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Classical Text-Book Series
FIRST ORATION
of
CICERO AGAINST CATILINE
with
Notices, Notes And Complete Vocabulary.
by
=JOHN HENDERSON, M.A.=
TORONTO:
The Copp Clark Company, Limited,
Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada,
in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six,
by THE COPP CLARK COMPANY, LIMITED, Toronto, Ontario,
in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture.
CONTENTS [added by transcriber]
Preface
Cicero:
I. Life of Cicero
II. Life of Catiline
III. Chronology of the Conspiracy
IV. Summary of first oration
FIRST CATILINARIAN ORATION
Notes
Proper Names
Vocabulary
PREFACE.
It has been the aim of the Editor to explain what seemed to him
difficulties in the text. There are many points which might have been
noted, but which a judicious teacher will supply in the ordinary class
work.
References are made to the standard grammars of Zumpt, Madvig, Harkness,
Allen and Greenough.
LIFE OF CICERO.
I.
[Sidenotes:
Birth. --Removes to Rome, 92 B.C. --Early teachers. --Early works.
--Assumes the toga virilis 89 B.C. --Serves his first campaign,
88 B.C. --Studies philosophy. --Pleads his first cause pro Quinct.
--Goes to Athens, Asia, and Rhodes. --Returns home. --Elected
quaestor of Sicily. --Indicts Verres, 70 B.C. --Elected aedile,
69 B.C. --Praetor, 66 B.C. --His first political speech. --Pro
lege Manilia, 65 B.C. --Consul, 63 B.C. --Unpopularity of Cicero.
--Causes of Exile. --Deserted by the Triumvirs. --Goes into exile,
58 B.C. --Recall, 51 B.C. --Elected Augur, 53 B.C. --Proconsul,
52 B.C. --Sides with Pompey. --Pharsalia, 48 B.C. --Pardoned by
Caesar. --Gloom. --His Philippic Orations. --Antony, Octavianus,
and Lepidus form the second triumvirate. --Killed at Caieta,
43 B.C.]
=Marcus Tullius Cicero=, the greatest name in Roman literature, was
born near Arpinum, a town of Latium, January 3rd, 106 B.C. His father,
a man of large views and liberal culture, belonged to the _equites_, and
possessed an hereditary estate in the neighbourhood of the town. To give
his sons, Marcus and Quintus, that education which could not be obtained
at a provincial school, he removed to Rome, where the young Ciceros were
placed under the best teachers of the day. From Aelius they learned
philosophy; from Archias, the mechanism of verse, though not the
inspiration of poetry. A translation of the _Phaenomena_ and
_Prognostics_ of Aratus, and a mythological poem on the fable of
_Pontius Glaucus_ were the first fruits of Cicero’s genius. On assuming
the _toga virilis_, B.C. 89, Cicero attached himself to the jurist
Scaevola, who was then in the zenith of his fame. In the following year
he served a brief campaign in the Social War under Cn. Pompeius Strabo,
the father of Pompey the Great. Philosophical studies had, however, more
attractions for him than arms. Under Philo, the Academic, and Diodotus,
the Stoic, he laid the foundation of that Eclecticism which is so
observable in his philosophical works. At the age of 25 he pleaded his
first cause, and in the following year he defended Sextus Roscius of
Ameria, who had been accused of parricide by Chrysogonus, one of Sulla’s
favourites. In this cause he acquired the acquittal of his client, but
incurred the enmity of the dictator. With the ostensible object of
regaining his health he went to Athens, where he studied philosophy
under Antiochus, the Academic, and under Zeno and Phaedrus, both
Epicureans. From Athens he travelled through Asia Minor and finally
settled for a short time at Rhodes, attending there the lectures of
Molo, the rhetorician. Returning home, he at once entered on that
political career to which his commanding ability destined him, and was
elected _quaestor_ of Sicily. During his term of office he so endeared
himself to the inhabitants of the island by his integrity that they
selected him as their patron at Rome. In their behalf he subsequently
conducted the prosecution against Verres, who was charged with
extortion. His success in this cause, and his consequent popularity,
procured him the office of _curule aedile_. After the usual interval he
was chosen _praetor_, and, while holding this office, delivered the
first of his political harangues, in defence of the bill proposed by
C. Manilius to invest Pompey with supreme command in the Mithradatic
War. Two years afterwards he gained the _consulship_, the goal of his
ambition. His consulate is memorable for the bold attempt of Catiline to
subvert the government--an attempt which was frustrated by the patriotic
zeal of the consul. Cicero had quickly soared to the pinnacle of fame:
as quickly did he fall. In crushing the conspiracy of Catiline
questionable means had been employed. Clodius, his implacable enemy,
revived a law exiling all who had been guilty of putting to death Roman
citizens without a formal trial before the people. The Triumvirs, too,
were disgusted with the vanity of the man who was constantly reminding
the people that he was the “Saviour of Italy” and the “Father of His
Country.” Deserted by his friends, and exposed to the hatred of his
foes, Cicero went to Thessalonica into voluntary exile. The wanton
destruction of his villas and the insults offered to his wife and
children soon, however, produced a feeling of sympathy for the exiled
orator. His return to Rome was attended with all the pomp and
circumstance of a triumphant general. Henceforth his voice was little
heard in the Senate. After his return he was appointed to a seat in the
_College of Augurs_. In obtaining this office he had placed himself
under obligations to both Pompey and Caesar, and this may account for
his neutrality in the civil struggles of the time. He was subsequently
appointed, much against his will, proconsul of Cilicia, where his
administration was marked by the same integrity as he had displayed in
Sicily. Cicero arrived in Italy from Cilicia on the 4th of January,
B.C. 49, just after the breaking out of the civil war between Pompey and
Caesar. After some hesitation he decided to take the part of Pompey, but
his support was never cordial: it was a source of weakness rather than
of strength. When the battle of Pharsalia decided the fate of the Roman
world, he returned to Brundisium to await the arrival of the victorious
Caesar, who generously extended a full and frank pardon to the
vacillating orator. Cicero from this time withdrew from active public
life and devoted himself to philosophy, except during the period
immediately preceding his death. The loss of his daughter Tullia, the
divorce of his wife Terentia, and the unhappy marriage with Publilia
darkened the gloom which settled on his declining years. His high
exultation on the assassination of Caesar was of only momentary
duration, and was succeeded by dark forebodings of Marc Antony’s
designs. As soon as the plans of the scheming triumvir were evident,
Cicero attacked Antony’s character with all the powers of invective.
Again he was the idol of the people and the champion of senatorial
rights, but his popularity was only the last gasp of the dying liberties
of Rome. The second triumvirate was formed, and each member of it
sacrificed his friends to glut the vengeance of his colleagues; and to
appease the brutal Antony, Cicero was sacrificed by Octavianus. Refusing
to seek refuge in exile, he determined to die in the land he had saved,
and was slain at Caieta by the emissaries of the bloodthirsty triumvir.
