* * * * *
1. Omnes[1] homines, qui sese student[2] praestare ceteris animalibus,
summa ope[3] niti decet, ne vitam silentio transeant veluti pecora, quae
natura prona[4] atque ventri obedientia finxit. Sed nostra omnis vis in
animo et corpore sita est; animi imperio, corporis servitio magis utimur;
alterum nobis cum dis,[5] alterum cum beluis[6] commune est. Quo mihi
rectius videtur ingenii quam virium opibus gloriam quaerere et, quoniam
vita ipsa qua fruimur brevis est, memoriam nostri[7] quam maxime
longam[8] efficere. Nam divitiarum et formae gloria fluxa atque fragilis
est, virtus clara aeternaque habetur. Sed diu magnum inter mortales
certamen fuit,[9] vine corporis an virtute animi res militaris magis
procederet. Nam et prius quam incipias consulto, et ubi consulueris
mature facto opus est.[10] Ita utrumque per se indigens, alterum alterius
auxilio eget.
[1] _Omnes_. Other editions have _omnis_ or _omneis_. The accusative
plural of words of the third declension making their genitive plural
in _ium_, varied in early Latin, sometimes ending in _is_, and
sometimes in _eis_ or _es_. This fluctuation, however, afterwards
ceased; and even in the best age of the Latin language it became
generally customary to make the accusative plural like the nominative
in _es_. The same was the case with some other obsolete forms, as
_volt_ for _vult_, _divorsus_ for _diversus_, _quoique_ for _cuique_,
_maxumus_ for _maximus_, _quom_ for _quum_, or _cum_, which are
retained in many editions, but have been avoided in the present, in
accordance with the orthography generally adopted during the best
period of the Latin language.
[2] _Studeo_, when the verb following has the same subject, may be
construed in three ways--with the infinitive alone, as _studeo
praestare_; with the accusative and infinitive, _studeo me
praestare_, as in the present case; or with _ut_, as _studeo ut
praestem_.
[3] _Summa ope_, 'with the greatest exertion,' equivalent to _summa
opere, summopere_; as _magno opere_, or _magnopere_, signifies 'with
great exertion,' or 'greatly.' The nominative _ops_ is not in use,
and the plural _opes_ generally signifies 'the means' or 'power of
doing something.'
[4] _Prona_, 'bent forward,' 'bent down to the ground,' in opposition to
the erect gait of man.
[5] _Dis_ for _diis_. See Zumpt, S 51, n. 5.
[6] _Beluis_; another, but less correct mode of spelling, is _bellua,
belluis_.
[7] Instead of _memoriam nostri_, Sallust might have said _memoriam
nostram_; but the genitive _nostri_ sets forth the object of
remembrance with greater force. See Zumpt, S 423.
[8] _Quam maxime longam_; that is, _quam longissimam_, 'lasting as long
as possible.' Zumpt, S 108.
[9] The author here makes a digression, to remove the objection that in
war bodily strength is of greater importance than mental superiority.
He admits that in the earlier times it may have been so, but
maintains that in more recent times, when the art of war had become
rather complicate, the superiority of mind has become manifest. _Vine
corporis an_; that is, _utrum vi corporis an_. See Zumpt, S 554.
[10] That is, 'before undertaking anything, reflect well; but when
you have reflected, then carry your design into execution without
delay.' The past participles _consulta_ and _facto_ here supply the
place of verbal substantives.
2. Igitur[11] initio reges (nam in terris nomen imperii id primum fuit),
diversi pars[12] ingenium, alii corpus exercebant; etiamtum vita hominum
sine cupiditate agitabatur, sua cuique satis placebant. Postea vero
quam[13] in Asia Cyrus, in Graecia Lacedaemonii et Athenienses coepere
urbes atque nationes subigere; libidinem dominandi causam belli habere,
maximam gloriam in maximo imperio putare, tum demum periculo atque
negotiis compertum est in bello plurimum ingenium posse. Quodsi[14] regum
atque imperatorum animi virtus[15] in pace ita ut in bello valeret,
aequabilius atque constantius sese res humanae haberent, neque aliud
alio[16] ferri, neque mutari ac misceri omnia cerneres. Nam imperium
facile his artibus retinetur, quibus initio partum est. Verum ubi pro
labore desidia, pro continentia et aequitate libido atque superbia
invasere, fortuna simul cum moribus immutatur. Ita imperium semper ad
optimum quemque[17] a minus bono transfertur. Quae homines arant,
navigant, aedificant, virtuti omnia parent. Sed multi mortales dediti
ventri atque somno, indocti incultique vitam sicuti peregrinantes
transiere;[18] quibus profecto contra naturam corpus voluptati, anima
oneri fuit. Eorum ego vitam mortemque juxta aestimo,[19] quoniam de
utraque siletur. Verum enimvero[20] is demum mihi vivere atque frui anima
videtur, qui aliquo negotio intentus[21] praeclari facinoris aut artis
bonae famam quaerit. Sed in magna copia rerum aliud alii natura iter
ostendit.
