[135] Niebuhr will have it that five of these were of plebeian rank.
[136] Impotentibus, sc. immoderatis—rari aditus, the genitive singular.—Stroth.
[137] Nec attinuisse demi securim, quum sine provocatione creati essent, interpretabantur. Valerius Publicola had introduced the custom of not having the axes tied up with the fasces when carried before the consuls in the city. But the decemvirs said that this was, because an appeal from the consuls to the people was allowed. Whence, since their jurisdiction allowed of no appeal, they interpreted, i. e. by interpreting the meaning or intention of this custom, they concluded that they were not bound by it, and that there was no reason why they should remove the axes from the fasces.—Crev.
[138] Provocatione—intercessionem. The provocatio was to the people, whilst the intercessio referred to the decemvirs against a colleague.
[139] Quum fortuna, qua quicquid cupitum foret, potentioris esset. Stroth considers this passage to be corrupt: he proposes to read cum fortuna, so that portentioris esset may refer to quicquid cupitum foret, i. e. with such favourable success, that every thing which the more powerful person might covet, became his.
[140] Inhibendum, sc. adhibendum—the term inhibeo occurs frequently in this sense, as below, imperioque inhibendo. The adjective imminutis also refers evidently to honoris insignibus.—Stroth.
[141] The words are, quum et ipsi invisum consensu imperium, et plebs, quid privatis jus non esset vocandi senatum, non convenire patres interpretarentur, i. e. while, on the one hand, the decemvirs themselves accounted for the staying away of the senators from the meeting, by the fact of their (the decemvirs') government being disliked by them; whilst, on the other hand, the commons accounted for the non-appearance of the senators by the fact, that being now mere private citizens, their time of office being passed, they (the decemvirs) had no right whatever to convene the senate.—Stroth.
[142] The senators were obliged to attend the meeting of the senate when convened by the magistrate; otherwise a fine was imposed, to insure the payment of which pledges were exacted, which were sold in case of non-payment. See Cicero de Orat. iii. 1. Philip. i. 5.
[143] In the original the words are: quod iis qui jam magistratu abissent, privatisque, si vis abesset, &c., i. e. who differed in no other respect from mere private citizens, except that they had recourse to violence, which it was competent for the magistrate only to do.
[144] Livy's own account of the matter does not justify this claim of the Horatii to having been at the head of the revolution which banished the kings. But Dionysius of Halicarnassus informs us that it was Marcus Horatius who made the army revolt against Tarquinius Superbus, and that the same in his second consulate rendered unavailing all the efforts of Porsenna to restore the Tarquins.