They say that Numa, when his soul had learned
from these and others’ teachings, then returned
to his own city; and when he was urged
to take the reins, he ruled the Latin state.
There, with the nymph Egeria, the wife
he’d wedded happily, and guided by
the Muses, Numa trained in sacred rites
the Latins; and to them he taught the arts
of peace—for until then, they were warlike.
And when he’d reached the end of his long life
and rule, at Numa’s death his people wept:
the Latin mothers and the commoners
and elders—all were mourners. And his wife,
abandoning the city, went to hide
in the thick woods that filled Aricia’s valley.