[11] Respecting the frequent position of _igitur_ at the beginning of a
sentence in Sallust, see Zumpt, S 357.
[12] _Pars_, instead of _alii_, probably to avoid the repetition of
_alii_, and to produce variety.
[13] _Postea vero quam_, for _postquam vero_. The author means to say,
that after the formation of great empires by extensive conquests, the
truth became manifest that even in war mind was superior to mere
bodily strength. He mentions Cyrus, king of Persia, the
Lacedaemonians and Athenians, because the earlier empires of the
Egyptians and Assyrians did not yet belong to accredited history.
[14] Sallust here introduces, by _quodsi_ (and if, or yes, if), an
illustration connected with the preceding remarks. Respecting this
connecting power of _quodsi_, as distinguished from the simple _si_,
see Zumpt, S 807. This illustration, which ends with the word
_transfertur_, was suggested to Sallust especially by the
consideration of the recent disturbances in the Roman republic under
Pompey, Caesar, and Mark Antony, three men who, in times of peace,
saw their glory, previously acquired in war, fade away.
[15] _Animi virtus_; these two words are here united to express a single
idea, 'mental greatness.'
[16] _Aliud alio ferri_, 'that one thing is drawn in one direction, and
the other in another.' For _aliud alio_, see Zumpt, S 714; and for
_cerneres_, in which the second person singular of the subjunctive
answers to the English 'you' when not referring to any definite
person, S 381.
[17] _Optimum quemque_, 'to every one in proportion as he is better than
others.' Respecting this relative meaning of _quisque_, see Zumpt,
S 710. 'Every one,' absolutely, is _unusqisque_, and adjectively
_omnis_.
[18] 'They have passed through life like strangers or travellers;' that
is, as if they had no concern with their own life, although it is
clear that human life is of value only when men are conscious of
themselves, and exert themselves to cultivate their mental powers,
and apply them to practical purposes.
[19] 'I set an equal value upon their life and their death;' that is,
an equally low value, _juxta_ being equivalent to _aeque_ or
_pariter_.
[20] _Verum enimvero;_ these conjunctions are intended strongly to draw
the attention of the reader to the conclusion from a preceding
argument.
[21] 'Intent upon some occupation.' _Intentus_ is commonly construed
with the dative, or the preposition _in_ or _ad_ with the accusative;
but as a person may be intent _upon_ something, so he also may be
intent _by_, or _in consequence of_, something, so that the ablative
is perfectly consistent.
3. Pulcrum est bene facere rei publicae; etiam bene dicere haud absurdum
est;[22] vel pace vel bello clarum fieri licet; et qui fecere et qui
facta aliorum scripsere, multi laudantur. Ac mihi quidem,[23] tametsi
haudquaquam par gloria sequitur scriptorem et actorem rerum, tamen in
primis arduum videtur res gestas scribere; primum quod facta dictis
exaequanda sunt, dehinc quia plerique, quae delicta reprehenderis,
malivolentia et invidia dicta putant;[24] ubi de magna virtute atque
gloria bonorum memores, quae sibi quisque facilia factu putat, aequo
animo accipit, supra ea[25] veluti ficta pro falsis ducit.
Sed ego[26] adolescentulus initio sicuti plerique studio ad rem publicam
latus sum, ibique mihi multa adversa fuere. Nam pro pudore, pro
abstinentia, pro virtute, audacia, largitio, avaritia vigebant. Quae
tametsi animus aspernabatur, insolens malarum artium,[27] tamen inter
tanta vitia imbecilla aetas ambitione corrupta tenebatur[28]: ac me, quum
ab reliquorum malis moribus dissentirem, nihilo minus honoris cupido
eadem qua ceteros fama atque invidia vexabat.[29]
[22] _Haud absurdum est_, 'is not unbecoming;' that is, 'is worthy
of man.'
