Leonardo Bruni [Bruni]
1370-1444 AD
Trans RMBullard
Latin (Renaissance)
Florentiam urbem Romani condidere a Lucio Sylla Faesulas deducti.
(The Romans, led by Lucius Sulla to Faesula, established the city of Florentia;)
Fuerunt autem hi Syllani milites, quibus ob egregiam cum in ceteris tum in civili bello navatam operam, pars Faesulani agri est attributa et Faesulae una cum veteribus incolis sedes traditae.
(However it would be these Sullan soldiers, to whom, on account of the important naval operation in other lands during the civil war, part of the Faesulanian fields was alloted, and the Faesulan seats were given over together with its former inhabitants;)
Has civium deductiones consignationesque agrorum Romani colonias appellabant, quod videlicet praedia quae colerent quibusque inhabitarent, sedes tradebantur.
(The Romans designated these conquests of cities and handing over of fields colonies, because it was obvious that they were the prizes which they farmed and in which they inhabited, and the council seats were given over;)
Quae autem occasio fuerit novos colonios in haec loca deducendi, pro rei notitia aperiendum est. (However, there would occur an opportunity to lead forth new colonies in this location, and this must be revealed for the sake of knowing the matter;)
Haud multos ante Syllae dictaturam annos, cuncti ferme Italiae populi unum sub tempus a Romanis defecere, indignatione commoti quod ipsi una cum Romanis per singulas expeditione militantes, laboresque et pericula pro augendo imperio subeuntes praemiorum expertes angebantur;
(Not many years before Sulla’s dictatorship, all the peoples of Italy were defeated soundly at single time by the Romans, because they, once soldiers together with the Romans through their own expansion, skilled experts of war prizes who endured the hardships and dangers for the sake of increasing the empire, were squeezed and moved by indignation;)
Quare saepius inter se conquesti tandem legatis communi de re Romam missis, quasi civitatis membra, honores et magistratus concedi sibi postularent;
(Therefore, quite wisely were ambassadors among themselves concerning the commonwealth finally sent to Roman, as though members of the city, and they demanded that honors and magistrates be conceded to them;)
Agitata ea res per M. Drusi tribunatum, dubiaque spe aliquandiu protacta; (This matter was stirred up through M. Drusus’ tribunate, and for some time, it was prolonged by doubt and hope;)
Sed cum tandem eorum postulata reicerentur, aperte quasi ab ingratis rebellarunt bellumque gesserunt, quod quia a sociis gestum est, sociale bellum nuncupatur;
(But finally when their demands were cast back at them, so they openly rebelled from the ingrates [Romans] and waged war, and because this was waged by allies, it is called the Social War;)
In eo demum bello victor populus romanus, principes rebellandi provincias persecutus, multis illis cladibus afflixit;
(In this war the Roman people were at last the victor, persecuting the key provinces for rebelling, and it afflicted them with many hardships;)
Sed praesertim in Picentes Tuscosque saevitum, nam et Asculum, florentissima Picentium urbs, hostilem in modum a Romanis vastata est et in Tuscis Clusium a solo eversum;
(But, one must mention the savageness against the Picentes and the Tuscans, and Asculum, a most bustling city of the Picentes, which was destroyed in a hostile manner by the Romans, and Clusium in Tuscany razed to the ground;)
Arrentinis et Faesulanis, praeter belli damna et caedes, magnae insuper calamitates inflictae per quas, publicatis multorum bonis multisque fugatis, civitates sunt paene habitatoribus inanitae. (For the Arrentines and Faesulans, except for the cursedness and slaughters of war, there calamities inflicted upon them were great by far, while many, many good men were condemned or fled, and the cites were nearly emptied from of their inhabitants.)
Ea videlicet occasio fuit, et quasi invitamentum, ut Sylla postea dictator haec potissimum loca militibus suis tribueret.
(It is obvious that this was the case, and thus the incitement, such that afterward the dictator Sulla distributed most easily these places to his own soldiers.)
Per hunc igitur modum a L. Sylla militibus Faesulas deductis agrisque viritim divisis, eorum plerique urbem montanam et difficilem aditu, praesertim in illa securitate romani imperii, minime sibi necessarium arbitrati, relicto monte, in proxime subiecta planitie, secus Arni Munionisque fluviorum ripas, conferre aedificia et habitare coeperunt;
(Therefore, when troops were lead down by Lucius Sulla and the fields were divided in such manner, they decided to set up temple and inhabitate one of their cities, one mountainous and difficult in approach, especially in that secure zone of Roman domination, one with mountain bound in the background, one lying below upon the nearest flat plain, cutting the banks of the Arnus and the rivers of Munio;)
Novam urbem, quod inter fluenta quo posita erat, Fluentiam primo vocitarunt eiusque incolae Fluentini dicti;
(Because it was positioned in a place between the flowing streams, they first used to call the new city Fluentia, and its inhabitants were called Fluentines;)
Et id quidem nomen aliqua tempora urbi fuisse videtur, donec crescentibus rebus et civitate maiorem in modum adaucta, sive corrupto ut in plerisque vocabulo sive quod miro floreret successu, pro Fluentia Florentiam dixere.
(And, for some time, truly it appears that this was the first name for the city, until it grow to a greater extent in population, while its boundaries increased, so that either somehow by a etymological corruption or because it began to flourish in success, they called it Florentia instead of Fluentia.)
