novissimus, -a, -um (superlative of
novus)
most recent, latest, last in a series.
Sabini, -orum m. pl.
Sabines (an
ancient people living to the north-east of Rome); ab Sabinis is ablative
of source after ortum.
orior, oriri, ortus/a sum
arise, spring
up, be born. Supply est with ortum.
multo, adverb
by much, by
far.
maximus, -a, um (superlative of
magnus)
greatest, biggest, largest; modifies bellum.
cupiditas, -tatis f.
desire, ambition,
greed.
ago, agere, egi, actum
do, act,
conduct, carry out, accomplish.
ostendo, -ere, ostendi, ostentum
reveal,
disclose; show, display.
infero, inferre, intuli, illatum
bring
forward, advance.
consilium, -i n.
strategem;
purpose;plan.
addo, -ere, addidi, additum
add, bring
to, put to. Supply est with additus.
dolus, -i m.
deceit, guile, trick,
subterfuge.
Spurius Tarpeius, the Roman commander (perhaps
mythical) of the Capitoline fortress under Romulus, and the father of Tarpeia.
Mons Tarpeius was the old name of the Capitoline Hill. The Tarpeian Rock
was a cliff on the Capitoline from which murderers and traitors were thrown to
their death. The cliff received its name from Tarpeia, to mark the place of
Tarpeia's treachery; Dionysius of Halicarnassus (7.35.4; 8.78.5) locates it on
the south-east corner of the Capitoline summit. Ogilvie argues rather that
mons Tarpeius is Etruscan in origin and connects it with Tarquinius.
praesum, praeesse, praefui (+ dative)
be in charge (of), be in control (of), be in command (of).
arx, arcis f.
citadel, summit. Livy
uses arx here for the entire Capitoline Hill.
virgo, -inis f.
virgin, maiden. In
Varro (de Lingua Latina 5.41) and Propertius (Elegiae 4.4),
Tarpeia is a Vestal virgin. The Vestals had to tend the sacred flame in the
hearth of the
Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum. The six Vestal virgins
were selected from patrician families. Chosen between the ages of six and ten,
they were obligated to serve for thirty years, but usually continued their
service for the rest of their lives. They were housed at public expense in the
Atrium Vestae, given privileges, and were under the authority
of the
pontifex maximus (here Augustus), who oversaw their punishment
for violations of chastity.
aurum, -i n.
gold. Propertius's poem
(Elegiae 4.4) preserves an alternate reason for Tarpeia's betrayal of
her country: infatuation with the Sabine leader.
corrumpo, -ere, corrupi, corruptum
bribe, seduce; note that Tarpeia does not initiate the betrayal.
Titus Tatius, the Sabine king, led the attack
on Rome to avenge the abduction of the Sabine women. He bribed Tarpeia with
gold to admit his troops into the Capitol. Once the Sabine women engineered a
reconciliation of their two families, the Romans and Sabines formed one
community under the joint command of Titus Tatius and Romulus. Tatius later was
assassinated while attending an annual sacrifice at Lavinium; some sources hint
that Romulus was responsible.
accipio, -ere, accepi, acceptum
receive,
accept, take; accipiat is present subjunctive in a purpose clause
introduced by ut.
forte, adverb
by chance, as it
happened.
ea = Tarpeia, the subject of
ierat.
sacrum, -i n.
sacred rite, sacrifice,
religious observance. Livy's reference to sacris and the use of the
term virginem suggests that Tarpeia was a Vestal virgin, since a daily
task of Vestals was to draw water for ritual purposes from the spring of the
Camenae, near the porta Capena. Tarpeia's betrayal of her country becomes a
betrayal of the gods as well.
moenia, -um n. pl.
defenses, walls;
stronghold.
petitum: a supine in the accusative after a
verb of motion (ierat) to express purpose; aquam is direct object
of petitum.
eo, ire, ii (ivi), itum
go, advance,
proceed.
obruo, obruere, obrui, obrutum
overwhelm, cover over, bury; by placing the two perfect passive
participles together (accepti obrutam) Livy unites subject and object
with action and immediate punishment.
arma, -orum, n. pl.
weapons; the
generic reference is to their shields (see below).
neco (1)
kill, murder; necavere =
necaverunt, a syncopated form of the perfect tense; the subject is
contained in the participle accepti.
seu (= sive)…seu (=sive): correlatives
whether. . .or.
vis, vis f.
power, force, strength,
violence, assault.
potius, adverb
rather,
more.
