Livy's story of Rome's foundation begins not with uncontested divine approval but with ambiguous evidence. Romulus and Remus receive different advantages in the augury; their followers select rival criteria; violence follows; then a “more widespread report” supplies the memorable wall-crossing scene. This is (literary) historical prose conscious that it is transmitting legend.
The authentic text is Ab urbe condita 1.6.4–1.7.3, in the text of R. S. Conway and C. F. Walters (Oxford, 1914) as transcribed by The Latin Library. Its spellings dii, voltures, and Volgatior are preserved without added macrons. Pedagogical forms outside the quotation follow this guide's conventions.
The complete passage
Quoniam gemini essent nec aetatis verecundia discrimen facere posset, ut dii, quorum tutelae ea loca essent, auguriis legerent qui nomen novae urbi daret, qui conditam imperio regeret, Palatium Romulus, Remus Aventinum ad inaugurandum templa capiunt. Priori Remo augurium venisse fertur, sex voltures; iamque nuntiato augurio cum duplex numerus Romulo se ostendisset, utrumque regem sua multitudo consalutaverat: tempore illi praecepto, at hi numero avium regnum trahebant. Inde cum altercatione congressi certamine irarum ad caedem vertuntur; ibi in turba ictus Remus cecidit. Volgatior fama est ludibrio fratris Remum novos transiluisse muros; inde ab irato Romulo, cum verbis quoque increpitans adiecisset, “Sic deinde, quicumque alius transiliet moenia mea,” interfectum. Ita solus potitus imperio Romulus; condita urbs conditoris nomine appellata.
Before translating, mark Livy's signals of distance: fertur, “it is said,” and Volgatior fama est, “the more widespread report is.” The narrator reports traditions; he does not claim eyewitness certainty.
Why the gods must choose
Quoniam geminī essent, aetātis verēcundia discrīmen facere nōn poterat.
Since they were twins, deference to age could not make a distinction.
Livy has subjunctives essent and posset, presenting the brothers' reasoning within the narrative: because they were twins and no precedence of age could decide matters, another arbiter was needed. aetātis depends on verēcundia, “respect/deference for age”; discrīmen facere means “make a distinction.”
The proposed solution is ut dii ... auguriis legerent, “that the gods should choose by auguries.” auguriīs is ablative of means. The gods are identified by quorum tutelae ea loca essent, literally “to whose guardianship those places belonged,” with dative tūtēlae around sum.
Diī auguriīs legerent quī nōmen novae urbī daret.
The gods were to choose by auguries who would give the new city its name.
The two quī clauses are indirect questions after legerent: who would name the new city and who would rule it once founded. novae urbī is dative with nōmen daret. In quī conditam imperiō regeret, feminine accusative conditam [urbem] supplies the object of regeret; imperiō is ablative, “by/with command.”
The brothers take opposite stations
Palātium Rōmulus, Remus Aventīnum ad inaugurandum templa capiunt.
Romulus took the Palatine, Remus the Aventine, as observation grounds for taking the auspices.
The crossed order—place + person, then person + place—sets the brothers against one another. Aventīnum shares the omitted verb capit in sense, though plural capiunt gathers both actions. Technical templa here means delimited augural observation areas, not necessarily temple buildings. ad inaugurandum is a gerund expressing purpose, “for taking the auspices.”
Two signs, two criteria
Priōrī Remō augurium vēnisse fertur: sex volturēs.
An augury is said to have come first to Remus: six vultures.
fertur introduces indirect statement augurium vēnisse. Dative priōrī Remō marks the recipient, with priōrī agreeing: the sign came “to Remus first.” The explanatory nominative phrase sex volturēs then spells out what the singular augurium consisted of.
Then nuntiato augurio is an ablative absolute, “when the augury had been announced.” Circumstantial cum duplex numerus Romulo se ostendisset adds a later event: double the number—twelve—showed itself to Romulus. Rōmulō is dative; reflexive sē is the object of ostendisset and refers to duplex numerus.
Nūntiātō auguriō, duplex numerus Rōmulō sē ostendit.
After the augury was announced, twice the number showed itself to Romulus.
Utrumque rēgem sua multitūdō cōnsalūtāverat.
Each man's own following had hailed him as king.
sua multitūdō is nominative singular subject. Accusative utrumque is the direct object, while rēgem is its predicate accusative: each crowd hailed its own candidate king. The singular utrumque distributes the title across two separate men; it does not mean that one crowd hailed both.
The factions then select incompatible standards: tempore illi praecepto, priority in time for Remus's side; hi numero avium, number of birds for Romulus's. tempore praeceptō and numerō avium are parallel ablatives of cause or ground; praeceptō agrees with tempore and means that the earlier time had been gained first. Livy makes the constitutional problem visible: the sign has not failed, but its interpreters disagree about what counts.
Illī tempore, hī numerō avium rēgnum trahēbant.
Those claimed the kingship on the basis of timing, these on the number of birds.
From dispute to death
Cum altercātiōne congressī ad caedem vertuntur.
Meeting in a quarrel, they turn to bloodshed.