Meminerunt horum colonorum Tullius et Sallustius, duo praestantissimi latinae linguae auctores.
(Marcus Tullius Cicero and Sallust, two of the most distinguished authors in Latin literature, have mentioned this colonists;)
Tullius optimos fuisse cives romanos et fortissimos viros affirmat, sed insperatis ac repentinis divitiis bello civili a Sylla locupletatos, modum in sumptibus servare nescisse;
(Cicero asserts that they had been the best Roman citizens and the strongest men, yet corrupted by Sulla with unexpected and sudden riches from the civil war, they did not know how to preserve their way of life in sumptuousness;)
dum aedificant tamquam beati, dum magnis familiis magnisque conviviis et sumptuosis apparatibus violentius utuntur, in tantum aes alienum incidisse, ut si liberare se velint, rursus foret eis Sylla ab inferis excitandus.
(They build up such a great extent of beauty, that they are then more violently plagued with giant families and great feasts and sumptuous preparations, insofar as they took in foreign money, as thought they wished to free themselves, with result that Sulla must have been upset by their misdeeds.)
Equidem permagni facio quod latini parens eloquii de aedificiis scribit ac ex eo speciosa ab ipsis incunabulis fundamenta huius urbis fuisse coniecto.
(And truly indeed, I admit that the father of the great art of Latin elocution writes about the buildings, and from him, from his own incunabulae -writings, scriptures- he writes that these were the visibile foundations of this city;)
Et extant sane hodieque permanent vetustorum reliquiae operum vel in hac nostri temporis magnificentia civitatis admirandae:
(And expectedly today, the remains of their ancient architecture survive and should be admired in even this magnificence of our time period;)
aquaeductus, per quem de septimo lapide accepti fontes in urbe ducebantur, et theatri ingentes ad ludos populares tunc extra moenia positi, nunc intra urbem ipsam privatorum aedificiis occupati.
(The aqueduct, through which springwaters received from the seventh stone were led into the city, and huge theaters for public games, at that time positioned outside the city walls, now filled in between the city herself with buildings of private citizens;)
Templum etiam, in quo nunc baptisterium est, vetustum sane ac egregium opus, Marti gentilitas consecravit.
(Even the temple, in which there is now a baptistery, is really an ancient and outstanding work of art which the noblemen consecrated to Mars.)
Videntur autem hi coloni, sive levandi desiderii causa sive amore veteris patriae, pleraque Romanae urbis loca aedificaque aemulari voluisse.
(But these colonist appeared, whether for the purpose of alleviating some desire or for the fondness of their ancient fatherland, to wished greatly to emulate the sites and buildings of the Roman city;)
Nam et capitolium sibi fecerunt et forum iuxta positum eo situ iisdemque regionibus inter se conversa, quis romanum forum capitoliumque videmus.
(For they also made a capitol and forum positioned right beside in the same site as the things turned out in the same regions among themselves;)
Addiderunt thermas publicas ad populi lavacra; theatrum ad spectacula ludorum.
(They added public baths for the populace's bathing needs and a theater for the showings of games;)
Ex eadem aemulatione templum Martis est, in quem videlicet deum Romani genus, fabulosa licet credulitate, referebant.
(There's the temple of Mars from its like predecessor, whom they evidently recall was the god of the Roman people, though the miracles should be taken with credulity;)Usque adeo vero aemulandi studio provecti sunt, ut etiam minus necessaria opera maiore impensa non piguerit imitari.
(The imitations were carry out with such a great enthusiasm to the extent that so far less was the necessary construction undertaken to be imitated, than the more lumbersome one;)
Productis ad septimum usque miliarium arcubus, fontes accepti in urbem ducebantur, qui ut Romae opportuni, ubi omnis aqua gypso corrupta solo profertur, sic Florentiae superflui, ubi purissimi latices tota urbe scaturiunt.
(While up to seven thousand arcs were constructed, channeled fountains springs were led into the city, which, as they were useful to Rome, where the only water brought there was all tainted by gypsum, thus they flowed to Florentia, where the purest waters splashed throughout the whole city;)
Huic publicae magnificentiae privata quoque aedificia convenisse crediderim, quamvis in privatis minus appareat.
(I would have believed also that the buildings assembled there to have been stripped of its public munificence, so much less does it appear to be lacking it;)
Nam publicis quidem, ut supra diximus, non contemnendae reliquiae attestantur.
(For, as I have stated above, the remains to be witnessed do not really attest to today's citydwellers.)In his igitur aedificationibus ac cetero vitae splendore, quem Tullius memorat, occupatos, dum nec futurum prospiciunt nec parto parcunt, brevi, ut fit, tempore, pecuniae defecerunt, et simul unica largitionum spes, L. Sylla, non dictatura modo, verum etiam vita abierat.
(So from these buildings and the remaining splendor of their life, which Cicero recalls, soon, as it happens, while they don’t look out into the future and cease on their own behalf, the money vanished for those occupants, and then the single hope of replenishing their finances, Lucius Sulla had finally died, though it could not have been predicted;)
Itaque partim indigentia, partim consuetudine praemiorum adducti, novum aliquem motum exoriri optabant.