[23] _Quidem_ here, like the Greek [Greek: men] in [Greek: emoi men],
without a [Greek: de] following, introduces one opinion in
contradistinction from others, though the latter are not mentioned,
but merely suggested by _quidem_. 'I for my part think so, but what
others think I do not know, or care.'
[24] 'If you censure any things as faults or delinquencies, your censure
is considered to have arisen from malevolence or ill-will.'
[25] _Supra ea_, 'whatever is beyond: that;' that is, whatever is beyond
the capacity of the reader.
[26] The author now passes over to his own experience, telling us that
after having devoted himself at first to the career of a public man,
and finding that he was not understood, and ill-used by his
opponents, he formed the determination to give himself up to a
literary life.
[27] _Insolens malarum artium_, 'unacquainted with base artifices or
intrigues;' for _artes_ may be _malae_ as well as _bonae_,
according as they consist in the skill of doing bad or good things.
[28] _Imbecilla aetas_, 'my weak age;' that is, my mind, which had
not yet arrived at mature independence,'was corrupted by ambition,
and was kept under the influence of such bad circumstances.' Sallust
means to say that if his mind had arrived at manly independence, he
would have immediately withdrawn from the vicious atmosphere of
public life.
[29] My ambition caused me to be equally ill spoken of and envied, and
thus to be dragged down to a level with the rest, and to be equally
harassed and persecuted as they were.
4. Igitur ubi animus ex multis miseriis atque periculis requievit et mihi
reliquam aetatem a re publica procul habendam decrevi, non fuit consilium
socordia atque desidia bonum otium conterere;[30] neque vero agrum
colendo aut venando, servilibus officiis,[31] intentum aetatem agere; sed
a quo incepto studioque me ambitio mala detinuerat, eodem regressus
statui res gestas populi Romani carptim,[32] ut quaeque memoria digna
videbantur, perscribere; eo magis, quod mihi a spe, metu, partibus rei
publicae animus liber erat. Igitur de Catilinae conjuratione quam
verissime potero paucis absolvam:[33] nam id facinus in primis ego
memorabile existimo sceleris atque periculi novitate. De cujus hominis
moribus pauca prius explananda sunt, quam initium narrandi faciam.
[30] _Conterere_--that is, _consumere_, 'to waste my fair leisure.'
[31] Sallust here calls agriculture and the chase occupations of men in a
servile condition, although the majority of the ancients considered
the former especially as the most honourable occupation of free
citizens. But he seems to think that in comparison with the important
business of writing the history of his country, agriculture and the
chase are not suitable occupations for a man who has at one time
taken an active part in political affairs.
[32] _Carptim_, 'in detached parts.'
[33] _Paucis absolvam_, 'I shall treat briefly,' or _paucis pertractabo
conjurationem Catilinae_.
5. Lucius Catilina,[34] nobili genere natus, fuit magna vi et animi et
corporis, sed ingenio malo pravoque. Huic abadolescentia bella
intestina, caedes, rapinae, discordia civilis grata fuere, ibique
juventutem suam exercuit. Corpus patiens[35] inediae, algoris, vigiliae,
supra quam cuiquam credibile est. Animus audax, subdolus, varius, cujus
rei libet[36] simulator ac dissimulator, alieni appetens, sui profusus,
ardens in cupiditatibus; satis eloquentiae, sapientiae parum. Vastus
animus immoderata, incredibilia, nimis alta semper cupiebat. Hunc post
dominationem Lucii Sullae libido maxima invaserat rei publicae
capiundae,[37] neque id quibus modis assequeretur, dum sibi regnum
pararet, quidquam pensi habebat. Agitabatur magis magisque in dies animus
ferox inopia rei familiaris et conscientia scelerum, quae utraque his
artibus auxerat,[38] quas supra memoravi. Incitabant praeterea corrupti
civitatis mores, quos pessima ac diversa inter se mala, luxuria atque
avaritia, vexabant. Res ipsa hortari videtur, quoniam de moribus
civitatis tempus admonuit, supra repetere[39] ac paucis instituta majorum
domi militiaeque,[40] quomodo rem publicam habuerint quantamque
reliquerint, ut paulatim immutata ex pulcherrima pessima ac
flagitiosissima facta sit, disserere.
