1

Persona Catilinae

an adapted text and notes from selections of

Sallust’s Bellum Catilinae

2

Vita Sallustii

Sallust was a Roman senator, tribune of the plebs, praetor and governor of a

province who started writing histories “only when the career of action ended, for refuge

and for consolation.”1 He was “a figure of first-class eminence among the Caesarians,

original in style, thoughtful in historical approach, perceptive in the evaluation of men

and movements...the only Roman historian whom we may set beside Thucydides.”2

Gaius Sallustius Crispus came from the town Amiternum (near modern Aquila),

from the heart of Sabine country. The Sabine people are characterized as hardy

mountaineers, plain and parsimonious, austere and god-fearing, and tenaciously attached

to the ancient ways, perhaps even prone to mysticism.3 The Sallust’s family belonged to

the aristocracy of Amiternum, and may have suffered impoverishment during the ten

years of civil war and dictatorships and proscriptions.4 Sallust was born sometime around

86 B.C., his dates furnished by St. Jerome.5 Nothing is known for sure about his youth

and young adulthood except that were passed in the thirty years of precarious peace under

the system of the oligarchy which Sulla restored. He was likely at Rome for his

education, and he saw the turbulence of the middle sixties, and then the conspiracy of

Catiline, the return of Pompey the Great from the eastern lands, the dynasts’ pact in 60,

and the consulship of Caesar.

The earliest certain information about Sallust’s career concerns his tribunate in 52

B.C. As tribune of the plebs that year, he acted against Cicero and Annius Milo. He was

expelled from the Senate in 50 B.C. on the allegations of immorality by the censor

Appius Claudius because of a scandal involving Annius Milo’s wife, and likely his

actions in 52 hadn’t won him any friends. Having been restored in 49 B.C. to senatorial

dignity by Caesar who made him quaestor, Sallust commanded a legion and served in

military capacities in Illyria and Campania. He even commanded Caesar’s navy in the

African campaign of 46. After his victory, Caesar annexed the greater part of Juba’s

Numidian kingdom and turned it into a Roman province, Africa Nova. For its first

1 Sir Ronald Syme, Sallust, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), 2.

2 Moses Hadas, A History of Latin Literature, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952), 95.

3 Syme, 8. For this little tidbit, Syme cites E. Bolaffi.

4 Ibid., 12.

5 Ibid., 13.

3

governor, Caesar chose Sallust, who served as proconsul of Africa until his return to

Rome, where he was charged with malpractice, since he had pillaged the province.6 After

this, Sallust was left with little prospect of further employment and honors.7 However,

with his accumulated wealth from Africa, he acquired Caesar’s villa at Tivoli and the

magnificent Pincian gardens, which continued to be called ‘Sallustian’ when Nero,

Vespasian, Nerva and Aurelian lived there later. After Caesar’s assassination, Sallust

retired from public life for literary pursuits. Thus he turned to historiography, and died in

35 B.C.

6 Ibid., 38. Here Syme cites Dio XLIII.9.2.

7 Ibid., 39.

4

Operae Sallustianae

After his retirement from politics, Sallust tried his hand at writing histories and

produced three works which have been passed down to us.

The first of these is the Bellum Catilinae, written in monograph form around 42

B.C., it treats the conspiracy of Catiline and illustrates the political and moral decline of

Rome, which began after the fall of Carthage, picked up speed during Sulla’s

dictatorship, and spread from the dissolute nobility to effect, or rather infect, all Roman

politics.

The second monograph, Bellum Iugurthinum, was written about 41-40 B.C. and

again emphasizes moral decline. The Jugurthan War is the chosen theme ‘both because it

was great, bloody, and of shifting fortunes, and because it represented the first challenge

to the arrogance of the nobility.’ Its interest lies chiefly in the interrelation of domestic

strife and external warfare. The military narrative is patchy and selective, politics are

presented simply but vigorously, with decline again spreading from the venal nobility.8

The last work is the annalistic Historiae. We have only fragments of this work,

and these cover events starting in 78 B.C, including the wars against Mithridates of

Pontus, and the last datable fragment concerns 67 B.C. Speeches and letters survive in

their entirety, but the rest only in scraps and pieces.

8 for this general information, see the Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3

rd ed., 1349.

5

Stilus Sallustianus

By reading the articles and commentaries of some of the more prominent scholars

in the field, we can get an idea of Sallust’s over-all character and manner of expression.

