἡ τῆς πόλεως ἀνέκειτο προστασία, ἀγροίκους δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους πολίτας, οἳ τῶν κοινῶν οὐδενὸς ἦσαν κύριοι: σὺν χρόνῳ
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 449