[34] Sallust begins with a general description of the character of
Catiline. This talented person, though of a most wicked disposition,
belonged to the patrician _gens Sergia_, which traced its descent to
one of the companions of Aeneas. This is no doubt fabulous, but at
any rate proves the high antiquity of the gens. The most renowned
among the ancestors of Catiline was M. Sergius, a real model of
bravery, who distinguished himself in the Gallic and second Punic
wars, and after having lost his right hand in battle, wielded the
sword with the left. As Catiline offered himself as a candidate for
the consulship in B.C. 66, which no Roman was allowed to do by law
before having attained the age of forty-three, we may fairly presume
that he was born about B.C. 109, in the time of the Jugurthine war.
Cicero was born in B.C. 106, and was consequently a few years younger
than Catiline.
[35] _Patiens inediae_. Respecting the genitive governed by this and
similar participles--as soon after _alieni appetens_--see Zumpt,
S 438.
[36] _Cujus rei libet;_ it is more common to say _cujuslibet rei_.
Sometimes the relative pronouns compounded with _cunque_ and _libet_
are separated by the insertion of some other word or words between
them, which in grammatical language is called a tmesis--as _quod enim
cunque judicium subierat, absolvebatur; quem sors dierum cunque tibi
dederit, lucre appone,_ 'whatever day chance may give thee, consider
it as a gain.'
[37] _Capiundae_. Respecting the _e_ or _u_ in such gerunds and
gerandives, see Zumpt, S 167.
[38] _Auxerat_. He had increased both by the above-mentioned
qualities--namely, his poverty by extravagance, and the consciousness
of guilt by the crimes he committed. The neuter plural _quae_,
referring to two feminine substantives denoting abstract ideas, is
not very common, though quite justifiable. Zumpt, S 377.
[39] Respecting the infinitive after _hortari_, instead of the more
common use of the conjunction _ut_, see Zumpt, S 615.
[40] _Domi militiaeque_, 'in times of peace and in war.'
6. Urbem Romam,[41] sicuti ego accepi, condidere atque habuere initio
Trojani, qui Aenea duce profugi sedibus incertis vagabantur, cumque his
Aborigines,[42] genus hominum agreste, sine legibus, sine imperio,
liberum atque solutum. Hi postquam in una[43] moenia convenere, dispari
genere, dissimili lingua, alius alio more viventes, incredibile memoratu
est quam facile coaluerint.[44] Sed postquam res eorum civibus, moribus,
agris aucta, satia prospera satisque pollens videbatur, sicuti pleraque
mortalium habentur, invidia ex opulentia orta est. Igitur reges populique
finitimi bello temptare,[45] pauci ex amicis auxilio esse; nam ceteri
metu perculsi a periculis aberant. At Romani domi militiaeque intenti
festinare, parare, alius alium hortari, hostibus obviam ire, libertatem,
patriam parentesque armis tegere. Post, ubi pericula virtute propulerant,
sociis atque amicis auxilia portabant,[46] magisque dandis quam
accipiundis beneficiis amicitias parabant. Imperium legitimum, nomen
imperii regium habebant;[47] delecti, quibus corpus annis infirmum,
ingenium sapientia validum erat, rei publicae consultabant;[48] hi vel
aetate vel curae similitudine patres appellabantur. Post, ubi regium
imperium, quod initio conservandae libertatis atque augendae rei
publicae[49] fuerat, in superbiam dominationemque convertit[50] immutato
more annua imperia binosque imperatores[51] sibi fecere; eo modo minime
posse putabant per licentiam insolescere animum humanum.
[41] In the following eight chapters (6-13) Sallust describes the
transition from the stern manners, the warlike energy, and domestic
peace of the ancient Romans, to the corruption prevalent in the time
of Catiline, and which consisted chiefly in extravagance, avarice,
oppression, and the love of dominion. His description is a striking
picture of the early virtuous character of the Romans, and their
subsequent indulgence in vice. He traces all the corruption of his
time to the immense wealth accumulated at Rome, after she had
acquired the dominion over the world--that is, after the destruction
of Carthage and Corinth; and he marks out in particular Sulla as
the man who had fostered the very worst qualities in order to obtain
supreme power for himself.
[42] According to the current tradition, the people of the Latins had
been formed by a union of the Trojan emigrants with the native
Aborigines. Their capital was Alba Longa, and they lived about
Alba, on and near the Alban Mount, in a great number of confederate
townships. Four centuries after the arrival of Aeneas, the city
of Rome was founded by Albans on the extreme frontier of the Latin
territory, and near the hostile tribes by which it was surrounded.