He is characterized as being, “at the same time an artist, a politician, and a moralist – the

elements so fused and combined that he seems all of one piece.”9

Considered a stylist of the highest caliber, Sallust is known for his archaic and

blunt prose, combining “abruptness, variation, brevity and archaising.”10

His sentences

are, especially compared to Cicero, short, and sometimes seem to be fragmented. He

doesn’t waste words in explanation, and wherever possible adopts archaic spellings and

phraseology. Indeed, “Sallust contrives his archaic Catonian vocabulary and his

ingenious but terse syntax to keep his reader’s attention.”11

Whatever his reasons behind

the choice of his particular style, “Velleius Paterculus (2.36.2) and Quintilian (10.1.101)

regard him as the equal of Thucydides; his muscular style and archaizing vocabulary

continued to be admired, and served as the supreme model to the classicizing age of

Hadrian.”12

Even though he became the stylistic model well into the early Christian era,

nevertheless Sallust used his platform of historiography to divulge his particular

interpretation of political events. Sallustius’ attitude towards events was namely that he

used “incidents merely to illustrate and develop a major concept under discussion.”13

The

Bellum Catilinae, for example, even as it describes the events leading up to, and what

transpired in, the Catilinarian conspiracy, it really discusses the political and moral decay

of the Roman polity. For, it would seem, Sallust was far more interested in interpretation

than in historical research.14

In these discussions of Roman politics, Sallust also betrays his keen sense of

ethical propriety.15

Just as he adopts a Catonian manner of orthography, some scholars16

9 Syme, 2.

10 A.J Woodman, “Style and Attitude: Sallust and Livy,” in Rhetoric in Classical Historiography: Four

Studies, (London: Routledge, 1988), 126. 11

Hadas, 99. 12

Ibid. 13

Patrick McGushin, Bellum Catilinae: A Commentary (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1977), 109. 14

Ibid. 15

Hadas, 96.

6

argue that his text is imbued with Catonian moral values and judgments, lamenting the

general moral decadence and depravity of the upper classes; the decay of discipline and

concord and rise of ambition, greed, and luxurious lifestyles after the fall of Carthage.

So, as we read, we should keep in mind that even though Sallust offers no

solution to the decline of virtue in the Roman republic, and the corruption manifest in his

time, he does identify the moral grounds on which actions are to be judged, and proposes

an explanation as to why the conspiracy unfolded as it did.

Scopus huius textus adaptati

What follows is an adaptation from the Bellum Catilinae, chapters 5, 14-16, 20,

31, 35, 56-61: all the chapters that deal specifically with Catiline himself. The intervening

material pertinent to the story line has been summarized, and lexical and grammatical

notes provided variously in English and Latin where necessary.

Bibliography

Hadas, Moses. A History of Latin Literature. New York: Columbia University Press,

1952.

Levene, D.S. “Sallust’s “Catiline” and Cato the Censor.” The Classical Quarterly, New

Series 50, no. 1 (2000): 170-191.

McGushin, Patrick. Bellum Catilinae: A Commentary. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1977.

Ramsey, J.T. Sallust’s Bellum Catilinae. Atlanta, Georgia: Scholars Press, 1984.

Sallustius, Gaius Crispus. Bellum Catilinae. Opera Omnia ex editione Gottlieb Cortii In

Usum Delphini. London: A.J. Valpy, 1820.

Syme, Sir Ronald. Sallust. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.

Woodman, A.J. “Style and Attitude: Sallust and Livy.” in Rhetoric in Classical

Historiography: Four Studies. London: Routledge, 1988.

16

for example: D.S. Levene, “Sallust’s “Catiline” and Cato the Censor,” The Classical Quarterly, New

Series 50, no. 1 (2000): 170-191.

7

CAII SALLUSTII CRISPI

BELLUM CATILINARIUM SIVE

DE CONIURATIONE CATILINAE EIUSQUE SOCIORUM.

commentariolum ad usum discipulorum in scholis secondariis scriptum

emendatum annotatumque a praeceptrice linguae latinae litore virginiano

anno domini bismillesimo octavo Praefatiuncula.

Textus partes quas nunc habes ante oculos sunt sumptae ex opere nomine Bellum Catilinae.

Scriptus a Gaio Sallustio Crispo circiter annum quadragesimum ante Christum natum,

libellus describit res factas quae conflaverunt coniurationem Catilinae. Nam, cum animus

esset liber a multis curis et solicitudinibus, scribere de tali argumento decrevit Sallustius,

qui aestimavit id facinus Catilinae praecipue memorabile propter sceleris et periculi

novitatem. Sed, inter descriptiones ordinum rerum et ipsorum coniuratorum et eorum

scelerum, nonnullis in partibus de Catilina ipso explanantur. His locis inspectis imago

Catilinae depingi potest. Hac de causa, ut nexus inter partes a Sallustio scriptas melius

intellegatur, omnia quae ad Catilinam pertinent infra sunt una collecta et adaptata, verbis

ad res gestas explanandas interpositis cum sit necesse.

Textus Adaptatus.

Ut de coniuratione quam verissime poterit memoret, antequam initium narrationis

facinoris facit, pauca de moribus ipsius Catilinae explicat Sallustius. Quae sequitur est

sumpta ex capitulo quinto ubi Sallustius scribit Catilinam habuisse magnam facultatem,

at indolem improbam.

Lucius Catilina, nobili genere natus,17 fuit praeditus magna vi et animi et corporis,

sed ingenio malo pravoque. Ab adulescentia valde placebat Catilinae bella

intestina, caedes, rapinae, discordia civilis.18 Illis in rebus iuventutem suam trivit.

