The women, who had been forcibly carried off, soon became reconciled to their situation; but their parents, still more than at first, endeavoured to rouse their several states to revenge, employing both complaints and tears, and wearing the dress of mourners. Nor did they confine their demands of vengeance1 within the limits of their own states, but made joint2 applications from all quarters to Titus Tatius, king of the Sabines, the embassies being addressed to him as the person of the highest renown3 in all those parts. The people who were the principal sufferers by the outrage4, were the C?ninensians, the Crustuminians, and the Antemnatians. To them, the proceedings5 of Tatius and the Sabine nation appeared too dilatory6; wherefore these three states, uniting in a confederacy, prepared for immediate7 war. Nor did even the Crustuminians and Antemnatians exert activity enough for the impatient rage of the C?ninensians. This state, therefore, alone, made an irruption into the Roman territories; but while they carried on their ravages8 in a disorderly manner, Romulus met them, and, without much difficulty, taught them that rage without strength avails but little. He routed and dispersed9 their army; pursued it in its flight; slew10 their king in the battle, and seized his spoils; after which he made himself master of their city at the first assault. From thence he led home his victorious11 troops; and being not only capable of performing splendid actions, but also fond of displaying those actions to advantage, he marched up in procession to the Capitol, carrying on a frame, properly constructed for the purpose, the spoils of the enemy’s general whom he had slain12; and there laying them down under an oak, which the shepherds accounted sacred, he, at the same time, while he offered this present, marked out with his eye the bounds of a temple for Jupiter, to whom he gave a new name, saying, “Jupiter Feretrius,* in acknowledgment of the victory which I have obtained, I, Romulus the king, offer to thee these royal arms, and dedicate a temple to thee on that spot which I have now measured out in my mind, to be a repository for those grand spoils, which, after my example, generals in future times shall offer, on slaying13 the kings and generals of their enemies.” This was the origin of that temple which was the first consecrated14 in Rome. Accordingly, it pleased the gods so to order, that neither the prediction of the founder15 of the temple, intimating that future generals should carry spoils thither16, should prove erroneous, nor that the honour of making such offerings should be rendered common, by being imparted to many. In after times, during so many years, and so many wars, there have been only two instances of the grand spoils being obtained; so rare was the attainment17 of that high honour.
1 vengeance | |
n.报复,报仇,复仇 | |
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2 joint | |
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合 | |
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3 renown | |
n.声誉,名望 | |
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4 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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5 proceedings | |
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报 | |
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6 dilatory | |
adj.迟缓的,不慌不忙的 | |
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7 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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8 ravages | |
劫掠后的残迹,破坏的结果,毁坏后的残迹 | |
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9 dispersed | |
adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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10 slew | |
v.(使)旋转;n.大量,许多 | |
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11 victorious | |
adj.胜利的,得胜的 | |
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12 slain | |
杀死,宰杀,杀戮( slay的过去分词 ); (slay的过去分词) | |
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13 slaying | |
杀戮。 | |
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14 consecrated | |
adj.神圣的,被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣,给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 );奉献 | |
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15 Founder | |
n.创始者,缔造者 | |
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16 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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17 attainment | |
n.达到,到达;[常pl.]成就,造诣 | |
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