[Sidenote:
Works.]
The works of Cicero are:--
(1) _Orations_: Of the eighty speeches composed by him we possess,
either entire or in part, fifty-nine. (See list).
(2) _Philosophical works_.
(3) _Correspondence_: Comprising _thirty-six_ books, _sixteen_ of which
are addressed to Athens, _three_ to his brother Quintus, _one_ to
Brutus, and _sixteen_ to his different friends.
(4) _Poems_: Consisting of the heroic poems, _Alcyones_, _Marcus_,
_Elegy of Tamelastis_, and _Translations_ of Homer and Aratus.
II.
LIFE OF CATILINE.
[Sidenote:
Birth. --His crimes. --Offices held. --First Conspiracy.
--Catiline’s Proposals. --The Conspiracy divulged. --First Speech
against Catiline.]
=L. Sergius Catilina= was a Roman patrician, born about 108 B.C. From
his father he inherited nothing but a noble name. In the turbulent
scenes of the Sullan rule, Catiline played a conspicuous part, to which
his undoubted ability, his undaunted courage, his iron constitution, his
depraved morals, and excessive cruelty notoriously fitted him. He
commenced his career by slaying, with his own hand, Q. Caecilius, his
own brother-in-law, and by torturing to death M. Marius Gratidianus,
a kinsman of Cicero. Though his youth was spent in open debauchery, and
reckless extravagance, though he made away with his first wife and his
son to marry the worthless and profligate Aurelia Orestilla, the guilty
crimes of Catiline do not seem to have been any barrier to his
advancement to political honors. He obtained the praetorship B.C. 68,
and in the following year was propraetor of Africa. He returned to Rome
B.C. 66 to press his suit for the consulship. The two consuls who had
the highest votes were P. Autronius Paetus and P. Cornelius Sulla, both
of whom were convicted of bribery, and their election was declared void.
Their places were filled by L. Aurelius Cotta and L. Manlius Torquatus.
Catiline was prevented from being a candidate in consequence of an
impeachment brought against him for mal-administration of his province
of Africa by P. Clodius Pulcher, afterwards the implacable enemy of
Cicero. Autronius and Catiline, exasperated by their disappointment,
formed a league with Cn. Calpurnius Piso to murder the consuls on the
first of January, to seize the _fasces_, and to occupy Spain. The plan
leaked out, and was postponed till the fifth of February. The scheme,
however, failed in consequence of Catiline giving the signal too soon.
Resolutions were passed by the Senate condemning the conspiracy, but
these were quashed by the intercession of a tribune. Some say that both
Caesar and Crassus were involved in this First Conspiracy of Catiline.
About this time, Catiline was acquitted of extortion (_res repetundae_),
but the trial rendered him penniless. About the beginning of June,
64 B.C., he began to plot more systematically to carry out his plans for
a general revolution. A meeting was called for all those interested in
the conspiracy. To this convention, eleven senators, four knights, and
many of the noted men from the provincial towns assembled to hear the
bold designs of the conspirator. Catiline proposed that all debts should
be cancelled (_novae tabulae_), that the wealthy citizens should be
proscribed, that offices of honor and emolument should be divided among
his friends, and that the leaders of the conspiracy should raise armies
in Spain and in Mauretania. Again he was a candidate for the consulship,
and again he was doomed to disappointment. Cicero and Antonius were
chosen, the latter, however, by only a few centuries over Catiline. This
defeat embittered the animosity between the two parties. The conspirator
raised large sums of money on his own security and on the credit of his
friends, sent arms to various parts of Italy, levied troops in Etruria,
and sent Manlius a veteran of Sulla to take command of the newly raised
forces. The slaves were to be armed, the buildings of the city set on
fire, the citizens indiscriminately massacred, and a reign of terror and
bloodshed was to be inaugurated. In the midst of all these schemes,
Catiline stood again for the consulship (63 B.C.), and was thwarted by
the wariness and exertions of Cicero, who checkmated his schemes at
every turn. One of the conspirators was Q. Curius, a man weak and
vacillating. This man had a mistress, Fulvia, who was the repository of
all his secrets. Alarmed at the audacious designs of the conspirators,
she imparted her secrets to some of her acquaintances, and through her
confidants the matter was betrayed to Cicero. After securing his
personal safety, and withdrawing Antonius from the side of Catiline, the
consul deferred the consular elections to lay before the Senate the
whole conspiracy. At a meeting of the Senate, October 21st, 63, he told
the Senators the danger that threatened the state. Many of those
complicated in the conspiracy fled. By virtue of a _decretum ultimum_,
which formula (_consules videant, ne quid detrimenti respublica capiat_)
gave the consuls absolute civil and military power, Catiline was in
danger of losing his life. Catiline, who was again a candidate for the
consulship for 62 B.C., was rejected. An impeachment of sedition was
also brought against him by L. Aemilius Paulus. On the 6th November,
Catiline summoned the conspirators to the house of M. Porcius Laeca, and
after accusing them of inactivity, he laid before him his plans. Cicero
was to be removed, and L. Vargunteius, a senator, and C. Cornelius,
a knight, were despatched to carry out the scheme, but were frustrated.
Cicero called the Senate on November 8th, and delivered his first speech
against Catiline, who, though overwhelmed with guilt, had still the
audacity to appear among the senators.
Altogether four speeches were delivered against Catiline. In the final
debate as to the sentence, it was decided to put the apprehended
conspirators to death. This sentence was carried out against some.
Catiline and most fell, however, in the field at Pistoria (62 B.C.),
fighting with a valour worthy of a better cause.
III.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE.
Date B.C. {Consuls.}
|Life of Catiline.
| |Life of Cicero.
68 {L. Caecilius Metellus, P. Marcus Rex}
|Catiline praetor
67 {Calpurnius Piso, M. Acilius Glabrio}
|Catiline propraetor of Africa
66 {L. Volcatius Tullus, M. Aemilius Lepidus}
|Catiline canvasses for the consulship: is accused of extortion by
P. Clodius. Catiline defeated in suing for consulship: forms a
league with Autronius and Piso. First conspiracy.
65 {L. Manlius Torquatus, L. Aurelius Cotta}
|Catiline determines to slay the new consuls on the kalends of
January: plan discovered and deferred to February: Catiline gives
signal too soon and his plans frustrated.
64 {L. Julius Caesar, C. Marcus Figulus}
|On the kalends of June, Catiline convenes his associates for a
second conspiracy. Eleven senators, four knights, and many
distinguished men assemble. Catiline again defeated for
consulship.