17

Born in Rome about 109 B.C., Catiline was of the gens Sergia, an impoverished patrician family. 18

A reference to the Sullan period, when Lucius Cornelius Sulla was given the office of dictator in 82 B.C.

and drew up a proscription list of men who were declared enemies of the state. This heralded a terrifying

8

Habebat corpus patiens inediae, frigoris, et vigiliae. Animus ei erat audax,

subdolus, varius. Erat simulator ac dissimulator,19 appetens alius alieni, sui

profusus, ardens et cupidus; satis eloquentiae, sapientiae parum. Vastus,

insatiabilis erat. Nam immoderata, incredibilia, et nimis alta semper cupiebat.

Post dominationem Lucii Sullae, libido maxima reipublicae capiendae Catilinam

invaserat; neque curabat quibus modis assequeretur, dummodo sibi summum

imperium pararet. Magis magisque in dies Catilina agitabatur inopia rei familiaris

et conscientia scelerum. Incitabant praeterea corrupti civitatis mores, quos luxuria

atque avaritia, pessima ac mala inter se diversa, vexabant.

Cum de civitatis moribus loquatur Sallustius, praesertim de corruptelis sicut luxuria et

avaritia, quibus iuventus et Catilina quoque sunt adflicti, bonum videtur narrare

quomodo res Romana in pessimum sit delapsa abs pulchris initiis. Ab stirpe Troiana

igitur totam fabulam populi Romani breviter commemorat, ab Aenea ad eversionem

urbis Carthaginis, quondam aemulae imperii Romani. Illis temporibus domi militiaeque

boni mores colebantur, erat Romae concordia maxima, minima avaritia. Iuventus erat

laboris ac belli patiens, cupida bonae famae, laudis avida, et pecuniae liberalis. Divitias

honestas volebant Romani. Atqui eo tempore quo terrae mariaque patebant, id est cum

victa esset Carthago, contagio depravationis quasi pestilentia civitatem Romanam invasit.

Nam avaritia pecuniaeque cupido crescere coepit detrimento reipublicae. Gloriam,

honorem, potentiam homines et boni et ignavi aeque sibi exoptabant. Accedit huc Lucii

Sullae dominatio, aetas merae rapacitatis virtutisque hebetis, et luxuria atque avaritia

cum superbia inventutem ad facinora, ubi familiares opes defecerant, incendebat.

Quae nunc sequitur est sumpta ex capitulo decimo quarto ubi Sallustius scribit de amicis

Catilinae scelestis.

Quod factu facillumum erat in civitate tanta tamque corrupta, Catilina circum se

habebat catervas omnium hominum flagitiosorum atque facinerosorum tamquam

stipatorum. Nam quisque impudicus, adulter, ganeo, manu et ventre laceraverat

period in Roman history, as the lives and property of the proscribed were confiscated. In his youth, Catiline

was a zealous supporter of Sulla, committing at least one murder. 19

Simulare is to pretend to be what one is not, dissimulare is to conceal what one is. Here, Catilina

pretended virtues and dissembled vices.

9

bona patria; quisque aes alienum grande conflaverat,20 quo flagitium aut facinus

redimeret.21 Praeterea omnes undique parricidae aut sacrilegii sunt convicti

iudiciis, aut pro factis iudicium timebant. Postremo omnes, quos flagitium,

egestas, conscius animus exagitabat, proximi familiaresque Catilinae erant. Quod

si quis etiam vacuus a culpa inciderat in eius amicitiam, quotidiano usu et

consuetudine atque inlecebris facile ille par similisque ceteris Catilinae amicis

efficiebatur. Sed maxime adulescentium familiaritates appetebat. Animi enim

eorum adhuc molles et fluxi dolis haud difficiliter capiebantur. Nam aliis scorta

praebebat Catilina, aliis canes atque equos emebat; postremo neque sumptui

neque modestiae suae parcebat, dummodo illos iuvenes obnoxios fidosque sibi

faceret. Fuerunt nonnulli qui existimaverunt iuventutem, quae domum Catilinae

frequentabat, parum honeste pudicitiam habuisse, sed ex rumoribus incertis haec

fama plerumque valebat.

Quae sequitur nunc est sumpta ex capitulo decimo quinto ubi Sallustius scribit de

adolescentia Catilinae, de eius facinoribus, et de aspectu.

Primum, adolescens Catilina multa nefanda fecerat cum virgine nobili, cum

virgine Vestali, et alia huius modi contra ius fasque. Postremo, captus est amore

Aureliae Orestillae, quae propter formam laudabatur. Quod femina nubere ipsi

Catilinae dubitabat, nam timebat eius filium qui erat adultus aetate, pro certo

creditur filium esse veneno necatum ut scelestae nuptiae celebrarentur. Quae res

videtur fuisse causa facinoris22 maturandi. Namque animus Catilinae erat

impurus, dis hominibusque infestus, neque vigiliis neque quietibus sedari poterat:

ita conscientia mentem excitam vastabat.23 Igitur color ei erat exsanguis, foedi

erant oculi, citus modo, modo tardus erat incessus:24 prorsus in facie vultuque

vecordia25 inerat.