(And so, partly lead by their anger, partly lead by their being accustomed of battle prizes, they began to desire stir up some commotion;)
Viri militares et civili bello assueti, quietes esse nullo pacto sciebant; rursus novas dictaturas et nova belli praemia mente volutabant.
(They were military men, accustomed to civil war; in no way did they know how to be peaceful; once again on the verge of declaring war, they desired in their mind new prizes from wars;)
Et accedebat aes alienum, acer quidem stimulus et qui timides etiam animos facere soleat ad otium perturbandum.
(And foreign money began to arrive, and even this sharp incitement should undoubtedly to inspire their timid minds to disturbing the peace.)
Forte per id tempus Romae L. Catilina res novare aggressus magnam adversus rem publicam coniurationem inierat, in qua multi equestres, multi senatorii ordinis, quidam item patritii generis fuerunt.
(By chance, at the same time, Lucius Catiline, planning to rebel at Rome, organized a great conspiracy, of which many knights, many from the senatorial order, indeed even patricians by birth, against the republic;)
Tetigitque suspicio C. Caesarem, eum qui postea dictator fuit; tunc autem non privatus tantum sed et alieno aere onustus, res novas cupere putabantur.
(And the suspicion reached to Gaius Caesar, the man who afterwards became dictator; not so much than at that time was he broke and burdened by debt, so he desired that rebellion be planned;)
Multa igitur prius Romae efficere conatus, ubi tentata parum, prospere succedebant, parte coniuratorum intra urbem ad patranda illa quae praescripserat relicta, ipse cum reliquis exire ac foris bellum concitare decrevit.
(So before he tried accomplished too much at Rome, when the little things had been tried, they began to succeed, while a group of conspirators in the city determined to prescribe the remaining property for the nobility, he decided to leave with the others and to threaten war from the outside;)
Et primo quidem Praeneste nocturno impetu occupare, ibique sedem belli constituere cogitarat; mox vero, ut diligentius eam urbem custodiri sensit, mutato consilio pro Praeneste Faesulas delegit.
(And at first, they finally decided to take Praeneste by in a nightraid, and from there to establish the base for their war; pretty soon, as he sensed that this city would be easy to defend, chaning his mind, he choose Faesulas instead of Praeneste;)
Egressus itaque Roma et ad haec ipsa loca profectus, regionem totam bello armisque involvit.
(So, leaving Rome and setting out for this particular location, he cast the entire region into war and warfare.) Hoc primum periculum et ultimum paene discrimen tenerae adhuc urbi et modo conditae fuit, quod tamen ira evasit, ut commodius equidem posuerim accidisse.
(First and last, this danger yet nearly was in the horizon for the city, young and just established, because their anger was yet abandoned, such that I could more comfortably tell you what happened;)
Nam Lentulus et Cethegus aliique coniurationis principes quos Romae Catalina reliquerat, dum plures secum in societatem facinoris adsciscere conantur, proditi a legatis Allobrogum et in senatu convicti, ultimo tandem supplicio affecti periere.
(For Lentulus, Cethegus, and the other key conspirators, whom Cataline had left in Rome, since a great deal try to the jump to the side of the criminal, betrayed by the ambassadors of the Allobroges and condemned in the Senate, died by the extreme devotion of concerned man;)
Catalina vero, ut haec audivit, quando spes iam fractae et conatus in irritum casuri videbantur, in Galliam fugere conatus est, sed ab exercitibus romanis circumventus, et fortunam pugnae experiri coactus, una cum suis in pistoriensis agro occiditur.
(Truly, Cataline, as he heard this news, since his hope was now shattered, and his attempts at rebellion seemed to fail, he tried to flee into Gaul, but he was surrounded by the Roman legions, and forced to try his luck in battle, he died on the battlefield along with his fellow Pistorians;)
Haec ego, quamquam pervulgata harum rerum historia sit, tamen quia in hanc regionem et primordia huius urbis inciderunt, paucis commemoranda putavi.
(I, although the history of these events have been made thoroughly made known, since they happened in this part of the country and were the beginnings of the city, have thought them to be commemorated by few men.)
Enim vero hic motus rerum ac belli vicinitas, ut non nihil detrimenti novae urbi incussisse, sic veluti quandam salutarem disclipinam hominibus attulisse videtur.
(For really this direction of affairs and the proximity of the war, as though nothing destructive had happened to the new city, thus seemed to have brought a certain healthy discipline to the men;)
Per aliena namque pericula, spe novarum dictaturarum praemiorumque quibus ante vehementius inhiabant deposita, suis contentos esse rebus oportere tunc primum didicerunt, et spem in turbatione ponere vanum ac periculo sum esse.
(So, through foreign dangers, with the hope of a new government and war prizes, for which reasons, they began mull over their treasures more violently; then they first learned how to be happy with these things and to place their empty hope in rebellion and throw themselves in danger;)
Simul igitur cum animi proposito mutati mores.
(So soon, their natures and customs were changed;)
Terteri alieno aere, sua diligenter circumspicere ac perpendere, parsimoniae ac frugalitati operam dare, sobrietatem colere, disciplinam rei domesticae exercere, luxuriam et prodigalitatem viam ad perniciem existimare:
(They wished to deal with foreign money, to study and carry out their affairs diligently, to toil for profit and with frugality, to encourage sobriety, to maintain their discipline of their household, and to esteem luxury and greed as the road to the destruction:)
haec ipsi facere, haec liberos edocere.