Sallust passes over the intermediate stages, either because he, like
others, thought Rome much more ancient, or because, having to do
only with the description of manners, he was unconcerned about
historical developments.
[43] _Una_ is the plural. See Zumpt, S 115, note.
[44] It is indeed wonderful how quickly the Roman people, although
consisting of a mixture of different tribes--whether, as Sallust
briefly intimates, they were Trojans and Aborigines, or, as the more
minute historians relate, Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans--united into
one nationality. The language spoken by the Roman people, however,
was not a mixture of those of the last-mentioned tribes, but Latin,
which, in conformity with Sallust's notion, appears to be a
combination of Greek with some early Italian idiom.
[45] _Temptare_, the historical infinitive, about the meaning and
construction of which see Zumpt, S 599, note.
[46] _Auxilia portare_ is a less common expression than _auxilium ferre_;
for _portare_ is generally used only to denote the actual physical
carrying of something, while _ferre_ has a wider meaning. The plural
_auxilia_, however, here alludes to the repeated assistance given to
friends.
[47] 'Their government was a legitimate one'--that is, the powers of the
government were limited by law; 'and bore the name of a kingly
government'--that is, a king stood at the head of it.
[48] Chosen men had the care of public affairs, and deliberated about the
good of the state; they stood by the side of the kings as a
_consilium publicum_, and were addressed by the term _patres_.
[49] Respecting the meaning of these genitives, for which datives also
might have been used, see Zumpt, S 662.
[50] _Ubi--convertit_, 'when it had changed (itself).' For _ubi_ with the
perfect in the sense of a pluperfect, see Zumpt, S 506; and for the
use of _vertere_ in an intransitive or reflective sense, S 145.
[51] In the earliest times they were called _praetores_ or leaders, _qui
praeeunt exercitui_; afterwards _consules_. As two were elected every
year, Sallust uses _bini_, and not _duo_.
7. Sed ea tempestate coepere se quisque magis extollere magisque ingenium
in promptu habere.[52] Nam regibus boni quam mali suspectiores sunt,
semperque his aliena virtus formidolosa est. Sed civitas incredibile
memoratu est adepta[53] libertate quantum brevi[54] creverit; tanta
cupido gloriae incesserat.[55] Jam primum juventus, simul ac belli
patiens erat, in castris per laborem usu militiam discebat, magisque in
decoris armis et militaribus equis quam in scortis atque conviviis
libidinem habebant.[56] Igitur talibus viris non labos[57] insolitus, non
locus ullus asper aut arduus erat, non armatus hostis formidolosus;
virtus omnia domuerat. Sed gloriae maximum certamen inter ipsos erat: sic
se quisque hostem ferire, murum ascendere, conspici, dum tale facinus
faceret, properabat; eas[58] divitias, eam bonam famam magnamque
nobilitatem putabant; laudis avidi, pecuniae liberales erant; gloriam
ingentem, divitias honestas volebant. Memorare possem, quibus in locis
maximas hostium copias populus Romanus parva manu fuderit, quas urbes
natura munitas pugnando ceperit, ni ea res longius nos ab incepto
traheret.
[52] _In promptu habere_, 'to have in readiness,' and also 'to bring
into action,' or 'to make use of.' Sallust means to say, that in
consequence of the introduction of annual magistrates, every one
increased his efforts to distinguish himself, and to make his talents
shine.
[53] _Adepta_ is here used in a passive sense, contrary to the usage of
the best authors, in accordance with which he might have said
_adepta libertatem_.
[54] _Brevi_, 'in a short time.'
[55] _Incesserat_; supply _in eos_ or _iis_, referring to _cives_,
implied in the preceding _civitas_.
[56] _Habebant_ should have been _habebat_, since _discebat_ precedes.
But see Zumpt, S 366.
[57] _Labos_, a rarer form for _labor_, as _honos_ and _lepos_, which are
even more frequently found than _honor_ and _lepor_.
[58] _Eas_ agrees with _divitias_, though in English we say, in such
cases, 'This,' or 'these things they considered as riches.' See
Zumpt, S 372.
