LIII.
Curam restituendi Capitolii (curam restituendi Capitolii: gerundive objective genitive after cura: lit. ‘the task of the Capitol to be rebuilt’ ) in Lucium Vestinum confert, (confert: historical present) equestris ordinis virum, sed auctoritate famaque inter proceres. ab eo contracti haruspices monuere ut reliquiae prioris delubri in paludes aveherentur, templum isdem vestigiis sisteretur: (monuere ut reliquiae prioris delubri in paludes aveherentur: moneo is most often found followed by ut clause, less frequently by subjunctive without ut, or even by infinitive clause: ‘they advised that the remains of the previous temple be carted away to the marshes’. The reason was to prevent that anything from the sacred remains be put to non-religious use. The marshes were those around Ostia, near the sea. ) nolle deos mutari veterem formam. XI kalendas Iulias (XI kalendas Iulias: for Kalends, to find the equivalent date in the modern calendar, add 2 to the number of days in the previous month and subtract the number given: (30 + 2) – 11 = the 21st of June.) serena luce (serena luce: ‘under clear skies’) spatium omne quod templo dicabatur evinctum vittis coronisque; ingressi milites, quis fausta nomina, felicibus ramis; (quis fausta nomina, felicibus ramis: quis, an ancient form, is for quibus, here dat. of possessor with an implied erant: ‘who had names of good omen and [came] with branches favored by the gods’. Examples of auspicious names would be Victor, Valens, Pius, Festus, Felix, Faustus; a number of trees were considered good-luck trees, such as the olive, the laurel, the oak, the myrtle, the beech.) dein virgines Vestales cum pueris puellisque patrimis matrimisque (cum pueris puellisque patrimis matrimisque: cum pueris puellisque is abl. of accompaniment; patrimis matrimisque refer respectively to pueris and puellis with the sense of ‘whose fathers and mothers were alive’.) aqua e fontibus amnibusque hausta perluere. tum Helvidius Priscus praetor, praeeunte Plautio Aeliano pontifice, (Helvidius Priscus praetor, praeeunte Plautio Aeliano pontifice: for Helvidius Priscus see ch. 5; Plautius Aelianus, beside being pontiff, had held the office of praetor urbanus, consul, proconsul of Asia, and had been the companion of emperor Claudius in Britain. praeeunte: ‘reciting the words of a formula for another to repeat after him’.) lustrata suovetaurilibus area et super caespitem redditis extis, (lustrata suovetaurilibus area et super caespitem redditis extis: abl. abs.: ‘the site having been purified with the sacrifice of a boar, a buck, and a bull and the entrails having been placed on an altar made of turf’; suovetaurilibus: sus + ovis + taurus, boar + ram + bull) Iovem, Iunonem, Minervam praesidesque imperii deos precatus uti coepta prosperarent sedisque suas pietate hominum inchoatas divina ope attollerent, (deos precatus uti coepta prosperarent … attollerent: like moneo above, precor is found with ut + subjunctive, with subjunctive alone, or with acc. + infinitive: ‘he prayed the gods to bless the present undertaking, …to raise …’) vittas, quis ligatus lapis innexique funes erant, (vittas, quis ligatus lapis innexique funes erant: ‘the fillets with which (quis = quibus) the stone was wound and the ropes were twined with’; erant agrees with the nearer funes.) contigit; simul ceteri magistratus et sacerdotes et senatus et eques et magna pars populi, studio laetitiaque conixi, (studio laetitiaque conixi: ‘being united in one joyous effort’; studio laetitiaque is hendiadys.) saxum ingens traxere. passimque iniectae fundamentis argenti aurique stipes et metallorum primitiae, nullis fornacibus victae, sed ut gignuntur: (iniectae fundamentis argenti aurique stipes et metallorum primitiae, nullis fornacibus victae, sed ut gignuntur: ‘small votive offerings of gold and silver and raw metal ore, unsmelted, just as nature makes it, were thrown into the foundations’.) praedixere haruspices ne temeraretur opus saxo aurove in aliud destinato. altitudo aedibus adiecta: id solum religio adnuere et prioris templi magnificentiae defuisse credebatur. (id solum religio adnuere et prioris templi magnificentiae defuisse credebatur: lit. ‘only this would religious custom sanction and it was believed that [this feature] only had been lacking to the splendor of the old temple’. adnuere is historical infinitive; magnificentiae is dat. with desum.)