(they wished to carry out these things for themselves and to teach them to their children;)
Igitur civitas, emendaris moribus, robustius coalescere, et immigrabant frequentes, dulcedine loci amoenitateque pellecti.
(Therefore, visitors to the cities began to emigrate there and cluster together more robustly, changing their customs, to delight in the sweetness and pleasantness of the area;)
surgebant aedificia; suboles augebatur.
(The buildings began to rise up; the populations began to increase.)
Crescere tamen civitatis potentiam ac maiorem in modum attolli, romanae magnitudinis vicinitas prohibebat.
(Yet the nearness of the Roman magnitude began to prevent the cities’ power from growing and being raised to a greater extent;)
ut enim ingentes arbores novellis plantis iuxta surgentibus officere solent nec ut altius crescant permittere, sic romanae urbis moles sua magnitudine vicinitatem premens, nullam Italiae civitatem maiorem in modum crescere patiebatur.
(Just as huge trees are accustomed to take root next to newer, smaller plants, they are not allowed to grow any higher, so while the massiveness of the Roman city pressed the vicinity with its own magnitude, it began to prevent any other major city in Italy from increasing its size;)
Quin immo et quae ante fuerant magnae, ob eius urbis gravem nimium propinquitatem, exhaustae porro diminutaeque sunt.
(And very much indeed, whichever ones were great before, thanks to the very burdensome nearness of the this city, they now were exhausted and diminished;)
Quemadmodum enim tunc cresceret civitatis potentia?
(And then what kind of power could grow?)
neque sane fines augere bello poterat sub imperio constituta nec omnino bella exercere nec magistratus satis magnifici, quippe eorum iurisdictio intra breves limites claudebatur, et haec ipsa romanis magistratibus erat obnoxia.
(And truly, the boundary line established under its domain could not increase from warfare nor they could wage war at all, and their magistracies were never great enough, so their jurisdiction began to be surrounded by short borders, and this annoyance was caused by the Roman government.)
Mercaturae quoque, si quis forte eam partem ad incrementum civitatis attinere quidquam existimet, non alibi per id tempus quam Romae commodius exercebantur.
(Even their markets, if anyone by chance esteems this part of the city grew somewhat by increase, no one lived very comfortably anywhere else other than Rome, during this time;)
Ibi frequentia hominum et venundandi facultas, eorum portus, eorum insulae, eorum portoria, ibi gratia, ibi publicanorum favor; alibi neque gratia neque potentia par.
(There the frequenting of men and the facility of their trade, their gate, their apartments, their harbor existed; there, the patronage and the favor of the tax-gatherers existed; no other part had patronage or power;)
Itaque sicubi quisquam per propinqua loca nascebatur ingenio validus, is, quia domi has sibi difficultates obstare videbat, Romam continuo demigrabat.
(Therefore, whatever man with strong talent was born in a nearby place, he, because he saw these difficulties stand in his way at home, always moved down to Rome;)
Ita quidquid egregium per Italiam nascebatur ad se trahens, alias civitates exhauriebat.
(So men were born throughout Italy, taking whatever talent with him; Rome drained the other cities completely;)
Quod antecedentia simul et secuta tempora manifestissime ostendunt.
(Both times before and after showed this fact most clearly;)
Etenim priusquam Romani rerum potirentur, multas per Italiam civitates gentesque magnifice floruisse, easdem omnes stante romano imperio exinanitas constat.
(Therefore, before the Romans began to dominate affairs, many cities and peoples had flourished wonderfully; then there is lifelessness, after the Roman empire stood over them all;)
Rursus vero posteris temporibus, ut dominatio romana cessavit, confestim reliquae civitates efferre capita et florere coeperunt, adeo quod incrementum abstulerat, diminutio reddidit.
(Indeed, after these later times, at Roman domination fell back, one by one the remaining cities began to peek their heads out and flourish, so much that whatever its growth had taken away, its reduction returned;)
Quoniam vero de civitatibus Etruriae multa dicturi sumus, utilissimum nobis videtur, ab ipsis vetustissimis incipientes, de tota etrusca re, qualis ante romanum imperium qualisque postea fuerit quam brevissime fieri poterit, recensere.
(Indeed, since I have discussed many things concerning the cities of Etruria, it seems most useful to me to review the whole Etruscan history, from the beginnings of their oldest ancestors, a history which existed before the Roman empire, and after which it existed only long enough to exist in the briefest amount of time;)
et simul illud annectere, postquam romana potentia cessavit, quae civitates in ea floruerint, quae capita extulerint, quam potentiam habuerint, ut ex hac notitia et narratione rerum etruscarum peritiores instructioresque ad tempora usque nostra deducamur.
(And at the same time, I will add to this, after Roman power began to regress, those cities that flourished in the region; the leaders they brought forth; how they held power; as I shall describe, from this notation and narration, the inventors and instructors of Etruscan affairs all the way down to our own times.) Ante romanum quidem imperium longe maximas totius Italiae opes maximamque potentiam ac prae ceteris vel bello vel pace inclitum nomen etruscorum fuisse, inter omnes antiquissimos rerum scriptores haud ambigue constat.