8. Sed profecto fortuna in omni re dominatur; ea res cunctas ex libidine
magis quam ex vero celebrat obscuratque. Atheniensium res gestae, sicuti
ego aestimo, satis amplae magnificaeque fuere, verum aliquanto[59]
minores tamen quam fama feruntur. Sed quia provenere ibi scriptorum magna
ingenia, per terrarum orbem Atheniensium facta pro maximis[60]
celebrantur. Ita eorum, qui ea fecere, virtus tanta habetur, quantum ea
verbis potuere extollere praeclara ingenia. At populo Romano nunquam ea
copia fuit, quia prudentissimus quisque maxime negotiosus erat;[61]
ingenium nemo sine corpore exercebat; optimus quisque facere quam dicere,
sua ab aliis bene facta laudari quam ipse aliorum narrare malebat.
[59] _Aliquanto_, 'by a considerable amount,' or simply 'considerably,'
is the ablative, expressing the amount of difference between two
things compared. Sallust here considers it to be a mere matter
of chance that the wars of the early Romans, as those against the
Volscians, Aequians, Etruscans, and Samnites, do not stand forth
in history as glorious as the wars of the Greek nations among
themselves, and against the Persians. To us it appears that this was
not a matter of chance; but it undoubtedly arose from the fact,
that the Greeks even then had already attained a higher degree of
civilisation. The interest which history takes in wars does not
depend upon the vastness of the armies or the extent of countries,
but upon the lower or higher degree of civilisation of those engaged
in the wars.
[60] _Pro maximis_, 'they are celebrated _as if they were_ the greatest.'
Respecting this meaning of _pro_, see Zumpt, S 394, note 3.
[61] 'The more intelligent any one was, the more business was intrusted
to him,' so that he had no leisure (_otium_) to devote to literary
composition. This at least is Sallust's opinion; but when a man feels
it to be his vocation to write history, he can find time for it,
however much he may be otherwise engaged--witness J. Caesar and
Frederick II. of Prussia. For the construction, see Zumpt, S 710. C.
9. Igitur domi militiaeque boni mores colebantur, concordia maxima,
minima avaritia erat, jus bonumque apud eos non legibus magis quam
natura[62] valebat. Jurgia, discordias, simultates cum hostibus
exercebant, cives cum civibus de virtute certabant; in suppliciis[63]
deorum magnifici, domi parci, in amicos fideles erant. Duabus his
artibus, audacia in bello, ubi pax evenerat, aequitate seque[64] remque
publicam curabant. Quarum rerum ego maxima documenta haec habeo, quod in
bello saepius vindicatum est in eos, qui contra imperium in hostem
pugnaverant, quique tardius revocati proelio excesserant, quam qui signa
relinquere aut pulsi loco cedere ausi erant; in pace vero, quod
beneficiis quam[65] metu imperium agitabant, et accepta injuria[66]
ignoscere quam persequi malebant.
[62] 'Not more by law than by nature;' that is, 'by nature as well as by
law.'
[63] _In suppliciis_, 'in the worship of the gods;' for as it was
customary, in worshipping, to fall down, the word _supplicium_ has
this religious meaning, which also appears in _supplicatio_. The
other and more common meaning of 'execution,' 'capital punishment,'
or 'severe chastisement,' likewise originates in the prostration of
the person so punished.
[64] _Seque remque_ is an unusual expression for _et se et rem_.
[65] _Quam_; before this word we must supply _magis_, 'they carried on
the government more with acts of kindness than with fear.' This
ellipsis before _quam_ is not uncommon.
[66] When they had suffered a wrong, they would rather pardon it than
take revenge.' To _persequi_ we must supply _eam_ from the preceding
ablative.
10. Sed ubi labore atque justitia res publica crevit, reges magni bello
domiti, nationes ferae et populi ingentes vi subacti, Carthago, aemula
imperii Romani, ab stirpe interiit, cuncta maria terraeque patebant,
saevire fortuna ac miscere omnia coepit. Qui labores, pericula, dubias
atque asperas res facile toleraverant, his otium, divitiae optandae aliis
oneri miseriaeque fuere. Igitur primo pecuniae, deinde imperii cupido
crevit; ea quasi materies omnium malorum fuere. Namque avaritia fidem,
probitatem ceterasque artes bonas subvertit; pro his superbiam,
crudelitatem, deos negligere, omnia venalia habere edocuit. Ambitio
multos mortales falsos fieri subegit, aliud clausum in pectore, aliud in
lingua promptum habere, amicitias inimicitiasque non ex re, sed ex
commodo aestimare, magisque vultum quam ingenium bonum habere. Haec primo
paulatim crescere, interdum vindicari; post, ubi contagio quasi
pestilentia invasit, civitas immutata, imperium ex justissimo atque
optimo crudele intolerandumque factum.
