body of young men--for he was not equal to open violence--but having
commanded the shepherds to come to the palace by different roads at
a fixed time, made an attack upon the king, while Remus, having got
together another party from Numitor's house, came to his assistance;
and so they slew the king.

Numitor, at the beginning of the fray, giving out that enemies had
invaded the city and attacked the palace, after he had drawn off the
Alban youth to the citadel to secure it with an armed garrison, when
he saw the young men, after they had compassed the king's death,
advancing toward him to offer congratulations, immediately summoned a
meeting of the people, and recounted his brother's unnatural behaviour
toward him, the extraction of his grandchildren, the manner of their
birth, bringing up, and recognition, and went on to inform them of the
king's death, and that he was responsible for it. The young princes
advanced through the midst of the assembly with their band in orderly
array, and, after they had saluted their grandfather as king, a
succeeding shout of approbation, issuing from the whole multitude,
ratified for him the name and authority of sovereign. The government
of Alba being thus intrusted to Numitor, Romulus and Remus were seized
with the desire of building a city on the spot where they had been
exposed and brought up. Indeed, the number of Alban and Latin
inhabitants was too great for the city; the shepherds also were
included among that population, and all these readily inspired hopes
that Alba and Lavinium would be insignificant in comparison with that
city, which was intended to be built. But desire of rule, the bane
of their grandfather, interrupted these designs, and thence arose a
shameful quarrel from a sufficiently amicable beginning. For as they
were twins, and consequently the respect for seniority could not
settle the point, they agreed to leave it to the gods, under whose