Perfect deponent participle congressī is active, “having clashed/met.” cum altercātiōne expresses accompaniment or manner. Ablative certāmine īrārum gives the cause or driving force, “through a contest of angry passions,” with genitive īrārum dependent on certāmine. Present vertuntur is a historical present: it makes the legendary escalation immediate. Livy compresses argument and anger into the transition ad caedem, “toward killing/bloodshed.”
ibi in turba ictus Remus cecidit is deliberately spare. ictus is nominative perfect passive participle agreeing with Remus: “struck, Remus fell.” in turbā leaves the killer unidentified in this first version.
Ibi in turbā ictus Remus cecidit.
There, struck in the commotion, Remus fell.
That anonymity matters because Livy immediately offers another report.
The more widespread story
Volgātior fāma est Remum novōs mūrōs trānsiluisse.
The more widespread story is that Remus leapt over the new walls.
Comparative Volgatior modifies fama: this is the “more commonly circulated” version, not necessarily the truer one. Its content is accusative-and-infinitive: Remum is the accusative subject, transiluisse perfect infinitive, novos muros its object. ludibrio fratris explains the gesture, “as mockery of his brother,” with dative lūdibriō expressing purpose/result and genitive frātris its target.
The report continues with understood Remum ... interfectum [esse], “that Remus was killed,” and ablative of agent ab īrātō Rōmulō. Inside that indirect statement Livy inserts Romulus's action and words: cum ... adiecisset, “when he had added,” with participle increpitans, “rebuking [him].”
Sīc deinde, quīcumque alius trānsiliet moenia mea.
So henceforth [shall it be for] anyone else who leaps over my walls.
The threat is elliptical: a verb such as “shall perish” is supplied from the killing. Future trānsiliet refers to any later violator. quīcumque alius is nominative subject; moenia mea is accusative object.
A foundation sealed by wordplay
Ita sōlus potītus imperiō Rōmulus; condita urbs conditōris nōmine appellāta.
Thus Romulus alone gained power; the founded city was called by its founder's name.
Both halves omit a form of est. Deponent potītus has active meaning and governs ablative imperiō. In the second half condita agrees with urbs, and genitive conditōris depends on nōmine. Repetition condita ... conditoris turns killing into etymological closure: one surviving founder, one name, one city.
The neat ending should not erase the dispute that produced it. Livy's narrative moves from twin equality through ambiguous signs and competing interpretations to sole rule. Grammar shapes that political trajectory.
Literal and idiomatic translations
Literal: “Since they were twins and respect for age could not make a distinction, so that the gods to whose guardianship those places belonged might choose by auguries who would give a name to the new city and who would rule it when founded with command, Romulus took the Palatine, Remus the Aventine, as observation areas for taking the auspices. An augury is said to have come first to Remus, six vultures; and, when the augury had already been announced, since a double number had shown itself to Romulus, each man's own crowd had hailed him king. Those drew the kingship to themselves by priority of time, but these by the number of birds. Then, having clashed in an altercation, they turn in a contest of anger to killing; there, struck in the commotion, Remus fell. The more widespread story is that Remus leapt over the new walls in mockery of his brother, and was then killed by an angry Romulus, when he had also added in verbal rebuke, ‘So henceforth, whoever else leaps over my walls.’ Thus Romulus alone possessed command; the founded city was called by its founder's name.”
Idiomatic: “The brothers were twins, so seniority could not decide between them. They left the choice to the gods: Romulus took the Palatine and Remus the Aventine as stations for observing the auspices, which would decide who named and ruled the new city. Remus reportedly saw six vultures first; Romulus then saw twelve. Each faction proclaimed its own man king—one claiming priority, the other the greater number. The quarrel became violent, and Remus was struck down in the confusion. A more familiar version says that Remus mocked his brother by jumping over the new walls, whereupon the enraged Romulus killed him and cried, ‘So perish anyone else who crosses my walls!’ Romulus now ruled alone, and the city took its founder's name.”
Common Mistakes
1. Translating templa as temple buildings.
❌ Rōmulus et Remus in Palātiō et Aventīnō templa aedificant.
Incorrect reconstruction: the passage does not say that the brothers build temples on the two hills. Its templa are delimited augural observation areas.
✅ Palātium et Aventīnum ad inaugurandum templa capiunt.
They take the Palatine and Aventine as augural observation areas.
2. Making utrumque the subject.
❌ Uterque suam multitūdinem rēgem cōnsalūtāvit.
Incorrect: the crowd is the subject and each brother is hailed king.
✅ Utrumque rēgem sua multitūdō cōnsalūtāvit.
Each man's own following hailed him king.
3. Treating congressi as passive.
❌ Congressī = ‘having been brought together.’
Incorrect here: congredior is deponent, so the participle has active meaning.
✅ Congressī = ‘having met in conflict.’
Correct active meaning in the quarrel.
4. Reporting Romulus's killing as Livy's certain fact.
❌ Līvius certē dīcit Rōmulum Remum interfēcisse.
Incorrect reading strategy: Livy labels this the more widespread report.
✅ Volgātior fāma est Rōmulum Remum interfēcisse.
The more widespread story is that Romulus killed Remus.
Key Takeaways
Livy's grammar preserves uncertainty while producing a powerful legend. Reported subjunctives explain the plan, indirect questions define the divine choice, ablatives encode rival grounds for authority, and accusative-and-infinitive carries the popular wall-crossing version. The closing wordplay supplies unity, but fertur and Volgātior fāma remind us that unity has been narrated into being.
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