11. Sed primo magis ambitio quam avaritia animos hominum exercebat, quod
tamen vitium propius virtutem[67] erat. Nam gloriam, honorem, imperium
bonus et ignavus aeque sibi exoptant; sed ille vera via nititur, huic
quia bonae artes desunt, dolis atque fallaciis contendit. Avaritia
pecuniae studium habet, quam nemo sapiens concupivit;[68] ea quasi
venenis malis imbuta corpus animumque virilem effeminat, semper infinita,
insatiabilis est, neque copia neque inopia minuitur. Sed postquam
L. Sulla, armis recepta re publica, bonis initiis malos eventus
habuit,[69] rapere omnes, trahere, domum alius, alius agros cupere, neque
modum neque modestiam victores habere, foeda crudeliaque in civibus[70]
facinora facere. Huc accedebat, quod L. Sulla exercitum, quem in Asia
ductaverat, quo sibi fidum faceret,[71] contra morem majorum luxuriose
nimisque liberaliter habuerat; loca amoena, voluptaria[72] facile in otio
feroces militum animos molliverant. Ibi primum insuevit exercitus populi
Romani amare,[73] potare, signa, tabulas pictas, vasa caelata[74] mirari,
ea privatim et publice rapere, delubra[75] spoliare, sacra profanaque
omnia polluere. Igitur hi milites, postquam victoriam adepti sunt, nihil
reliqui victis fecere. Quippe secundae res sapientium animos fatigant;
ne illi corruptis moribus victoriae temperarent.[76]
[67] _Propius virtutem_, also _propius virtuti_. See Zumpt, S 411.
[68] _Concupivit_, 'No man in his senses _has_ ever coveted money for
its own sake;' that is, and even now no one does so, nor will any
one ever do so. But a _homo avarus_ covets money only that he may
_have_ it, and not for any ulterior objects.
[69] _Bonis initiis_ is the ablative absolute, 'though his beginnings
were good.' Although Sulla's government began well, it became
arbitrary and bad, especially by the unlimited partiality with which
he treated the men of his own party.
[70] _In civibus_. It would have been more in accordance with the common
usage to write _in cives_; but the ablative signifies 'in the case of
citizens.'
[71] 'In order thereby to render him faithful or attached to himself,'
_quo_ being equivalent to _ut eo_ or _ut ea re_.
[72] Namely, the charming and delightful places in Asia Minor, near
the sea-coast, under a mild climate, abounding in all the means
calculated to afford pleasure and delight.
[73] _Amare_, 'to indulge in illicit intercourse with the other sex:'
_amare_ is often used to denote an immoral intercourse between the
sexes.
[74] _Vasa caelata_, vessels adorned with figures, and wrought with the
_caelum_, the chisel. _Caelare_ and _caelatura_ denote the art of
making raised figures in metal, _alto relievo_.
[75] _Delubra_, 'temples of the gods.' Sallust has chosen this word
in preference to the common _templa_ or _aedes_, because it conveys
the idea of antiquity, sanctity, and mysterious seclusion, which is
also contained in the word _fanum_.
[76] _Ne illi--temperament_ 'not to speak of their using their victory
with moderation;' that is, they were far from using their victory
with moderation. _Ne_ is here used in the sense of _nedum_.
12. Postquam divitiae honori esse coepere et eas gloria, imperium,
potentia sequebatur, hebescere virtus, paupertas probro haberi,
innocentia pro malivolentia[77] duci coepit. Igitur ex divitiis
juventutem luxuria atque avaritia cum superbia invasere; rapere,
consumere, sua parvi pendere, aliena cupere, pudorem, pudicitiam, divina
atque humana promiscua, nihil pensi neque moderati habere. Operae pretium
est,[78] quum domos atque villas cognoveris in urbium modum
exaedificatas, visere templa deorum, quae nostri majores, religiosissimi
mortales, fecere. Verum illi delubra deorum pietate, domos suas gloria
decorabant, neque victis quidquam praeter injuriae licentiam
eripiebant.[79] At hi contra ignavissimi homines per summum scelus omnia
ea sociis adimere, quae fortissimi viri victores reliquerant; proinde
quasi injuriam facere id demum esset imperio uti.
