1.9

Establishment of the Republic. Election of Consuls, 509 BCE

Hinc: "from this time" (Hazzard)

cōnsulēs: the traditional and generally accepted view is that when Tarquinius Superbus was expelled in a bloodless coup in 510 BCE two annually elected magistrates, originally called praetors but subsequently called consuls, succeeded to his powers (Bird). Florus mirrors the views of Eutropius on the reasoning:

It was agreed that power should be held for one year, not a lifetime, and that governing power should be shared by two people, not one. This was done so that a ruler would not be corrupted by absolute, unlimited power. They called these new leaders “consuls” instead of kings, to remind these men that they ought to be “consulting” their fellow citizens (Florus 1.3.7–11).

coepēre: syncopated form of coepērunt

sī ūnus malus esse voluisset: "if one should be disposed to be unjust" (Bird), past contrary-to-fact conditional (AG 514.C.2)

coercēret: subjunctive in a purpose clause signaled by ut (AG 531)

(2) nē...ne...: series of negative indirect commands after impersonal placuit, "it was decided" (AG 563)

annuum: accusative of duration of time (AG 423)

cīvīlēs: "civic-minded"

quī sē post annum scīrent futūrōs esse prīvātōs: order: quī scīrent sē post annum futūrōs esse prīvātōs, relative clause of characteristic (AG 535). futūrōs esse is infinitive within the indirect discourse signaled by scīrent (AG 577).

(3) ab expulsīs rēgibus: "after the expulsion of the kings." For this unusual usage, see LS ab II.A.1.

cōnsulēs: the first consuls were L. Junius Brutus and L. Tarquinius Collatinus

quī māximē ēgerat: "who had done the most" (Hazzard)

pellerētur: imperfect subjunctive in the purpose clause signaled by ut (AG 531)

marītus Lucrētiae: for the story of Lucretia, see Brev. 1.8.

(4) Tarquiniō Collātīnō: dative of separation, which is common with verbs of taking away (AG 381)

sublāta est: from tollō

nē quisquam in urbe manēret: indirect command after impersonal placuerat (AG 563). Order: Placuerat enim nē quisquam quī Tarquinius vocārētur in urbe remanēret.

vocārētur: subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic with an indefinite antecedent quisquam (AG 535).

acceptō omnī patrimōniō suō: ablative absolute using a perfect passive participle (AG 419)

L. Valerius Pūblicola: owing to his efforts to secure the rights of the plebeians and for his popular measures he was called Pūblicola, "the Partisan of the People." He secured the passage of the Valerian Law giving to every citizen condemned on a capital charge the right of appeal to the people (Hazzard).

(5) rēx Tarquinius: for the expulsion of the seventh Roman king Tarquinius Superbus, see Brev. 1.8

fuerat expulsus: expulsus erat; Eutropius ordinarily uses fueram, etc., for eram in the Pluperfect Passive Indicative (Hazzard).

collēctīs multīs gentibus: ablative absolute using a perfect passive participle (AG 419)

ut in regnum posset restituī: purpose clause signaled by ut (AG 531)