20

aes ali!num confl"re: to run up a debt 21

qu# fl"gitium redimeret: id est, ut se liberaret et poenas effugeret 22

r!publicae opprimendae, scilicet 23

vast#, -"re: ravaged, troubled, tormented; this verb ordinarily refers to the ruin of physical places, but

here understand conscientia to be akin to animus; see above for vastus animus 24

incessus, -$s: manner of walking, gait; apud Senecam legitur, ‘Ecce saevus ac minas vultu gerens, Et

qualis animo est, talis incessu venit.’ 25

v!cordia, -ae (f) = ins"nia, "mentia, d!mentia, furor, rabi!s, aut temerit"s

10

Proxima verba quae sequuntur sunt sumpta ex capitulo decimo sexto in quo Sallustius

explanat Catilinam, malum et crudelem, fuisse ducem idoneum perditae iuventutis.

Sed iuventutem, quam illexerat, multis modis mala facinora edocebat.26 Ex illis

testes signatoresque falsos commodabat;27 fidem, fortunas, pericula vilia

habebat.28 Postea, ubi eorum famam atque pudorem attriverat,29 alia maiora

imperabat: etiamsi causa peccandi in praesentia non suppetebat, nihilominus

innocentes quasi nocentes iugulabat. Scilicet, ne per otium torpescerent manus

aut animus, gratuito potius30 malus atque crudelis erat. His amicis sociisque

confidens Catilina, simul atque aes alienum per omnes terras ingens erat et

plerique Sullani milites, qui largius suo sunt usi, memores rapinarum et victoriae

veteris bellum civile exoptabant,31 consilium opprimendae rei publicae cepit. In

Italia nullus erat exercitus, nam Gnaeus Pompeius in extremis terris bellum

gerebat.32 Ipsi petenti spes consulatus erat magna, senatus nihil sane erat intentus:

tutae tranquillaeque res omnes, sed ea omnino opportuna Catilinae.

Circiter Kalendas Iunias, Lucio Caesare et Gaio Figulo consulibus, id est anno sexigesimo

quarto ante Christum natum, Catilina primum omnes coniuratos, quos adlicere potuerat,

in unum locum convocabat. Alii sociorum Catilinae erant ex senatorii ordine, alii ex

equestri, multi ex coloniis et municipiis, erant quoque nobiles qui spem dominationis

habebant, aut aliam necessitudinem quam inopiam.33 Ceterum iuventus inceptis

Catilinae favebat, et nonnulli credebant Marcum Licinium Crassum quoque fuisse non

ignarum consilii.

26

!doce#, -!re: to teach, instruct someone (acc.) something (acc.) 27

commod#, -"re: to lend, hire, provide, bestow, give; id est: sigillatores falsos testamenti, nam in

testamento faciendo adhibebantur septem testes, puberes, cives Romani, qui testamentum subsignarent 28

per%culum, -% (n): test, trial, or proof; specifically applied to the situation of a defendant or plaintiff: a

trial, action, or suit. v%lia: cheap, contemptible, of little value; understand this adjective with all three nouns 29

atter#, -ere, -tr%v%, -tr%tum: to rub or wear away, weaken 30

gr"tu%t#:for nothing; id est: esse crudelis et peccare etiamsi non esset causa potius: preferably 31

Soldiers in Sulla’s army had been given land and other spoils confiscated from the losing side of the

Civil War. Having squandered even this property and run up large debts with extravagant living, they are

depicted as recalling their former prosperity and longing for social upheaval to restore their fortunes. 32

Pompey and his army were in Pontus and Armenia, waging war against Mithridates. Also, at this time

there was no police force in Rome, and no standing army in Italy except far to the north in Cisalpine Gaul.

Rather, troops were levied as needed, but most of the available manpower had already been enlisted by

Pompey. This absence of troops surely helped create an opportunity for Catiline and his accomplices. 33

Catiline’s supporters were for the most part wanton youths and Sullan soldiers who had squandered all of

their plundered wealth.

11

Sumpta ex capitulo vicesimo, quae sequitur est oratiuncula prima Catilinae, scripta a

Sallustio, qui depingit, non ipsa verba exacta, sed id quod Catilina coram coniuratis

dicere potuerit, ut eos ad facinora magna hortaretur.

Ubi Catilina eos amicos sociosque convenisse vidit,34 tametsi cum singulis multa

saepe egerat, tamen bonum esse credebat universos appellare et cohortari. In

abditam partem aedium secessit atque ibi, omnibus arbitris procul amotis,35

orationem huius modi habuit:36

“Nisi virtus fidesque vestra satis spectata mihi forent, nequiquam opportuna res

cecidisset;37 spes magna dominationis in manibus frustra fuisset, neque ego per

ignaviam, aut vana ingenia, incerta pro certis caperem.