63 {M. Tullius Cicero, C. Antonius Hybrida}
|Catiline accused by Lucullus of murder. Catiline again candidate
for consulship and defeated.
| |Cicero convenes Senate, Oct. 20; lays plans of conspirators
before Senate: elections for consuls, which should take place
Oct. 21st, deferred.
| |Oct. 21st: Letters brought by Crassus, threatening danger to
the State: the Senate convened in the temple of Concord. The
Senate passes _decretum ultimum_. On 22nd Oct. L. Licinius
Murena and D. Junius Silanus elected consuls.
|Oct. 23rd: Catiline accused under _Lex Plautia de vi_ by
Lucius Paulus.
|Oct. 27th: Manlius takes up arms in Etruria.
|Oct. 28th: Day appointed by Catiline for the murder of the
leading senators. (Cat. I., 3).
|Nov. 1: Catiline endeavors to take Praeneste by a night attack.
|Nov. 6th: Catiline assembles his friends at house of Laeca.
|Nov. 7th: Vargunteius and Cornelius attempt to assassinate Cicero.
|Nov. 8th: Catiline leaves Rome.
| |Nov. 8: Cicero invokes the Senate in the temple of Juppiter
Stator. First Catilinarian oration delivered.
| |The _second Catilinarian oration_ delivered from the _rostra_
to the people, Nov. 9th.
|Nov. 20th: A decree passed declaring Catiline and Manlius public
enemies.
|Dec. 2nd: The ambassadors of the Allobroges are seized with
documents proving conspiracy.
| |Dec. 3rd: The _third Catilinarian oration_ delivered from the
rostra to the people. Rewards offered to all who would give
information as to the conspiracy.
| |Dec. 5th: Fourth Catilinarian oration delivered in the temple
of Concord. The Senate decrees that the death penalty should
be inflicted on the conspirators. Five conspirators put to
death.
62 {D. Junius Silanus, L. Licinius Murena}
|Jan. 5th: Battle of _Pistoria_: defeat and death of Catiline.
| |Many Senators tried under the law _Lex Plautia de vi_ and
exiled.
IV.
FIRST ORATION AGAINST CATILINE.
This speech may be divided into three parts:
I. In the introduction Cicero in impassioned language expresses
astonishment that Catiline should be so audacious as to come into the
Senate while plotting the destruction of his country. The orator reminds
Catiline that men less guilty have been slain in the earlier days of the
republic, and gives reasons why the penalty of death should be meted out
to the arch conspirator (I., II.).
II. In the next part, Cicero gives reasons why Catiline should leave
Rome and go to the camp of Manlius:
(_a_) That his nefarious plot was well known, that his personal
character was stained with many crimes, that his public life was
abhorred by all, that his native land, though silent, eloquently pleads
with Catiline to withdraw (III.-IX.).
(_b_) That Catiline should depart to the troops raised in Etruria,
whither he had sent Manlius to carry on the war, that the great delight
of Catiline was to make war on his native land, and to mingle in the
society of the conspirators.
(_c_) That such withdrawal would be more advantageous to the State than
the execution of the conspirators, that in the former case his abandoned
followers would accompany Catiline, and thus the seeds of the rebellion
would be extirpated.
III. The orator promises the co-operation of all patriotic citizens in
suppressing the conspiracy after Catiline and his associates had
withdrawn. Then beseeching Catiline and the other conspirators to remove
from Rome, the orator invokes the aid of Juppiter Stator to save Rome
from the nefarious schemes of abandoned men.
M. TULLII CICERONIS
ORATIO IN L. CATILINAM
PRIMA.
HABITA IN SENATU.
I.--1. [1]Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? Quam diu
[2]etiam [3]furor iste tuus [4]eludet? [5]Quem ad finem sese effrenata
[6]jactabit audacia? [7]Nihilne te nocturnum praesidium Palatii, nihil
urbis vigiliae, nihil timor populi, nihil concursus bonorum omnium,
nihil hic munitissimus habendi senatus locus, nihil horum ora vultusque
moverunt. Patere tua consilia non sentis? [8]Constrictam omnium horum
scientia teneri conjurationem tuam non vides? Quid [9]proxima, quid
superiore nocte egeris, ubi fueris, quos convocaveris, quid consilii
ceperis, quem [10]nostrum ignorare arbitraris? 2. O tempora, O mores!
senatus haec intellegit, consul videt; hic tamen vivit.[1] Vivit? immo
vero etiam [2]in senatum venit, fit publici consilii particeps, [3]notat
et designat oculis ad caedem unum quemque nostrum. Nos autem, [4]viri
fortes, satis facere rei publicae [5]videmur, si istius furorem ac tela
[6]vitemus. [7]Ad mortem te, Catilina, duci jussu consulis jam pridem
oportebat, [8]in te conferri pestem istam, quam tu in nos machinaris.
3. [1]An vero vir amplissimus, P. Scipio, pontifex maximus,
Ti. Gracchum, mediocriter labefactantem statum rei publicae, privatus
interfecit: Catilinam orbem terrae caede atque incendiis vastare
cupientem, nos consules perferemus? Nam [2]illa nimis antiqua praetereo,
quod C. [3]Servilius Ahala Sp. Maelium, [4]novis rebus studentem, manu
sua occidit. [5]Fuit, fuit ista quondam in hac re publica virtus, [6]ut
viri fortes acerbioribus suppliciis civem perniciosum quam acerbissimum
hostem coercerent. Habemus [7]senatus consultum in te, Catilina,
[8]vehemens et grave: non deest [9]rei publicae consilium neque
auctoritas hujus ordinis: [10]nos, nos, dico aperte, consules desumus.
II.--4. Decrevit [1]quondam senatus ut L. Opimius consul videret ne quid
res publica detrimenti caperet; nox nulla [2]intercessit; interfectus
est [3]propter quasdam seditionum suspiciones C. Gracchus, clarissimo
[4]patre, avo, majoribus: occisus est cum liberis[5] M. Fulvius
consularis. [6]Simili senatus consulto C. Mario et L. Valerio consulibus
est permissa res publica: [7]num unum diem postea L. Saturninum tribunum
plebis et C. Servilium praetorem mors ac rei publicae poena remorata
est? At vero nos [8]vicesimum jam diem patimur hebescere [9]aciei horum
auctoritatis. Habemus enim hujus modi senatus consultum, verum
[10]inclusum in tabulis tamquam in vagina reconditum,[11] quo ex senatus
consulto confestim interfectum te esse, Catilina, convenit. Vivis,
[12]et vivis non ad deponendam sed ad confirmandam audaciam. Cupio,
patres conscripti, me esse clementem, cupio in tantis rei publicae
periculis me non [13]dissolutum videri, sed jam me ipse [14]inertiae
nequitiaeque condemno. 5. [1]Castra sunt in Italia contra populum
Romanum in Etruriae faucibus collocata, crescit [2]in dies singulos
hostium numerus, eorum autem castrorum imperatorem ducemque hostium
intra moenia atque [3]adeo in senatu videmus intestinam aliquam cotidie
perniciem rei publicae molientem. Si te [4]jam, Catilina, comprehendi,
si interfici jussero, [5]credo, erit [6]verendum mihi, ne non potius hoc
omnes boni serius a me quam quisquam crudelius factum se dicat. Verum
ego hoc, quod jam pridem factum esse oportuit, [7]certa de causa nondum
adducor, ut faciam. Tum denique [8]interficiere, cum jam nemo tam
improbus, tam perditus, tam [9]tui similis inveniri poterit, [10]qui id
non jure factum esse fateatur. 6. Quam diu [1]quisquam erit qui te
defendere audeat, vives, sed vives ita, ut [2]vivis, multis meis et
firmis praesidiis oppressus, ne [3]commovere te contra rem publicam
possis. Multorum te etiam oculi et aures non sentientem, sicut adhuc
[4]fecerunt, speculabuntur atque custodient.
