Notes to Livy, AUC 11.1-2

The sole exception to her married status is the first reference to Hersilia (c. 100 BCE), in Cn. Gellius's Annales 3 (cited in Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 13.23.13), where Hersilia speaks; pleading with Titus Tatius for peace, she prays: "Neria of Mars, I beseech thee, give us peace; I beseech thee that it be permitted us to enjoy lasting and happy marriages, since it was by thy lord's advice that in like manner they carried off us maidens (nos ... integras), that from us they might raise up children for themselves and their people, and descendants for their country."

dum, conjunction
while; expressing duration of time concurrent with the main clause, dum is followed here by the historic present tense in the main (facit) and subordinate verbs (gerunt). Livy uses the historic present for vividness.
gero, -ere, gessi, gestum
manage; conduct; bear, carry; govern. Translate gerunt with the English imperfect tense, its direct object being ea (neuter plural). The Roman army was on the Capitoline, observing Romulus's establishment of the tropaeum (click on SPQR), on ground sacred to Jupiter Feretrius, made from the spoils of the battle won over the army of Caenina, the first neighbor to attack Rome after the capture of their daughters.
Antemnates, -ium m. pl.
people of Antemnae, an ancient city of Latium three miles from Rome; situated below the confluence of the Anio and Tiber rivers, it derived its name from its position ante amnem.
exercitus, exercitus m.
army, infantry.
per, preposition with the accusative
through; by reason of.
occasio, -onis f.
opportunity; surprise.
solitudo, -inis f.
uninhabited condition, emptiness; i.e., the Romans had left their farms to serve in the army.
hostiliter adverb
in the manner of an enemy; in a hostile way.
incursio, -onis f.
attack, invasion, raid.
raptim adverb
hastily, violently; the et is here postpositive and should be translated first.
legio, -onis f.
legion; subject of oppressit. The legion was the largest unit of the Roman army, consisting of 4,000-6,000 footsoldiers and a small contingent of cavalry. The SPQR shows a denarius issued by Antony to pay his legions before the battle at Actium.
palor (I, deponent)
scatter, stray, wander; perfect passive participle refering to the Antemnates, the object of oppressit.
ager, -ri m.
field; countryside.
opprimo, -ere, -pressi, -pressum
crush; overwhelm; surprise; note Livy's shift into the past, to provide the temporal framework.
fundo, -ere, fudi, fusum
scatter, shed, rout; ellipsis of sunt: understand fusi sunt hostes.
impetus, -us m.
charge, assault, attack.
oppidum, -i n.
town; subject of captum [est], the town is Antemnae.
capio, -ere,cepi, captum
capture, seize, take hold; parallel ellipsis of est: understand oppidum captum est .
duplex, -icis
twofold; double; modifies victoria, in the ablative following ovantem.
ovo (I)
rejoice; present participle modifying Romulum, the object of orat. Note how his name is juxtaposed with Hersilia coniunx.
coniunx, -iugis
wife; husband; spouse; in apposition with Hersilia, the subject of orat. The term is reserved for those in a valid Roman marriage.
prex, precis f.
prayer; request; translate with raptarum.
rapio, -ere, rapui, raptum
snatch, seize drag off; the perfect passive participle used as a substantive, referring to the captive women. Throughout his narrative Livy uses the verb rapio to describe their seizure rather than constupro, the word signifying the criminal act of rape.
fatigo (I)
weary, fatigue, tire; perfect passive participle modifying Hersilia.
oro (I)
beseech; beg; pray; orat is in the historic present tense; translate into the English perfect tense. It introduces a jussive noun clause with ut and the subjunctives det and accipiat.
venia, -ae f.
pardon, forgiveness; kindness; object of det.
civitas, -atis f.
state, community city; citizenship.
accipio, -ere, -cepi, -ceptum
accept, receive; understand parentes earum as the object.
res = res publica
the Republic; here Livy uses indirect statement (accusative + infinitive) after orat. The colon is used by modern editors to signify that indirect statement follows.
coalesco, -ere, coalui, coalitum
become strong; be established; grow together; complementary infinitive following posse. The word has public and personal significance here for its overtones of unity, harmony, and concord.
concordia, -ae f.
harmony, mutual agreement, union; ablative of means. A divinized abstract concept, Concordia was not only a marital ideal for the Romans but an overriding social and political one as well (click on both SPQRs for coinage celebrating this quality).
possum, posse, potui
be able, can. The subject is rem; this is an infinitive in indirect discourse (understand Hersilia dicit from Hersilia orat above).
impetro (I)
be granted; obtain by asking; used impersonally here. Again, as with fusi and captum, there is ellipsis of est: understand impetratum est. The short phrase conveys the swiftness of Romulus's response to Hersilia's request.


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