“Sed, quia multis et magnis temporibus vos cognovi fortes fidosque mihi, ideo

ausus sum maximum atque pulcherrimum facinus incipere, simul quia vobis

eadem, quae mihi, bona malaque esse intellexi. Nam idem velle atque idem

nolle,38 ea est demum firma amicitia. Sed ea, quae ego antehac mente agitavi,

omnes iam antea diversi audivistis.39 Ceterum, mihi in dies magis animus

accenditur, cum considero quae condicio vitae futura sit, nisi nosmet40 ipsi

vindicemus in libertatem. Nam postquam respublica concessit in paucorum

potentium ius atque dicionem. Semper illis reges, tetrarchae vectigales erant,

populi, nationes stipendia solvebant. Ceteri omnes, strenui, boni, nobiles atque

ignobiles, fuimus vulgus: sine gratia, sine auctoritate, obnoxii iis quibus, si

respublica valeret, formidini essemus. Itaque omnis gratia, potentia, honos,

divitiae apud illos sunt aut ubi illi volunt. Nobis reliquerunt pericula, repulsas,

iudicia, egestatem.

34

Cuius domo haec congregatio habita fuerit nemo est omnino certus, at nonnulli putant coniuratos apud

Marcum Leccam esse congressos, quamquam Cicero scripsit eos domum Catilinam et Antonium cum

sequestribus convenisse. 35

id est: omnibus expulsis praeter eos qui erant participes in consilio 36

Sallust, like Thucydides before him, introduces fictive speeches into his account. They are not

ornamental but set forth, at relevant points, the disparate ideologies and motivations of the contending

parties. Hadas, 96. 37

Remember that forent is just an alternate form for essent: a contrary to fact condition 38

understand: quam vos, or similar 39

id est: iam s!par"tim aud%vistis ea quae in mente habe# 40

-met just intensifies the reflexive pronoun

12

“Quae quousque tandem patiemini, o fortissimi viri?41 Nonne mori per virtutem

praestat quam vitam miseram atque inhonestam, ubi fueritis ludibrio alienae

superbiae,42 per dedecus amittere?43 Verum enim vero, pro deorum atque

hominum fidem, victoria in manu nobis est: viget aetas, animus valet; contra,

illis,44 omnia annis atque divitiis consenuerunt.45 Tantummodo incepto opus est,

cetera res expediet.

“Etenim quis mortalium, cui virile ingenium est,46 tolerare potest illis superesse

divitias, quas profundant in exstruendo mari et montibus coaequandis,47 et nobis

deesse rem familiarem etiam ad necessaria? illos binas aut plures domos

continuare, nobis larem48 familiarem nusquam ullum esse?49 Dum tabulas, signa,

toreumata emunt, nova aedificia diruunt, alia aedificant. Postremo, omnibus

modis pecuniam accumulant, pauperes vexant, tamen summa libidine50 divitias

suas consumere nequeunt. At nobis est domi inopia, foris aes alienum, mala res,

spes multo asperior. Denique, quid reliqui51 habemus praeter miseram animam?

“Quin52 igitur expergiscimini? En illa, illa, quam saepe optavistis: libertas,

praeterea divitiae, decus, gloria in oculis sita sunt! Fortuna omnia ea praemia

victoribus posuit. Res, tempus, pericula, egestas, spolia belli magnifica magis

quam oratio mea vos hortantur. Vel imperatore vel milite me utimini!53 Neque

animus neque corpus a vobis aberit. Haec ipsa, ut spero, vobiscum una consul

agam, nisi forte fallor et vos estis parati servire magis quam imperare.”

41

quousque tandem: “how long...?”; this echos the famous opening lines of Cicero’s first speech against

Catiline, “Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?” 42

esse l$dibri# alicui: a double dative: to be as a joke to someone 43

"mitt#,-ere: to lose accidentally or negligently 44

ill%s: dative of reference, corresponding to n#b%s 45

consenu!runt: from consenesc#, -ere: to become old, lose strength, decay, lose power: id est: imminuta

sunt omnia propter ann#s atque d%viti"s 46

cui: a dative of possession 47

extruend# mar% et montibus coaequand%s: id est: in aedificand%s aedifici%s in ips# mar%, et expl"nand%s

montibus ut ibi aedificia aedific"rentur 48

Lares: id est: di% famili"r!s et domestic% 49

another rhetorical question dependent on toler"re potest 50

summ" libidine: id est: summ" luxuri" 51

a partitive genitive with a neuter pronoun 52

Qu%n...?: Why don’t...? 53

m!: in apposition with imper"t#re and m%lite: Catiline is depicted as being both a good soldier and a good

commander, at this time (64 B.C.) aspiring to the office consul

13

Post hanc orationem coram omnibus coniuratis habitam, Catilina pollicebatur alia

praemia, rapinas, pecunias, omnia quae bellum victoribus adferre potest. Multi Romae

sollicitati sunt ob rumores scelerum facinorumque. Denique nuntium de coniuratione

