1.13-14

Secession of the Plebeians. Establishment of the Tribunate, 494 BCE

13. Sextō decimō annō post rēgēs exāctōs: the first secession of the plebeians occurred in 494 BCE, according to tradition. They were persuaded to return by Menenius Agrippa (cos. 503 BCE) through an agreement whereby their officers, the tribunes of the plebs, were recognized by the senate (Bird).

populus: = plēbs here. Populus is a collective noun, and so takes a singular verb (Hazzard).

tamquam: "on the grounds that," a late meaning (Hazzard). Here Eutropius uses the word as if in a causal cum clause (AG 549).

(2) ipse: populus

tribūnōs plēbis: these magistrates, elected by the plebeians in an assembly of their own (Comitia Tributa), were invested with the right of “intercession,” by which they could stop all legislation that they judged to be harmful to the plebeians. To make their intercession effective they were declared to be sacrosancti, i.e., "inviolable," and the curse of outlawry was pronounced against anyone who harmed them. The First Secession of the Plebeians, as this was called, was the beginning of a long struggle in the complete political equality of the plebeians (Hazzard).

per quōs contrā senātum et cōnsulēs tutus esse posset: relative clause of purpose (AG 531.2)

War with the Volsci, 493 BCE

14. Volscī: in 493 BCE the Romans captured the Volscian towns of Longula, Polusca and Corioli (Bird).

victī: supply sunt

aciē: "in battle," ablative of means (AG 408)

quam habēbant optimam: = optimam cīvitātem quam habēbant