III.--[5]Etenim quid est, Catilina, quod jam amplius [6]exspectes, si
neque nox tenebris obscurare [7]coeptus nefarios neque [8]privata domus
[9]parietibus continere [10]voces conjurationis tuae potest? Si
[11]inlustrantur, si erumpunt omnia? Muta jam [12]istam mentem, [13]mihi
crede! obliviscere caedis atque incendiorum. [14]Teneris undique: luce
sunt clariora nobis tua consilia omnia; quae jam mecum licet
[15]recognoscas. 7. [1]Meministine me [2]ante diem duodecimum Kalendas
Novembres dicere in senatu, fore in armis [3]certo die, qui dies futurus
esset ante diem sextum Kalendas Novembres, C. Manlium, [4]audaciae
satellitem atque administrum tuae? [5]Num me fefellit, Catilina, non
modo res tanta, tam atrox, tamque incredibilis, verum id quod multo
magis admirandum, dies? Dixi ego idem in senatu, [6]caedem te
[7]optimatium contulisse in ante diem quintum Kalendas Novembres, tum
cum multi principes civitatis Roma non tam [8]sui conservandi quam
tuorum consiliorum [9]reprimendorum causa profugerunt. Num infitiari
potes te illo die meis praesidiis, mea diligentia circumclusum commovere
te contra rem publicam non potuisse, cum te discessu ceterorum nostra
tamen, qui remansissemus, caede contentum esse dicebas? 8. [1]Quid? cum
tu [2]te Praeneste Kalendis ipsis Novembribus occupaturum nocturno
impetu esse confideres, [3]sensistine illam coloniam meo jussu meis
[4]praesidiis, custodiis vigiliisque esse munitam? [5]Nihil agis, nihil
moliris, nihil cogitas, quod non ego non modo audiam, sed etiam videam
planeque sentiam.
IV.--Recognosce mecum [6]tandem [7]noctem illam superiorem: [8]jam
intelliges multo me vigilare acrius ad salutem quam te ad perniciem rei
publicae. [9]Dico te [10]priore nocte venisse [11]inter falcarios--non
agam obscure [12]in M. Laecae domum: convenisse eodem [13]complures
ejusdem [14]amentiae scelerisque socios. Num negare audes? quid taces?
[15]convincam, si negas: video enim esse hic in senatu quosdam, qui
tecum una fuerunt. 9. O di immortales! [1]ubinam gentium sumus! quam rem
publicam habemus? in qua urbe vivimus? [2]Hic, hic sunt in nostro
numero, [3]patres conscripti, [4]in hoc orbis terrae sanctissimo
gravissimoque consilio, [5]qui de nostro omnium interitu, qui de hujus
urbis atque adeo de orbis terrarum exitio cogitent. Hosce ego video et
de re publica [6]sententiam rogo, et quos ferro trucidari oportebat, eos
nondum voce [7]vulnero. Fuisti [8]igitur apud Laecam illa nocte,
Catilina; [9]distribuisti partess Italiae; [10]statuisti quo quemque
proficisci placeret, [11]delegisti quos Romae relinqueres, quos tecum
educeres, [12]discripsisti urbis partes ad incendia, confirmasti te
ipsum jam esse exiturum, dixisti [13]paullulum tibi esse [14]etiam tum
morae, quod ego viverem. Reperti sunt [15]duo equites Romani, [16]qui te
ista cura liberarent et sese illa ipsa nocte paulo ante lucem me in meo
[17]lectulo interfecturos esse pollicerentur. 10. Haec ego omnia,
[1]vixdum etiam coetu vestro dimisso, comperi, domum meam majoribus
praesidiis munivi atque firmavi, exclusi eos, quos tu ad me [2]salutatum
[3]mane miseras, cum illi ipsi venissent, quos ego jam multis ac summis
viris ad me [4]id temporis venturos praedixeram.
V.--11. [1]Quae cum ita sint, Catilina, [2]perge quo coepisti, egredere
aliquando ex urbe: patent portae: proficiscere. Nimium diu te
imperatorem tua illa Manliana castra desiderant. Educ tecum etiam omnes
tuos, [3]si minus, quam plurimos: purga urbem. Magno me metu liberabis,
[4]dum modo inter me atque te murus intersit. Nobiscum versari jam
diutius non potes: [5]non feram, non patiar, non sinam. [6]Magna dis
immortalibus habenda est atque huic ipsi Jovi Statori, antiquissimo
custodi hujus urbis, gratia, [7]quod hanc tam taetram, tam horribilem
tamque infestam rei publicae pestem totiens jam effugimus. [8]Non est
saepius in uno homine summa salus periclitanda rei publicae. Quam diu
mihi, [9]consuli designato, Catilina, insidiatus es, non publico me
praesidio, sed privata diligentia defendi. Cum proximis comitiis
consularibus me consulem [10]in campo et [11]competitores tuos
interficere voluisti, [12]compressi conatus tuos nefarios amicorum
praesidio et copiis, nullo tumultu publice concitato: denique,
[13]quotienscumque me petisti, per me tibi obstiti, [14]quamquam videbam
[15]perniciem meam cum magna calamitate rei publicae esse conjunctam.
12. [1]Nunc jam aperte rem publicam universam petis: templa deorum
immortalium, tecta urbis, vitam omnium civium, Italiam [2]denique totam
ad exitium ac vastitatem vocas. [3]Quare quoniam id, quod est primum et
quod hujus imperii disciplinaeque majorum proprium est, facere nondum
audeo, faciam id, quod est [4]ad severitatem lenius et ad communem
salutem utilius. Nam si te interfici jussero, residebit in re publica
[5]reliqua conjuratorum manus: [6]sin tu, quod te jam dudum hortor,
exieris, [7]exhaurietur ex urbe tuorum comitum magna et perniciosa
sentina rei publicae. 13. Quid est, Catilina? num dubitas id
[1]imperante me facere, quod jam tua sponte [2]faciebas? Exire ex urbe
jubet [3]consul hostem. Interrogas me: [4]num in exilium? non jubeo,
sed, si [5]me consulis, suadeo.