Catilinae ascendit ad aures Marci Tullii Ciceronis, qui, comitiis habitis, declaratus est

consul. Qua re Catilinae furor haud minuebatur, immo in dies magis agitabatur: petebat

consulatum in proximum annum et insidias Ciceroni parabat. Quoniam ad consulatum

petitio neque insidiae Catilinae prospere cesserunt, facere bellum et extrema omnia

experiri constituit. Igitur Gaium Manlium et alios dimisit in varias partes Italiae dum

Romae plures insidias tendebat, incendia parabat, loca opportuna armatis hominibus

obsidebat. Duo equites tunc Ciceronem interficere frustra conanti sunt, cum interea

Manlius in Etruria plebem vexabat novarum rerum cupidam. Totam rem ad senatum

referebat Cicero, et senatus decrevit ut exercitus pararetur bellumque contra coniuratos

gereretur.

Tum Marcus Tullius Cicero orationem habuit in senatu coram patribus conscriptis et

ipso Catilina, qui respondebat id quod est scriptum in capitulo tricesimo primo:

Catilina, ut erat paratus ad dissimulanda omnia, demisso vultu, voce supplici

dixit:54 ne patres conscripti quid de se temere crederent; se, ea familia ortum, ita

vitam instituisse ab adulescentia ut omnia bona in spe haberet; ne existimarent

sibi patricio homini, cuius ipsius atque maiorum plurima beneficia in plebem

Romanam essent. Dixit quoque perdita republica55 opus esse, cum eam servaret

Marcus Tullius, inquilinus civis urbis Romae.

Ad hoc, cum maledicta alia adderet, obstrepuerunt omnes senatores, Catilinam

hostem atque parricidam vocaverunt. Tum ille furibundus: “Quoniam quidem

circumventus,” inquit, “ab inimicis praeceps agor, incendium meum ruina

restinguam.”

54

What follows d%xit is in indirect discourse: the first clause an indirect command where s! refers back to

Catiline, followed by an (acc.)/(inf.) construction with ortum agreeing with s! and a subordinate result

clause, ita...ut...subjunctive. Next is another indirect command introduced with ne, with sibi referring back

to Catiline, and a subordinate result clause cuius...subjunctive. 55

perdit" r!public": ablative with opus: there is a need for

14

Deinde Catilina domum ivit, et paulo post cum paucis in Manliana castra in Etruriam est

profectus. At ex itinere misit litteras illis qui consulatum gesserant, quarum unam Quintus

Catulus in senatu recitavit a Catilina scriptam. Huius epistulae exemplum depictum est in

capitulo tricesimo quinto:

“Lucius Catilina Quinto Catulo S.56 Egregia tua fides cognita, grata mihi magnis

in meis periculis, fiduciam tribuit. Quamobrem defensionem57 in novo consilio58

non statui parare, satisfactionem ex nulla conscientia culpae proponere decrevi.

Iniuriis contumeliisque concitatus,59 quod, fructu laboris industriaeque meae

privatus, statum60 dignitatis non obtinebam, publicam miserorum causam pro

mea consuetudine suscepi. Non quia aes alienum meis nominibus61 ex

possessionibus solvere non poteram; et alienis nominibus liberalitas Orestillae ex

suis filiaeque copiis persolvebat; sed quod non dignos homines honore honestatos

videbam, meque falsa suspicione alienatum esse sentiebam.62 Hoc nomine,63 satis

honestas spes reliquae dignitatis conservandae sum secutus. Nunc Orestillam

commendo tuaeque fidei trado. Eam ab iniuria defendas64 rogo. Haveto.65”

Ubi hoc Romae compertum, quod Catilina cum fascibus atque aliis imperii insignibus in

castra ad Manlium contenderat, senatus Catilinam et Manlium condemnavit. Atqui

eodem tempore conscii conabantur legatos Allobrogum, quae erat gens Gallica bellicosa,

adduci ad societatem, ad suum consilium impellere. Allobroges diu in incerto habuerunt

utrum consilium caperent necne, nam in una parte, si starent cum coniuratorum

partibus, erat aes alienum et studium belli, in altera parte, si Romanis fidem servarent,

erant opes maiores et tuta consilia. Dum dubitabant Allobroges, coniurati sese parabant

ut incenderent urbem et aliae insidiae caedesque fierent. At antequam Galli societatem

56

the standard epistolary greeting: sc. L. Catilina Q. Catulo salutem dicit 57

d!fensi#nem: a formal defense to one’s critics; satisfacti#nem: a personal apology or explanation 58

id est: in bell# patriae inferend# 59

concitatus: moved, stirred up; + abl. of means 60

status, -$s (m): the position; no doubt a reference to his electoral defeats 61

me%s n#minibus: debts he himself had run up; as opposed to ali!n%s n#minibus, which were probably run

up by his friends 62

the construction of the sentence is: n#n quia....sed quod; senti!bam governs an (acc.)/(inf.) construction:

id est: m! esse ali!n"tum, id est: reiectum 63

hoc n#mine = e" d! caus" 64

d!fend"s: understand the force of jussive subjunctive; with a verb of petition: rog# ut d!fend"s 65

an archaic future imperative, in place of val!