(Indeed, before Roman empire, the name of the Etruscans was renowned for the greatest works of all of Italy and the greatest power by far, excelling in both war or peace, and this is pretty clear among all the oldest historical writers;)
Origo autem vetustissima eius gentis ex Maeonia est, unde Lydi multitudine ingenti ac praeclara bello manu Italiam navibus advecti, in ea parte quae nunc Etruria dicitur consederunt, pulsisque inde pelasgis ceterisque eius regionis veteribus incolis, a Tyrrheno eorum rege Tyrrheniam nuncuparunt;
(Yet the most ancient place of origin of this people was Maeonia, from where they were carried in ships from Lydia in huge multitude, distinguished in hand-to-hand combat, and it is said that they settled down in this area, Etruria, and having suppressed the natives and the other previous inhabitants of this region, they named it Tyrrhenia, from the name of their king Tyrrhenus;)
Aucta subinde subole et potentia simul cum multitudine in dies crescente, quantum inter Apenninum montem et inferum mare Tyberimque et Macram fluvios terrarum clauditur, id totum propagatis finibus tenuere, mox Etrusci a sacrifico, ut creditur, ritu, vel a sereni contemplatione coeli graeca lingua nuncupati, ipsaque regio Etruria dicta.
(Afterwards, their population and influence growing together with their duration of their stay, as much land is locked between the Apennine mountain range, the southern sea, and the rivers Tiber and Macer, they occupy this whole expanse with increasing boundaries; soon by their sacred tradition, as it is believed, or by some serene contemplation of heaven, they acquire the Greek language, and this region of theirs is called Etruria;)
totam vero etruscam gentem in duodecim populos divisam fuisse veteres tradidere, sed eos omnes ab initio rex unus gubernabat.
(Indeed, the ancient tribes allowed themselves to develop into the Etruscan people divided into the twelve tribes, but a single king governed them all from the beginning;)
Tandem, ut regia potestas gravior illis visa, ex singulis populis singulos lucumones (sic enim magistratum vocitabant qui comuni consilio totam regeret gentem) creare coeperunt.
(In the end, as a more royal power seemed to be more burdensome than these, they began to create individual Etruscan priesthoods from individual groups of peoples [as then they began to call for a magistrate who would rule the whole nation with a common counsel])
Eorum unus certo tempore aliis praeerat, ita tamen ut auctoritate et honore, non potentia princeps esset.
(A single one of them would preside over the others for a fixed time; thus, except in his authority and honor, he was not the chief magistrate in power;)
Sub hoc igitur magistatu per longa tempora pari voluntate auctoritateque duodecim populorum Etruria gubernata, qualis concordiae fructus esse solet, in tantas opes potentiamque accrevit, ut non solum urbibus passim opportunis locis per eam condititis virisque et divitiis intra fines floreret, verum etiam extra longe lateque dominaretur.
(Therefore, under this system of governance, Etruria was ruled for a long time, with equal interest and authority for the twelve tribes; such prosperity was accustomed to accompany harmony, and it grew in great wealth and power, to the extent that little by little it flourished non only its cities and fortunate locations but in the resources and wealth established within its territory, while it truly began to dominate far and wide beyond its borders;)
Testes eius potentiae sunt duo maria, quibus Italia modo insulae cingitur;
(An testament to its power were two seas, by which Italia was bound like an island;)
utraque sane non ab aliis populis quam ab Etruscis nominata.
(safely, each were named by the Etruscans, not by the other groups of people;)
Inferius Tuscum, idemque Tyrrhenum, vetusto gentis nomine, quae appellatio ut quibusdam Graecis placet, ab Sardinia in Siciliam obtinet.
(The lower one was called the Tuscus; the other one Tyrrhennus, from the ancient name of the clan, which name pleases Greeks in particular; this extended from Sardinia into Sicily;)
Superius Adriaticum ab Atria, oppido quondam maritimis rebus maxime inclito, quod Etrusci per ea tempora, iis quoque locis dominantes, iuxta litus superi maris non longe a Padi ostiis condidere.
(The higher one was called the Adriatic, from Atria, a city once the most famous for its maritime advancements, where the Etruscans, conquerors during those times even in these regions, settled the shore nearby of the northern sea, non far from the ports of the Po;)
Etenim Apenninum trasngressi, omnia primo cis Padum loca, mox et transpadanam regionem totam usque ad Alpes praeter extremum Venetorum angulum, bello et armis subacta, Etrusci possederunt.
(Having even crossed the Apennines, the Etruscans first possessed every place across the Po, then soon the whole Transpadane region and even as farthest territory of the Venetians to the Alps, who had been conquered by war and battles;)
Inde per tractum adriatici maris descendentes, magnam eius litoris tenuerunt partem, pulsis Umbris, gente per eam tempestatem maxima ac potentissima, quorum supra trecenta oppida ab Etruscis debellata fuisse veteres tradunt historiae.
(After that, they, descending along the tract of the Adriatic Sea, took hold of a great portion of its shore, then conquering Umbria, with a race of people very great and very power at this time, whose more than three hundred cities, before they were besieged by the Etruscans, history’s ancients surrendered;)
Cis Apenninum vero per inferiorem Italiae partem ad fretum usque siculum eroum potentia provecta est.