VI.--Quid est enim, Catilina, [6]quod te jam in hac urbe delectare
possit? In qua nemo est [7]extra istam conjurationem perditorum hominum
qui te non metuat, nemo qui non oderit. [8]Quae nota domesticae
turpitudinis non inusta vitae tuae est? [9]Quod privatarum rerum dedecus
non haeret in fama? [10]Quae libido ab oculis, quod facinus a manibus
unquam tuis, quod flagitium a toto corpore abfuit? [11]Cui tu
adulescentulo, quem corruptelarum illecebris irretisses, non aut ad
audaciam ferrum aut ad libidinem facem praetulisti? 14. [1]Quid vero?
[2]Nuper, cum morte superioris uxoris novis nuptiis domum vacuefecisses,
nonne etiam alio incredibili scelere hoc scelus cumulasti? Quod ego
praetermitto et facile [3]patior sileri, ne in hac civitate [4]tanti
facinoris immanitas, aut exstitisse aut non vindicata esse videatur.
Praetermitto ruinas fortunarum tuarum, [5]quas omnes impendere tibi
proximis Idibus senties: ad illa venio, quae non ad privatam ignominiam
vitiorum tuorum, non ad domesticam tuam difficultatem ac turpitudinem,
sed ad summam rem publicam atque [6]ad omnium nostrum vitam salutemque
pertinent. 15. Potestne tibi haec lux, Catilina, aut hujus caeli
spiritus esse jucundus, [1]cum scias esse horum [2]neminem qui nesciat,
te [3]pridie Kalendas Januarias [4]Lepido et Tullo Consulibus stetisse
in [5]comitio cum telo? Manum consulum et principum civitatis
interficiendorum causa paravisse [6]sceleri ac furori tuo non mentem
aliquam aut timorem tuum, sed fortunam populi Romani obstitisse? Ac jam
illa omitto--[7]neque enim sunt aut obscura aut non multa commissa
postea:--quotiens tu me [8]designatum, quotiens consulem interficere
voluisti! quot ego tuas [9]petitiones [10]ita conjectas, ut vitari posse
non viderentur, parva quadam declinatione et, ut aiunt, corpore effugi!
nihil adsequeris, neque tamen conari ac velle desistis. 16. Quotiens
[1]tibi jam extorta est sica ista de manibus! quotiens [2]excidit aliquo
casu et elapsa est! [3]quae quidem quibus abs te initiata sacris ac
devota sit, nescio, quod eam necesse putas esse in consulis corpore
defigere.
VII.--Nunc vero quae [4]tua est ista vita? Sic enim jam tecum loquar,
non ut odio permotus esse videar, quo debeo, [5]sed ut misericordia,
quae tibi [6]nulla debetur. Venisti [7]paulo ante in senatum. Quis te ex
hac tanta [8]frequentia, tot ex tuis amicis ac necessariis salutavit? Si
hoc [9]post hominum memoriam contigit nemini, [10]vocis exspectas
contumeliam, cum sis gravissimo judicio taciturnitatis oppressus?
[11]Quid? Quod [12]adventu tuo [13]ista subsellia vacuefacta sunt, quod
omnes consulares, [14]qui tibi persaepe ad caedem constituti fuerunt,
simul atque adsedisti, partem istam subselliorum [15]nudam atque inanem
reliquerunt, quo [16]tandem animo hoc tibi ferendum putas? 17. [1]Servi
[2]mehercule mei si me [3]isto pacto metuerent, ut te metuunt omnes
cives tui, domum meam relinquendam putarem: tu tibi [4]urbem nom
arbitraris? Etsi me meis civibus [5]injuria suspectum tam graviter atque
[6]offensum viderem, carere me aspectu civium quam [7]infestis oculis
omnium conspici mallem: tu cum conscientia scelerum tuorum [8]agnoscas
odium omnium justum et jam diu tibi debitum, [9]dubitas, quorum
[10]mentes sensusque vulneras, eorum aspectum praesentiamque vitare? Si
te parentes timerent atque odissent tui nec eos ulla ratione placare
posses, ut opinor, ab eorum oculis [11]aliquo concederes: [12]nunc te
patria [13]quae communis est parens omnium nostrum, odit ac metuit et
jam diu nihil te judicat nisi de parricidio suo cogitare: hujus tu neque
auctoritatem [14]verebere nec judicium sequere nec vim pertimesces?
18. [1]Quae tecum, Catilina, sic agit et quodam modo tacita loquitur:
[2]‘Nullum jam aliquot annis facinus exstitit nisi per te, nullum
flagitium sine te: tibi uni multorum civium [3]neces, tibi vexatio
direptioque [4]sociorum impunita fuit ac libera: [5]tu non solum ad
negligendas leges et quaestiones, verum etiam ad evertendas
perfringendasque valuisti. Superiora illa, quamquam ferenda non fuerunt,
tamen ut potui, tuli: nunc vero me totam esse in metu propter unum te,
quidquid increpuerit Catilinam timeri, nullum videri contra me consilium
iniri posse, quod a tuo scelere abhorreat, [6]non est ferendum.
Quamobrem discede atque hunc mihi timorem eripe, si est verus, [7]ne
opprimar, sin falsus, ut tandem aliquando timere desinam.’
VIII.--19. Haec si tecum, ut dixi, patria loquatur, nonne [1]impetrare
debeat, etiam si vim adhibere non possit? [2]Quid? Quod tu te ipse [3]in
custodiam dedisti? Quod vitandae suspicionis causa [4]apud M’. Lepidum
te habitare velle dixisti? A quo non receptus etiam ad me venire ausus
es, atque ut domi meae te adservarem rogasti. Cum a me quoque id
responsum tulisses, me nullo modo posse [5]isdem parietibus tuto esse
tecum, qui magno in periculo essem quod isdem moenibus contineremur, ad
[6]Q. Metellum praetorem venisti: a quo repudiatus ad sodalem tuum,
[7]virum optimum, M. Metellum demigrasti, quem tu [8]videlicet et ad
custodiendum diligentissimum et ad suspicandum sagacissimum et [9]ad
vindicandum fortissimum fore putasti. Sed quam longe videtur a carcere
atque vinculis abesse debere, [10]qui se ipse jam dignum custodia
judicarit? 20. [1]Quae cum ita sint, dubitas, si [2]emori aequo animo
non potes, abire in aliquas terras et vitam istam, multis suppliciis
justis debitisque ereptam, fugae solitudinique mandare? [3]Refer,
inquis, ad senatum; id enim postulas, et, si hic ordo [4]sibi placere
decreverit te ire in exilium, obtemperaturum te esse dicis. Non referam,
id quod [5]abhorret a meis moribus, et tamen faciam ut intelligas, quid
hi de te sentiant. Egredere ex urbe, Catilina, libera rem publicam metu
in exilium, [6]si hunc vocem exspectas, proficiscere. Quid est,
Catilina? Ecquid attendis, ecquid animadvertis horum silentium?