videretur = imperfect subjunctive in a purpose
clause introduced by ut; the passive of video here means
seem.
prodo, prodere, prodidi, proditum
bring
forth, produce, provide, make known; prodendi is the gerundive
agreeing with exempli; prodendi exempli are governed by
causa. Note how Livy prefers unbalanced parallel clauses: the
subjunctive after ut and the genitive of the gerundive after
causa both express purpose.
quid = aliquid (the indefinite pronoun
anything) after si, nisi, num, ne; ne introduces a purpose
clause followed by the subjunctive esset.
fidus, -a, -um
safe, faithful, reliable,
sure.
proditor , -oris m.
traitor. In
this version Tarpeia is killed by the Sabines to set an example for traitors;
she is guilty of betraying her family, the gods, and her country. R. Brown
argues that Livy blames Tatius as well, for his attack involves subterfuge
(dolus) and seduction (auro corrumpit).
fabula, -ae f.
story, common talk.
Ogilvie notes that Livy uses fabula to mean "a story to which he
attaches little belief." Although Livy reports the variant "tale," he gives
primacy to his first account which provides an excellent mali/malae
exemplum.
quod, conjunction
because, inasmuch
as.
volgo=vulgo, adverb
commonly; publicly;
usually; everywhere.
armilla, -ae f.
bracelet (worn
by men or women). Livy describes these Sabine bracelets as gold and of great
weight. Some scholars argue that Livy conflated the story of the siege of the
Roman citadel by the Sabines with the story of the sack of Rome by the Gauls in
390 BCE, since genuine 4th-3rd century BCE huge, heavy Gaulish armlets, torques
and shields have been found (the bracelets are gold, with hemispherical bumps
along the outer surface). Later, the Romans treasured armillae as items
of great value; Livy
records that they were given to the Roman soldiers as
decorations for service after the defeat of Aquilonia and Cominium (459
BCE).
pondus, -eris n.
weight;
mass.
brachium, -i n.
arm,
forearm.
laevus, -a, -um
left; stupid;
ill-omened.
gemmatus, -a, -um
set with jewels;
bejewelled.
species, -ei f.
beauty, splendor;
specie agrees with magna and is ablative of quality or
description.
anulus, -i m.
ring.
habuerint = perfect subjunctive in a causal
clause introduced by quod. Livy uses the subjunctive to state an alleged
cause, i.e. reported not by himself but by someone else. The subjunctive
suggests Livy's skepticism.
pango, pangere, pepigi, pactum
bargain
for; pepigisse is perfect infinitive in indirect statement; its
subject is eam (= Tarpeia).
quod = relative pronoun, accusative, singular
neuter. It is the direct object of haberent, imperfect subjunctive in a
subordinate clause within the indirect statement.
sinister, -tra, -trum
left; perverse;
unfavorable.
eo, adverb
for that reason,
therefore.
scutum, -i n.
round shield;
scuta is the subject of congesta.
illi: Tarpeia; dative of disadvantage.
congero, congerere, congessi, congestum
heap upon, shower; congesta [esse]: perfect passive
infinitive in indirect statement. Livy offers us a word painting: scuta ...
congesta encircle and envelop Tarpeia (illi) and her expectations
(pro aureis donis).
qui: introduces a relative clause of
characteristic followed by the subjunctive (dicant). Livy provides yet
another variant in which Tarpeia is not a traitress but a heroine. The
historian L. Calpurnius Piso credits this patriotic explanation for Tarpeia's
actions in light of the survival of a public libation ceremony at the supposed
tomb of Tarpeia.
eam= Tarpeia, subject of the perfect infinitive
petisse in indirect statement after dicant.
pactum, -i n.
agreement, contract,
bargain.
trado, tradere, tradidi, traditum
hand
over, surrender, deliver; tradendi is the gerund, genitive
singular.
quod : relative pronoun, nominative singular
neuter. It is the subject of esset, imperfect subjunctive in a
subordinate clause within the indirect statement.
derecto, adverb
immediately,
directly.
petisse= petivisse, a syncopated form
of the perfect tense; arma is the direct object.
fraus, fraudis f.
deceit, fraud,
guile; ablative of manner.
visam = Tarpeia; perfect passive participle
(truly the passive of see and not seem) followed by agere
(+ fraude), a complementary infinitive.
perimo, perimere, peremi, peremptum
destroy, kill; peremptam [esse]: perfect passive
infinitive in indirect statement with ipsam as the subject
merces, -edis f.
pay, reward;
ablative of means.
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