15

confirmarent Catilinae, Cicero imperavit ut omnes qui Allobroges comitarent

deprehendarentur. Tunc Galli, consilio consulis cognito, sine mora se tradiderunt

praetoribus Romanis, et omnia de coniuratione patefecerunt. Ea de causa omnes

coniurati Romae sunt deprehensi et in custodiis detinebantur. In senatu, senatores diu

dissererunt et tandem senatus ita decrevit ut capti coniurati supplicium capitale sumerent.

Quae nunc sequitur sumpta est ex capitulo quinquagesimo sexto, ubi Sallustius describit

id quod faciebat Catilina eo tempore cum conscii poenas dabant.

Dum ea Romae geruntur, Catilina duas legiones instituit, ex omni copia quam et

ipse adduxerat et Manlius habuerat, et cohortes complet pro numero militum

quos habebat.66 Deinde, ut quisque voluntarius aut ex sociis in castra venerat,

aequaliter67 distribuerat ac brevi spatio legiones numero hominum expleverat,

cum68 initio non amplius duobus milibus militibus habuisset. Sed ex omni copia

circiter pars quarta erat militaribus armis instructa. Ceteri, ut quemque casus

armaverat, sparos69 aut lanceas habebant, alii praeacutas sudes70 portabant.

Sed postquam Antonius cum exercitu adventabat, Catilina per montes iter fecit,

modo ad urbem, modo in Galliam adversus castra movit, occasionem pugnandi

hostibus71 non dedit. Sperabat prope diem magnas copias sese habiturum,72 si

Romae socii incepta patravissent. Interea servitia repudiabat, quorum initio ad

eum magnae copiae concurrebant. Opibus coniurationis fretus, simul alienum suis

rationibus existimans,73 causam civium cum servis fugitivis communicavit.

66

A legion is divided into ten cohorts, which at full strength contained about 600 men a piece. Since

Catiline had considerably fewer men, his cohorts would have consisted of roughly one-sixth of the ideal. 67

id est: ita ut singulae cohortes eundem numerum ex advenientibus acciperent 68

cum: this is a concessive cum = quamquam 69

sparus, -% (m): a short hunting spear, or javelin, with a curved blade 70

sudis, -is (f): a stake or spike 71

hostibus = Ant#ni# et consul"ribus m%litibus, scilicet 72

sp!r#, -"re is followed by an (acc.)/(inf.) construction. prope diem = mox 73

ali!num...existim"ns: thinking inconsistenly, or not in keeping with his own interests

16

Id quod sequitur est sumptum e capitulo quinquagesimo septimo, ubi est a Sallustio

scriptum legiones Romanos Catilinam sequi, qui tandem decerneret bellum temptare.

Sed postquam in castra nuntius pervenit qui nuntiavit Romae coniurationem esse

patefactam, ceteros coniuratos iam supplicium sumpsisse, plerosque, quos ad

bellum spes rapinarum aut novarum rerum studium illexerat, dilabi. Reliquos

Catilina per montis asperos magnis itineribus in agrum Pistoriensem74 abducit: eo

consilio ut per tramites occulte perfugerent in Galliam Transalpinam.

At Quintus Metellus Celer cum tribus legionibus in agro Piceno praesidebat,

existimans Catilinam agitare ex difficultate rerum.75 Igitur, ubi iter Catilinae ex

perfugis cognovit, castra propere movit ac sub ipsis radicibus montium consedit.

Neque tamen Antonius longe aberat, utpote qui magno exercitu expeditus76

Catilinam in fuga sequeretur. Sed Catilina, postquam videt montibus atque se

copiis hostium clausum, in urbe res adversas, spem ullam neque fugae neque

praesidi, ratus optimum esse in tali re fortunam belli temptare, statuit cum

Antonio quam primum confligere.77

Ergo, quoniam bellum facere constituit, Catilina convocabat contionem et orationem

habebat. Oratio Catilinae est depicta in capitulo duodesexagesimo.

Itaque contione advocata huius modi orationem habuit:

“Compertum ego habeo, milites, verba virtutem non addere, neque ex ignavo

strenuum neque fortem ex timido exercitum oratione imperatoris fieri. Quanta

cuiusque animo inest audacia, aut natura aut moribus, tanta in bello apparere

solet. Quem neque gloria neque pericula excitant, nequiquam horteris: timor

animi auribus officit. Sed ego vos advocavi, ut pauca monerem, ut causam mei

consili aperirem.

74

in the region around Pistoria, a town in Etruria, the modern Pistoia, about 20 miles north-west of

Faesulae 75

Quintus Metellus was camped in Arminium, to the north of Picenum, from where he probably moved

northwards along the via Aemilia to anticipate Catiline’s desperate movements. 76

exped%tus: Antonius was traveling light 77

the construction here is: postquam videt...statuit. Also, Catiline perhaps prefered to clash with Antonius

who might not fight quite as hard due to his former participation in the conspiracy.