[7]Patiuntur, tacent. [8]Quid exspectas auctoritatem loquentium, quorum
voluntatem tacitorum perspicis? 21. At si hoc idem [1]huic adulescenti
optimo, P. Sestio, si fortissimo vero M. Marcello dixissem, jam mihi
consuli hoc ipso in templo jure optimo senatus [2]vim et manus
intulisset. De te autem, Catilina, cum [3]quiescunt, probant, cum
patiuntur, decernunt, cum tacent, clamant: neque hi solum, quorum
auctoritas est videlicet cara, vita vilissima, sed etiam equites Romani
honestissimi atque optimi viri, ceterique fortissimi [4]cives, qui stant
circum senatum, quorum tu et frequentiam videre et studia perspicere et
voces paulo ante exaudire potuisti. Quorum ego vix abs te jam diu manus
ac tela contineo, eosdem facile adducam ut te haec, quae jam pridem
vastare studes, relinquentem usque ad portas [5]prosequantur.
IX.--22. [1]Quamquam quid loquor? [2]Te ut ulla res frangat? Tu ut te
unquam corrigas? Tu ut ullam fugam meditere? Tu ut exilium cogites?
Utinam tibi istam mentem di immortales [3]duint! Etsi video, si mea voce
perterritus ire in exilium [4]animum induxeris, [5]quanta tempestas
invidiae nobis, si minus in praesens tempus, recenti memoria scelerum
tuorum, at in posteritatem impendeat. [6]Sed est tanti, dum modo ista
sit privata calamitas, et a rei publicae periculis sejungatur. Sed tu
[7]ut vitiis commoveare, ut legum poenas pertimescas, ut temporibus rei
publicae cedas, non est postulandum. Neque enim is es, Catilina, ut te
aut pudor unquam a turpitudine aut metus a periculo aut ratio a furore
revocaverit. 23. Quam ob rem, ut saepe jam dixi, proficiscere, ac, si
mihi inimico, ut praedicas, tuo [1]conflare vis invidiam, [2]recta perge
in exilium; [3]vix feram sermones hominum, si id feceris, vix molem
istius invidiae, si in exilium jussu consulis ieris, sustinebo. [4]Sin
autem servire meae laudi et gloriae mavis, egredere cum importuna
sceleratorum manu. Confer te ad Manlium, concita perditos cives, secerne
te a bonis, infer patriae bellum, [5]exsulta impio latrocinio, ut a me
non ejectus ad alienos, sed invitatus ad tuos esse videaris.
24. [1]Quamquam quid ego te invitem, a quo jam sciam esse praemissos,
[2]qui tibi ad Forum Aurelium praestolarentur armati? Cui sciam
[3]pactam et constitutam cum Manlio diem. A quo etiam [4]aquilam illam
argenteam, quam tibi ac tuis omnibus perniciosam esse confido ac
funestam futuram, [5]cui domi tuae sacrarium scelerum tuorum constitutum
fuit, sciam esse praemissam? [6]Tu ut illa diutius carere possis, quam
venerari ad caedem proficisens solebas, a cujus [7]altaribus saepe istam
impiam dexteram ad necem civium transtulisti.
X.--25. Ibis tandem aliquando, quo te jam pridem ista [1]cupiditas
effrenata ac furiosa rapiebat. Neque enim tibi haec res adfert dolorem,
sed [2]quandam incredibilem voluptatem. [3]Ad hanc te amentiam natura
peperit, voluntas exercuit, fortuna servavit. Nunquam tu [4]non modo
[5]otium, sed ne bellum quidem, nisi [6]nefarium concupisti. [7]Nanctus
es ex perditis atque ab omni non modo fortuna, verum etiam spe
derelictis [8]conflatam, improborum manum. 26. [1]Hic tu qua laetitia
perfruere! quibus gaudiis exsultabis! quanta in voluptate bacchabere,
cum in tanto numero tuorum neque audies virum bonum quemquam neque
videbis. [2]Ad hujus vitae studium meditati illi sunt qui feruntur
labores tui, jacere humi, non solum [3]ad obsidendum stuprum, verum
etiam [4]ad facinus obeundum, vigilare non solum insidiantem somno
maritorum, verum etiam bonis [5]otiosorum. [6]Habes, ubi ostentes,
illam tuam praeclaram patientiam famis, frigoris, inopiae verum omnium,
[7]quibus te brevi tempore conectum senties. 27. [1]Tantum profeci tum,
[2]cum te a consulatu reppuli, ut [3]exsul potius tentare quam consul
vexare rem publicam posses atque ut id, quod est abs te scelerate
susceptum, latrocinium potius quam bellum nominaretur.
XI.--Nunc ut a me, patres conscripti, quandam prope justam patriae
querimoniam [4]detester ac deprecer, percipite, [5]quaeso, diligenter
quae dicam, et ea penitus animis vestris mentibusque mandate. Etenim si
mecum patria, quae mihi vita mea multo carior est, si cuncta Italia, si
omnis res publica sic [6]loquatur; ‘M. Tulli, quid agis? [7]Tune eum,
quem esse hostem comperisti, quem ducem belli futurum vides, quem
exspectari imperatorem in castris hostium sentis, auctorem sceleris,
principem conjurationis, [8]evocatorem servorum et civium perditorum,
exire patiere, ut abs te non [9]emissus ex urbe, sed immisus in urbem
videatur? Nonne [10]hunc in vincula duci, non ad mortem rapi, non summo
supplicio [11]mactari imperabis? 28. Quid [1]tandem te impedit? Mosne
majorum? [2]At persaepe etiam privati in hac re publica perniciosos
cives morte multarunt. [3]An leges, quae de civium Romanorum supplicio
[4]rogatae sunt? At nunquam in hac urbe, qui a re publica defecerunt,
civium jura tenuerunt. An invidiam posteritatis times? [5]Praeclaram
vero populo Romano refers gratiam, qui te, [6]hominem per te cognitum,
nulla commendatione majorum tam mature ad summum imperium per omnes
honorum gradus extulit, si [7]propter invidiam aut alicujus periculi
metum salutem civium tuorum neglegis. 29. Sed si quis est invidiae
metus, [1]num est vehementius severitatis ac fortitudinis invidia quam
inertiae ac nequitiae pertimescenda? An cum bello vastabitur Italia,
vexabuntur urbes, tecta ardebunt, tum te non existimas invidiae incendio
conflagraturum?’
XII.--His ego sanctissimis rei publicae vocibus et eorum hominum, qui
hoc idem sentiunt, mentibus pauca respondebo. Ego, si hoc optimum
[2]factu [3]judicarem, patres conscripti, Catilinam morte multari,
[4]unius usuram horae [5]gladiatori isti, ad vivendum non dedissem.