(Truly, their power was carried across the Apennines, across the southern part of Italy all the way up their own shallow passageway;)
Haec autem per frequentibus missis coloniis, multae quidem urbes ab eis conditae, multae etiam veteribus exactis possessoribus novo colono repletae memorantur, quarum veluti indices eorum potentiae adhuc extant.
(Still, along these, frequent colonists were sent out, while many cities were founded from these; many are even recalled to have been replete with ancient owners assigned for a new colony; such indications of their influence remain to this day;)
Ab inferiori quidem Italiae parte Capua inter inclitas quondam urbes perpaucas nominata; a superiori vero Mantua et ipsa quoque Etruscorum colonia.
(Indeed, Capua, in the southern part of Italy, was claimed at that time to be among the elite flourishing cities; also Mantua and even the very colony of the Etruscans;)
Nam ex singulis Etruriae populis, quos duodecim fuisse supra docuimus, singulas colonias trans Apenninum missas constat, quarum praecipuae fuerunt urbes:
(For from the individual groups of Etruria, I have learned that there had been over twelve, and individual colonies sent across the Apennines, whose cities are planned beforehand;)
Atria, ex qua Adriatico nomen est mari; item Mantua, quae ex transpadanis sola nunc extat.
(Atria, from which the name Adriatic belongs to its sea; the same Mantua which now survives alone from the Transpadanes;)
Videtur autem huius gentis potentia vetustissimum quidem initium habuisse, utpote quae ante troiani belli tempora non aucta modo, verum etiam pollens florensque fuerit.
(Still, it seems that really the power of this people had the oldest origin, insofar as the era of the Trojan War had not been accomplished yet, when truly it was cultivated and flourishing;)
Aeneam denique Troia profugam cum a Latinis et Rutulis bello premetur, ad florentes Etruscorum opes contulisse sese ac exinde auxilium petiise Virgilius facit.
(Then at last, when Aeneas fled from Troy, he was hampered in battle by the Latins and Rutulians, Vergil describes him to have gone to the flourishing cities of the Etruscans purposely to seek help;)
Evandrus enim, cum Aeneae roganti opem consilium daret ac sibi nequaquam tantas esse vires ut Latinis Rutulisque resistere quiret docuisset, ad Etruscos illum destinans, sic inquit:
(For Evander, since Vergil had taught that he gave help and advice to Aeneas asking and that his resources were not great enough to attempt to resist the Latins and Rutulians, he, directing him to the Etruscans, said thusly:)
"ast tibi ego ingentis populos, opulentaque regnis/iungere castra paro."
("But I shall provide you with a might race of people with whose opulence and kingdoms you can ally")
Et paulo post id ipsum explanans:
(But a little afterwards, he continues to explain to him:)
"haud procul hinc saxo colitur fundata vetusto/urbis Agillinae sedes, ubi Lydia quondam/gens, bello praeclara, iugis consedit Etruscis.
("Not far from this place, the seat of the city Agillina, founded on an ancient rock, thrives, where once a Lydian race of people, famous in battle, settled alongside Etruscan yokes;)
Hanc multos florentem annos rex deinde superbus imperio et saevis tenuit Mezentius armis."
(At that time, the proud kind Mezentius ruled it, a flourishing land, for many years in power with his fierce arms")
Quamquam, ut alienior a poetarum figmentis, sic intemeratior ac purior historia tradit non Aeneam, sed Turnum bello superatum ad Mezentium et florentes Etruscorum opes confugisse atque inde adversus advenam ducem exercitumque auxilia supplicem implorasse.
(Still, as I am estranged from the narratives of poets, a more professional and purer history says that it was not Aeneas, but Turnus, who had fled defeated in battle to Mezentius and flourishing wealth of the Etruscans, and facing the advancing general and army, to have implored help as a supplicant;)
Sed utravis opinio praestiterit, troianum ante bellum floruisse etruscam rem fateamur necesse est.
(But although I deem him to have gone correctly, it is necessary for me to confess that the Etruscan state had began to flower even before the Trojan War;)
Duravit autem incolumis domique et foris usque ad transitum Gallorum in Italiam, annos post troianum bellum circiter sexcentos;
(Still, it remained unharmed, at home and abroad, up to the invasion of the Gauls into Italy, approximately six hundred years after the Trojan War;)
post conditam vero urbem Roman centum fere et septuaginta.
(This was at least 170 years after the founding of the city Rome;)
Quo quidem tempore Galli maximis peditum equitumque copiis duce Belloveso Alpes transgressi, aliaque inde super aliam multudine per priorum vestigia ex Gallis Germanisque confluente, eam omnem Italiae partem, quae nunc Gallia Cisalpina dicitur, Tuscis ademerunt.
(So, at this time the Gauls crossed the Alps with the greatest numbers of foot soldiers and knights, under the leader Bellovesus, and from there another hoard, larger than the other along the paths of prior people, came forth mixed with Gauls and Germans, they annexed the entire part of Italy that is now called Cisalpine Gaul, from the Etruscans;)
Novissimi vero omnium Gallorum Sennones tractum maritimae orae, in quo Sena Gallia urbs est, occuparunt.
(The newest group of all the Gauls occupied the tract of maritime coast, where the Gallic city Sena is located;)
Ab iis et aliis Gallis opes Etruscorum attritae et intra iugum Apennini post longa bella repressae.
