Depending on your personal view, ancient Rome was responsible for giving the modern world a number of traditions, including various legal ideas, democracy, and some of our religious celebrations. However, there are still many ancient Roman traditions that are slightly obscure, mostly relegated to the dustbin of history. Here are some lesser known ones.
從您個人的角度來看，古羅馬負責給現代世界留下許多傳統，其中包括各種法律觀念，民主主義以及一些宗教慶典。然而，仍舊有許多古羅馬的傳統略顯晦澀，這些大多都被扔進了歷史的垃圾堆里。這里就有一些鮮為人知的。

10、Mos Maiorum
祖先之法

The mos maiorum was an unwritten code pertaining to behavioral customs mostly derived from the traditions of the Romans’ ancestors. Much like the Jews in the first song in Fiddler on the Roof, the Romans loved tradition and felt that moral decay would occur if they strayed too far from the ideals of the past. Therefore, obedience to the mos maiorum was seen as tantamount to maintaining a proper civilized Rome and was almost given legal standing.
祖先之法是一條關于行為習俗的不成文的法則，大體上源自于羅馬人祖先的傳統。就像猶太人在《屋頂上的小提琴手》中所唱的開篇序曲那樣，羅馬人熱愛傳統并且認為如果太過于偏離過去的思想，那將會導致道德的淪喪。因此，遵循祖先之法被視為無異于維持羅馬文明的一種方式，甚至幾乎擁有法律地位。

There were occasions where breaking tradition was seen as subversive; in the case of legislation, it was considered customary to bring proposals before the Senate. Any magistrate who neglected to perform this duty ran the risk of being labeled a traitor. Even with the strict punishment handed down for certain offenses, it was still considered unwritten. As such, the transmission of the mos maiorum from one generation to the next was said to be the duty of the family, especially the paterfamilias (head of the household).
有一些打破傳統的場合被視作是顛覆性的；在法律上，被認作是參議院提案的慣例。任何忽略履行這項職責的法官，都冒著被當作是叛徒的風險。即便對于某些罪行有嚴厲的懲罰手段，但這仍舊被看作是不成文的規定。因此，祖先之法的代代相傳被當做是家庭的責任，尤其是家長（即戶主）的責任。
來源:可可英語 http://www.ccdyzl.cn/read/201407/316147.shtml