[6]Etenim si [7]summi viri et clarissimi cives Saturnini et Gracchorum
et Flacci et superiorum complurium sanguine non modo se non
contaminarunt, sed etiam [8]honestarunt, certe verendum mihi non erat,
ne quid hoc parricida civium interfecto invidiae mihi in posteritatem
redundaret. Quodsi ea mihi maxime impenderet, tamen hoc animo fui
semper, ut invidiam virtute partam gloriam, non invidiam putarem.
30. [1]Quamquam nonnulli sunt in hoc ordine, [2]qui aut ea quae imminent
non videant, aut quae vident dissimulent: [3]qui spem Catilinae mollibus
sententiis aluerunt conjurationemque nascentem non credendo
corroboraverunt; quorum auctoritatem secuti multi, non solum improbi,
verum etiam imperiti, [4]si in hunc animadvertissem, crudeliter et regie
factum esse dicerent. Nunc intellego, si iste, quo intendit, in Manliana
castra [5]pervenerit, neminem tam stultum fore qui non videat
conjurationem esse factam, neminem tam improbum qui non fateatur. Hoc
autem uno interfecto intellego hanc rei publicae pestem [6]paulisper
reprimi, non in perpetuum comprimi posse. Quodsi [7]se ejecerit secumque
suos eduxerit et eodem [8]ceteros undique collectos naufragos
adgregaverit, exstinguetur atque delebitur non modo haec [9]tam adulta
rei publicae pestis, verum etiam stirps ac semen malorum omnium.
XIII.--31. Etenim [1]jam diu, patres conscripti, in his periculis
conjurationis insidiisque versamur, sed nescio quo pacto [2]omnium
scelerum ac veteris furoris et audaciae maturitas in nostri consulatus
tempus erupit. Quodsi [3]ex tanto latrocinio iste unus tolletur,
videbimur fortasse ad breve quoddam tempus cura et metu esse relevati,
periculum autem residebit et erit inclusum penitus in venis atque [4]in
visceribus rei publicae. Ut saepe homines aegri morbo gravi, [5]cum
aestu febrique jactantur, si aquam gelidam [6]biberunt, primo relevari
videntur, deinde multo gravius vehementiusque adflictantur, sic hic
morbus, [7]qui est in re publica, relevatus istius poena, [8]vehementius
vivis reliquis ingravescet. 32. Quare secedant improbi, secernant se a
bonis, unum in locum congregentur, muro denique, id quod saepe jam dixi,
discernantur a nobis: desinant insidiari domi suae consuli, circumstare
tribunal [1]praetoris urbani, [2]obsidere cum gladiis curiam,
[3]malleolos et faces ad inflammandam urbem comparare: sit denique
inscriptum in fronte unius cujusque, [4]quid de re publica sentiat.
Polliceor vobis hoc, patres conscripti, tantam in nobis consulibus fore
diligentiam, tantam in vobis auctoritatem, tantam in equitibus Romanis
virtutem, tantam in omnibus bonis consensionem, ut Catilinae profectione
[5]omnia patefacta, inlustrata, oppressa vindicata esse videatis.
33. [1]Hisce ominibus, Catilina, [2]cum summa rei publicae salute, cum
tua peste ac pernicie cumque eorum exitio, qui se tecum omni scelere
parricidioque junxerunt, proficiscere ad impium bellum ac nefarium. Tum,
[3]tu, Juppiter, qui isdem quibus haec urbs [4]auspiciis a Romulo es
constitutus, quem [5]Statorem hujus urbis atque imperii vere nominamus,
hunc et hujus socios a tuis aris ceterisque templis, a tectis urbis ac
moenibus a vita fortunisque civium [6]arcebis, et homines bonorum
inimicos, hostes patriae, latrones Italiae, scelerum foedere inter se ac
nefaria societate conjunctos, aeternis suppliciis vivos mortuosque
mactabis.
NOTES.
[Transcriber’s Note:
This text has two traditional divisions, Chapters and Sections, which
do not always coincide. Sections that straddle two Chapters are shown
here as “6a” and “6b”:
CHAPTER I: Section 1, 2, 3
CHAPTER II: Section 4, 5, 6a
CHAPTER III: Section 6b, 7, 8a
CHAPTER IV: Section 8b, 9, 10
CHAPTER V: Section 11, 12, 13a
CHAPTER VI: Section 13b, 14, 15, 16a
CHAPTER VII: Section 16b, 17, 18
CHAPTER VIII: Section 19, 20, 21
CHAPTER IX: Section 22, 23, 24
CHAPTER X: Section 25, 26, 27a
CHAPTER XI: Section 27b, 28, 29a
CHAPTER XII: Section 29b, 30
CHAPTER XIII: Section 31, 32, 33]
CHAPTER I.
§ 1.--
1: _quousque--nostra?_ “How far, then, Catiline, will you trample upon
our patience?” The abrupt opening of the speech shows the feelings of
the orator whose indignation was naturally aroused when the conspirator
dared to appear in the Senate after being declared a public enemy
(_hostis patriae_). --_tandem_: “pray:” cp. δῆτα. --_abutere_: a future,
as shown by _eludet, jactabit_. Cicero prefers the more poetic
termination _-re_ to _-ris_ in the imperf. and fut. indic. and in the
pres. and impf. subj. pass. In the pres. indic. he rarely uses it.
Madvig. § 114.6. --_nostra_: Cicero includes the Senators and Consuls.
2: _etiam_: “still,” belongs to _quamdiu_.
3: _furor iste_: note the energy imparted by personifying _furor_ and
_audacia_. --_iste_ is strictly a pronoun demonstrative of the second
person: _iste locus_, “the place where you are standing:” _ista verba_:
“the words you utter.” It often had a contemptuous meaning in Cicero’s
orations.
4: _eludet_: “will turn us into mockery:” a gladiatorial term of
avoiding a thrust by the rapid movement of the body: hence, to baffle,
deceive, and, as here, to mock. --_Nos_ is omitted by some editors.
5: _quem--audacia_: “to what length will your unbridled audacity
proceed?” --_quem ad finem_ = _quousque_ or _quamdiu_. According to
Schultz _quousque_ puts the more general question of _time_ and
_degree_: _quamdiu_, the more special question, of _time_ only: _quem
ad finem_: of _degree_ only.
6: _jactabit_ = _insolenter se efferet: se jactare_, “to toss the head
contemptuously,” “to walk with a conceited swing.”
7: _nihilne--moverunt?_ “Have the guards nightly stationed on the
Palatine nothing daunted you? Nothing, the sentinels of the city;
nothing, the trepidation of the people; nothing, the thronging together
of all patriotic (citizens); nothing, this most impregnable place for
convening the Senate; nothing, the countenances and looks of these?”
Observe the emphatic position of _nihil_ in the beginning of successive
clauses (_anaphora_). --_Palatii_: the Palatine hill was adjacent to the
Forum. It was here that Augustus built a splendid mansion: hence our
word _palace_ from the residence of the emperor built on the _Palatium_.
