Original
Literary translation
§ 14.1
, .
Long ago, in the Roman Forum, the ground split open and a wide, deep chasm appeared.
§ 14.2
; , .
All the citizens threw great quantities of stones into the chasm; but it was not filled in any way and grew larger day by day.
§ 14.3
, “ ,” , “ .”
Then the terrified citizens said, “Without a doubt, the immortal gods are foretelling a terrible disaster for Rome.”
§ 14.4
.
So the Romans sought an oracle from the Sibylline Books.
§ 14.5
.
From the Sibylline Books the priests announced a strange response to the citizens.
§ 14.6
“,” , “ , .”
“Never,” they say, “will the chasm in the Roman Forum be filled unless the Romans throw into it the most precious thing of all.”
§ 14.7
, , , .
So the citizens brought gold, silver, and jewels to the Forum and threw them into the chasm.
§ 14.8
.
Yet the chasm was no more filled than before.
§ 14.9
, , “ ,” , “ .”
Then Mettius Curtius, a Roman horseman, exclaimed, “One thing is more precious to the Romans than all others.”
§ 14.10
“ , , , .”
“We hold neither gold nor silver, but Roman young men and Roman arms, in the highest esteem.”
§ 14.11
“ , , .”
“I dedicate a Roman young man and Roman arms to the spirits of the dead.”
§ 14.12
, .
Then, arrayed in splendid armor, he spurred his horse and leapt into the chasm.
§ 14.13
, .
At once the chasm closed, and the earth never split open again afterward.