(From these Gauls and the other Gauls, the wealth of the Etruscans was captured and reduced between the Apennine mountain range after long warfare;)
Romanorum insuper crescens potentia alia ex parte fines obtundebat.
(Only the growing power of the Romans rattled the boundaries on the other side;)
Ita in medio duarum validissimarum gentium constituti, Etrusci bifarium vexabantur.
(So settled in the middle of the two strongest races of people, the Etruscans were hounded on both sides;)
Mansit tamen etiam post per aliquot saecula robur et auctoritas gentis, ut foris imminutae, sic domi validae praepotentisque.
(Still, the strength and authority of the race remained even after so many centuries, even as it was diminished on the frontiers, still it was robust and predominant at home;)
Enim vero longe alia ratione cum Romanis quam cum Gallis agebatur.
(For truly, it was driven to side with the Romans so much more than with the Gauls;)
Cum Romanis vero non odio neque acerbitate unquam pugnatum; plus etiam amicitiae quam belli interdum fuit.
(They never fought with the Romans out of spite or bitterness; furthermore, it was for the sake of friendship, instead of war.)
Declarant imitationis studia, quae nemo ab invisis despectisque assumit.
(They made their zeal for imitation clear, which no one can judge out of envious or spiteful eyes;)
Constat autem Romanos praetextam et trabeas phalerasque et annulos, togas quoque pictas et palmatas tunicas, currus insuper aureos triumpho decoros, fasces denique et lictores et tubas et sellam curulem ac cetera omnia regum magistratuumque insignia ab Etruscis sumpsisse.
(Yet, it is still the case that the Romans had adapted from the Etruscans their cloaks, official robes, breastplates, ringlettes, and also their painted togas and folded tunics, as well their chariots decorated with gold in triumph, and eventually the fasces and lictors and curule chair and all the other insignia of their rulers and magistrates;)
Nam quod duodecim lictores apparebant regibus consulibusque romanis, id quoque inde sumptum traditur, quod cum ex duodecim populis Etrusci constarent, singulos singuli lictores regi dabant.
(And since twelve lictors serviced the Roman kings and consuls, even the following thing was borrowed as an adaption, that since the Etruscans consisted of twelve tribes, each ruler used to administer individual lictors;)
Inde ab Romanis res accepta, nec numerus quidem imminutus est.
(Afterward, this custom was accepted by the Romans, nor was the number ever reduced;)
Haec omnia, ne quis forte nosmet nobis blandiri existimet, graeci romanique vetustissimi scriptori tradidere.
(The most ancient Greek and Roman writers recorded all of these facts, if anyone by chance believes that I myself am not being truthful;)
Nec imperii tantum insignia ceterumque augustiorem habitum sumpserunt ab Etruscis, verum etiam litteras disclipinamque.
(And not only did the Roman empires adopt their insignia and any other dignified custom from the Etruscans but also their alphabet and literature;)
Auctores habere se Livius scribit, ut postea Romanos pueros graecis, ita prius etruscis litteris vulgo erudiri solitos.
(Livy writes that they their writers, just as afterwards Roman boys learned from Greek letters, were accustomed to learn commonly from the Etruscan letters;)
Nam caerimonias quidem ac religionem et cultum deorum, qua in arte Etrusci praeceteris gentibus excelluisse traduntur, Romani sic ab illis susceperunt, ut tamen priores partes relictas penes auctores ipsos faterentur.
(For the Romans also borrowed their ceremonies and religion and cult of gods from them, in which field the Etruscans are said to have excelled over more ancient peoples, such that authors confessed that their household gods were left behind to these former regions;)
Simul atque gravius quidquam rei publicae imminebat, in quo deum numina placandum censerent, vates et haruspices ex Etruria vocabantur.
(At the same time, a more prominent quality of the republic was evident, in which the divine powers judge how a god must be pleased, when bards and soothsayers were called from Etruria;)
Denique omnis harum rerum cognitio etrusca disciplina apud Romanos vocitata est.
(Eventually, the entire understanding of these matters has been frequently called the Etruscan art among the Romans;)
Haec et huiusmodi inde sumpta probare mihi videntur, Romanos etruscam gentem cum observantia quadam admiratos, a qua et ornamenta imperii et deorum cultum ac disciplinam litterarum, tria maxima ac praestantissima, sibi publice privatimque imitanda receperint.
(These things and other fields adopted seem to be properly reported for me that the Romans, having amired the Etruscan people in observance, consequently received the structure of their empire and cult of gods and study of literature, the three greatest and most preeminent examples, worthy to be imitated for their sake in public and private;)
Nec pacis quid artibus admirati sunt gentem, bello autem contempserunt.
(And even though they admired the people and their civilization in peace, still they hated them in war;)
Probant obsidio urbis Romae et obsides Porsennae traditi, quod post transitum Gallorum in Italiam fuisse admirabilius est.