In times of danger the Palatium, one of the most important military
posts of the city, was occupied by a guard. Originally the word meant
the “feeding place:” root _pal, pascere_: cp. _Pales, Palilia_. Varro
derives it from _pal_, “to wander:” cp. _palor_. It may have been the
“common” for cattle in early days. --_Vigiliae_: under the republic, on
emergencies, the _triumviri capitales, aediles_ or _tribuni plebis_
acting as a kind of police appointed night watches to keep order.
--_timor populi_: cp. Sallust. Cat.: C. 31: _immutata urbis facies erat:
ex summa laetitia atque lascivia ... repente omnes tristitia invasit_.
--_bonorum omnium_: with _bonus_: cp. ἀγαθός, often used in the sense of
“patriotic,” opposed to _malus civis_, κακός: “unpatriotic.” --_locus_:
the Senate was usually convened on the Kalends, Nones and Ides of each
month, and the meeting usually held in the Curia Hostilia. Extraordinary
meetings (_senatus indictus_) as the present one were convened in some
temple, or other place consecrated by the augurs. The present meeting
was held in the temple of Juppiter Stator, near the _via sacra_, at the
foot of the Palatine, which might be said to be _munitissimus_ from the
special guard there as well as from its position. --_ora vultusque_: the
former denotes the natural and habitual state, as expressed by the mouth
and the lower part of the face: while the latter indicates the temporary
and changing state, as expressed by the motion of the eye and brow.
8: _constrictam--vides_: “do you not see that your conspiracy has
already come within the privity of all these?” literally, “is held bound
by.” Orelli distinguishes between _non_ and _nonne_ in direct questions.
Where _non_ is used, the speaker, sure of his opinion, does not heed the
answer of the opponent; where _nonne_ is used, the speaker expects and
wishes that the person questioned will agree with him. --_constrictam
teneri_: the metaphor is taken from chaining a wild beast to which he
here compares the conspiracy.
9: _proxima_: this speech was delivered November 8th: so _nox proxima_
would be the night of 7th: --_nox superior_, the night of the 6th, also
called _nox prior_, § 8. On this occasion they were at the house of
M. Porcius Laeca. What they did on the _nox proxima_ we are not
informed. --_egeris, fueris, convocaveris, ceperis_: subjunctive of
dependent question: H. 529, I.
10: _nostrûm_: distinguish _nostrum_ used partitively and _nostri_ used
possessively.
§ 2.--
1: _vivit? immo vero_: Cicero often connects a word by putting that word
in the form of a question with or without _dicam_ and answering it by
_immo_. According to Madvig, (§ 454) _immo_ corrects a former statement
as being quite inaccurate, or too weak, though true as far as it goes.
--_immo vero_: “nay, indeed.”
2: _in senatum venit_: as _vir praetorius_ Catiline had a right to enter
the Senate.
3: _notat et designat_: a metaphor from the marking of the animals
appointed for sacrifice. Cicero often uses synonymous words to impress
the idea more strongly: “he marks and stamps each one of us for
slaughter:” cp. Leg. Man. 3, 7. _Cives Romanes necandos trucidandosque
denotavit._
4: _viri fortes_: ironical.
5: _videmur_, scil. _nobis_: “we fancy that we are doing our duty to the
state.”
6: _si--vitemus_: for the subj. in _protasis_, and indic. in _apodosis_,
see H. 511.
7: _ad mortem--opportebat_: “to death long ago, O Catiline, ought you to
have been dragged by the order of the consul?” Note the emphatic
position of _ad mortem. --duci_: for the present inf: see. H., 537, I.
--_jussu consulis_: the Senate had entrusted the safety of the State by
the _decretum ultimum_ (_videant consules, ne quid detrimenti respublica
capiat_). By the power vested in the consuls in consequence of this
decree they had the power to put Catiline to death.
8: _in te--machinaris_: “On you should that ruin long since have been
hurled which you for a long time have been plotting against us all.”
Join _jampridem_ from the previous clause with _conferri_. The present
tense in Latin with _jamdiu_ includes past tense: cf. πάλαι λέγω,
_jamdiu dico_: “I have long ago told you and do so still.”
--_machinari_; μηχανᾶσθαι, to plan by _artful_ and _secret_ means:
_moliri_, to plan by _strong_ effort.
§ 3.--
1: _An vero_: the original force of _an_ is “or,” and when used
interrogatively the sentence is elliptical. Here we may supply: “Am I
right in my conjecture or, in fact, did that illustrious man, P. Scipio,
chief pontiff, though filling no magistracy, slay Tiberius Gracchus when
slightly disturbing the settled order of the State.” We may conveniently
translate here _an vero_ by: “while, in fact.” The argument here is _a
minore ad majus_. P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica consul with D. Junius
Brutus 138 B.C. Cicero probably adds _pontifex maximus_ to remind his
hearers of the high dignity and prudence which a man gifted with this
office would possess. He also uses _privatus_ because in contrast to
_consules_, the office of _pontifex maximus_ not being a _magistratus_.
_Tiberium Gracchum_: see Proper Names --_mediocriter labefactantem_:
Cicero designedly extenuates the guilt of Gracchus to heighten the
crimes of Catiline. In fact, the orator represents the guilt of Gracchus
in different lights according to the exigencies of his cause: cp. De
Leg. Ag., 2, 5, 10: De Off. II., 12, 43. --_Catilinam_: emphatic
position: “Catiline, desiring to devastate the world with sword and fire
shall we consuls tolerate?” --_orbis terrae_: there is little difference
between _orbis terrae_ and _orbis terrarum_. --_caede atque incendiis_:
also _ferro et igni_.
2: _illa_: “the following instance:” though only the case of Ahala is
mentioned, the plural is probably used to intimate that other cases
might be adduced.
3: _C. Servilius Ahala_: see Proper Names.
4: _novis--studentem_: “aiming to overturn the government:” cp.
νεωτερίζειν.
5: _fuit-fuit_: note the emphatic repetition of the word (_epizeuxis_).
--_ista virtus_: here _ista_ = _illa_: “that well-known public spirit:”
We may take _virtus_ = _amor patriae_: “patriotism.”
6: _ut--coercerent_: “that brave men inflicted severer punishment on a
factious citizen then on the bitterest foe” --_suppliciis_: abl. means.
7: _senatus consultum_: the decree arming the consuls with civil and
military power. The formula was _videant consules ne quid respublica
detrimenti capiat_.
8: _vehemens et grave_: “full of force and severity.”
9: _rei publicae_: generally taken as a dative after _deest_: others
take it as a genitive depending on _consilium_, i.e., there is no lack
of precedents of the state, i.e., the state have many instances of
wicked citizens being punished. The state, according to Cicero, has
enough of wisdom (_consilium_) and determining authority (_auctoritas_),
but the executive power is weak.