17

“Scitis, milites, quantam ipsi nobisque cladem socordia atque ignavia attulerit et

quomodo in Galliam proficisci nequiverim.78 Nunc vero, quo loco res nostrae sint,

aeque atque ego, omnes vos intellegitis. Exercitus hostium duo,79 unus ab urbe,

alter a Gallia obstant. Diutius in his locis mansitare egestas frumenti atque

aliarum rerum prohibet. Quocumque ire placet, iter aperiundum est ferro.80

Quapropter vos moneo ut forti atque parato animo sitis et, cum proelium inibitis,

memineritis vos portare divitias, decus, gloriam, praeterea libertatem atque

patriam in dextris vestris. Si vincimus, omnia nobis tuta erunt: commeatus

abunde, municipia atque coloniae patebunt. Si metu cesserimus, eadem fient

adversa, neque locus neque amicus quisquam teget illum quem arma non texerint.

“Praeterea, milites, non eadem necessitudo nobis et illis impendet: nos pro patria,

pro libertate, pro vita certamus, illis supervacaneum est pugnare pro potentia

paucorum. Quo audacius aggredimini memores pristinae virtutis! Licuit vobis

cum summa turpitudine in exsilio aetatem agere.81 Potuistis Romae, amissis bonis,

alienas opes exspectare. At quia illa foeda atque intoleranda vobis videbantur,

haec82 sequi decrevistis. Si haec83 relinquere vultis, opus est audacia. Nemo nisi

victor pace bellum mutavit. Nam in fuga salutem sperare, et ab hostibus avertere

arma, quibus corpus tegitur, ea vero est dementia. Semper in proelio maximum

est periculum iis qui maxime timent; audacia pro muro habetur.84

“Cum vos considero, milites, et cum facta vestra aestimo, magna spes victoriae me

tenet. Animus, aetas, virtus vestra me hortantur, praeterea necessitudo, quae

etiam timidos facit fortes. Nam angustiae loci prohibent ne multitudo hostium nos

circumcludere possit. Quod si fortuna virtuti vestrae inviderit, cavete ne inulti

moriamimi, neve capti potius, sicut pecora, trucidemini. Pugnantes more virorum,

quam cruentam atque luctuosam victoriam hostibus85 relinquatis!”

78

quantam...attulerit, qu#mod#...nequ%verim: indirect questions following scitis 79

Ant#ni% et Quint% Metell%, sane 80

ferr#: understand arm%s or gladi%s 81

“You could have...”: i.e. if they hadn’t joined with Catiline 82

haec: understand mea consilia, or similar 83

haec: illa foeda atque intoleranda, scilicet 84

the courageous are often the safest in battle 85

hostibus: dative of reference

18

Ubi haec dixit, Catilina signa canere iubet et ordines ad proelium instructos in locum

planum deducit. Nam erat planities inter sinistros montes et, a dextra, rupes aspera. Octo

cohortis in fronte constituit, reliquos in subsidio collocat. Ab iis, in primam aciem

subducit centuriones: praeterea ex gregariis militibus optimum quemque armatum. Iubet

Gaium Manlium dextram partem, Faesulanum quemdam sinistram partem curare. Ipse

Catilina cum libertis et colonibus prope aquilam adsistit.86

At, ex altera parte Gaius Antonius, pedibus aeger quod in proelio adesse nolebat, misit

Marcum Petreium legatum ad exercitum. Ille cohortes veteranas, quas tumultus causa

conscripserat, in fronte locat, alias in subsidiis. Ipse equo circumiens unumquemque

nominans appellat, hortatur, rogat ut milites meminerint se contra latrones inermes

certare pro patria, pro liberis, pro aris atque focis suis.

Tali modo accendebat militum animos ad pugnandum. Sed ubi Petreius signum dat ut

cohortes incederent, idem facit Catilinae exercitus et maximo cum clamore incohatum est

proelium: homines concurrunt, pila omittunt, gladiis utuntur. Veterani haud timidi

resistunt. Maxima vi certatur. Manlius in primis pugnantes cadit. Postquam fusas copias,

Catilina videt se esse cum paucis relictum, et, memor pristinae dignitatis, in hostes

incurrit, ibique pugnans confoditur.

Proelio confecto, Catilina repertus est inter hostium cadavera, longe a suis militibus,

etiam spirans et retinens ferocitatem animi quam vivus habuerat. Postremo, ex omni

Catilinae exercitu, neque in proelio, neque in fuga, est quisquam civis ingenuus captus.

Tali modo actum est de Catilina et eius coniuratione.

86

Catiline placed himself next to the silver eagle standard which Marius had introduced as the legionary

standard when he reorganized the army. Catiline seems to have taken it as some sort of personal trophy,

and maybe used it give some legitimacy and luck to his cause.