(They undertook a siege of the Roman city and brought hostages to Porsenna, which even more admirable after the invasion of the Gauls into Italy had happened;)
Nec ob ullum magis quam ob etruscum hostem Romae trepidarum reperies, neque dictatores saepius dictos Primus Romanorum Etruscos bello attigit Romulus ipse, Romae urbis conditor;
(There was no reason for these brave men's endeavor on account of any other thing other than the Etruscan enemy of Rome, and the First ruler Romulus himself, the founder of the Roman city, did not foolishly attack the chosen Etruscan dictators with war;)
mox et alii fere omnes romani reges praeter Numam Pompilium et Tarquinium Superbum, id bellum susceperunt.
(And very soon after, all the other kings, except Numa Pompilius and Tarquinius Superbus, concentrated on this war;)
fuit autem inter Etruscos Romanosque prima belli origo ex huiusmodi causa.
[In any event, the very first source of the war between the Etruscans and Romans is explained by the following.]
fidenae tuscorum colonia trans tiberim fuit inter crustumerinum romanumque agrum.
[There was once a colony of Etruscans who lived in Fidenae between the countryside of Crustumerii and Rome.]
qui eam incolebant Etrusci, urbem novam sibi finitimam immodice crescere suis inimicum commodis ratis, priusquam ad summum plane robur, quod iam inde cernebatur, evaderet,
[These Etruscans who lived there began to think that the new city neighboring themselves was growing into a threat to their own hegemony, and that it would become a clear superpower by far--something one could easily imagine even back then--]
praevenire festinantes, et suis ipsi viribus et propinquis Etruriae opibus fisi, bellum Romanis, nulla prius accepta iniuria, intulerunt.
[So, rushing forth to prevent this, and gathering all their men and neighboring resources of Etruria, they waged war against the Romans, even before any cause of war occurred.]
populato itaque romano agro ingentique abacta praeda, cum fuga agrestium urbem quoque metu ac tumultu complesset, fidenas onusti rediere.
[And so, Rome's countryside was destroyed, and a huge amount of loot was stolen away, and while a stream of country folk poured into the city in a sheer panic and uproar, the other side returned to Fidenae, loaded.]
at Romulus ut has injurias ultum iret legionibus raptim eductis infesto agmine Fidenas contendit.
[But Romulus marched out to Fidenae after quickly organizing his battalions into a deadly battle array, so that he could achieve vengeance for this outrage.]
eo cum pervenisset nec moram nec spatium Fidenatibus praebet auxilium ex Etruria arcessendi, sed ipsis adequitando portis, mox et fugam simulando, ira et indignatione ad pugnam excivit,
[Thereupon when he had arrived, he neither gave the men of Fidenae the time or opportunity to summon for backup from Etruria, but rather by charging his cavalry straight to the gates, and soon pretending to retreat after that, he incited them--his own troops-- into battle by angering and insulting them,]
tantusque fuit ardor militum et presentia ducis ut cum fidenates in insidias precipitati effuso cursu urbem repeterent, victi victoresque uno impliciti agmine Fidenas intrarent.
[And so great were the passion of his soldiers and the leadership of their general that when the men of Fidenae, caught off guard by the traps, began to fall back to their town in a confused retreat, both the victors and the conquered burst into Fidenae in a single mixed-up throng.]
captis igitur per hunc modum fidenis et presidio militum ab romano rege imposito,
[This is how Fidenae was captured and how a garrison of soldiers was established there by the Roman king,]
veientes qui propinquiores ex etruriae populis fidenatibus erant, cum indigno consanguineorum casu permoti, tum etiam quod propinquitatem romanorum infestam sibi inquietatemque putabant fore,
[The people of Veii, who were most closely allied to Fidenae out of all the people of Etruria, deeply frightened by the unbelievable misfortune of their relatives, began to think even at the time that their proximity to the Romans would be a dangerous precipice for conflict for themselves,]
armata iuventute emissa, discursionem in agrum romanum praedabundi fecere.
[so they when sent out their youngest men in arms, and these men made an incursion south to plunder the Roman countryside.]
adversus hos quoque Romulus resistendi ulciscendique gratia legiones eduxit.
[Again, Romulus led his battalions out against them to repel them and attain vengeance.]
haec prima romanis etruscisque origo fuit belli;
[This is the very first origin of war between the Romans and Etruscans;]
quod tunc leviter coeptum, leviter etiam terminatum est, mutuis dumtaxat populationibus, vastatis agris,
[but just as it had quickly broken out, it was just as quickly ended, with a great deal of bloodshed, and the countryside put to ruin,]
parvaque admodum pugna tumultuario magis quam justo proello commissa.
[and with so small a quarrel turning into a chaotic--not a just--war.]
indutiae in centum annos secutae.
[A ceasefire occurred only after a hundred years.]
ceterum ex hoc ferme initio cetera post hoc bella inter Tuscum Romanumque oriuntur,
[But hardly any time after this first period did other wars await to arise between the Etruscan and Roman people,]
quod vel exierat indutiarum tempus vel dictis conventisque non manebatur.
[either because the time limit of ceasefire had expired, or because they simply could not resolved their differences with words and diplomacy.]
sub Romulo tamen et Numa Pompilio indutiae valuerunt, nullo ab alterutris, motu exorto.
[In any event, the ceasefire was honored during Romulus and Numa Pompilius' reign, and no war was waged by either side.]
Tullio mox regnante Hostilio rursus exarsit bellum ob Fidenatum rebellionem.
[Soon, with Tullius Hostilius now ruling, war again broke out, sparked by a rebellion in Fidenae.]