[77] 'Honest conduct was regarded as malevolence or envy,' inasmuch as an
honest and incorruptible man was not praised for these virtues, but
rather drew upon himself the suspicion of envying others for their
increasing their possessions, and of wishing to prevent them from
becoming rich by the base means which in their greediness they
considered to be fair.
[78] _Operae pretium est_, 'it is worth while (properly "the labour has
its reward") to compare the extensive country-houses of our present
aristocracy with the small temples of the gods erected by our
ancestors, notwithstanding their intense piety.'
[79] This is the same precept as that advanced by Cicero, that in
punishing an enemy, we should be satisfied if we have placed him
in a position in which he can no longer injure us.
13. Nam quid ea memorem, quae nisi his qui videre nemini credibilia sunt,
a privatis compluribus subversos montes, maria constructa[80] esse.
Quibus mihi videntur ludibrio fuisse divitiae; quippe quas honeste habere
licebat, abuti per turpitudinem properabant. Sed libido stupri, ganeae
ceterique cultus[81] non minor incesserat; viri muliebria pati, mulieres
pudicitiam in propatulo habere; vescendi causa terra marique omnia
exquirere, dormire prius quam somni cupido esset, non famem aut sitim
neque frigus neque lassitudinem opperiri, sed ea omnia luxu antecapere.
Haec juventutem, ubi familiares opes defecerant, ad facinora incendebant.
Animus imbutus malis artibus haud facile libidinibus carebat; eo
profusius omnibus modis quaestui atque sumptui[82] deditus erat.
[80] 'Mountains are levelled, and seas are produced artificially.' In
the latter expression, Sallust, as in chap. 20 (_maria extruuntur_),
alludes to the formation of immense basins in the interior of the
country, into which the water was conducted from the sea, for the
purpose of keeping in them sea-fish and oysters. In this kind of
luxury and extravagance all the earlier Roman grandees were eclipsed
by L. Lucullus, who had amassed immense wealth in the war against
Mithridates. He possessed a very extensive _piscina_ of this kind
near the coast of Campania, in the neighbourhood of Baiae.
[81] _Cultus_ comprises the whole domestic arrangement, and especially
includes costly furniture and dresses.
[82] 'To the acquisition and to the squandering of money;' for, as we
stated before, it was peculiar to the corruption prevalent among
the Romans that they squandered their own property, and appropriated
to themselves, by violent means, that which belonged to others.
14. In tanta tamque corrupta civitate Catilina, id quod factu facillimum
erat, omnium flagitiorum atque facinorum circum se tamquam stipatorum
catervas habebat.[83] Nam quicunque impudicus, adulter, ganeo manu,[84]
ventre, pene bona patria laceraverat, quique alienum aes grande
conflaverat, quo flagitium aut facinus redimeret, praeterea omnes undique
parricidae, sacrilegi, convicti judiciis aut pro factis judicium
timentes, ad hoc quos manus atque lingua perjurio aut sanguine civili
alebat, postremo omnes, quos flagitium, egestas, conscius animus
exagitabat: hi Catilinae proximi familiaresque erant. Quodsi quis etiam a
culpa vacuus in amicitiam ejus inciderat, cotidiano usu atque illecebris
facile par similisque ceteris efficiebatur. Sed maxime adolescentium
familiaritates appetebat; eorum animi molles et aetate fluxi dolis haud
difficulter[85] capiebantur. Nam ut cujusque studium ex aetate[86]
flagrabat, aliis scorta praebere, aliis canes atque equos mercari,
postremo neque sumptui neque modestiae suae parcere, dum[87] illos
obnoxios fidosque sibi faceret. Scio fuisse nonnullos qui ita
existimarent, juventutem, quae domum Catilinae frequentabat, parum
honeste pudicitiam habuisse; sed ex aliis rebus magis quam quod cuiquam
id compertum foret, haec fama valebat.
[83] The author, after having given a description of the state of
morality in the time of Sulla, now proceeds to the life of Catiline
himself, and in the following two chapters, describes the associates
in whom that criminal placed his confidence, and with whose help he
hoped to overturn the constitution. _Flagitia_ and _facinora_ in this
passage have the meaning of _homines flagitiosi_, and _facinorosi_.
[84] _Manu_, 'by playing at dice' (_alea_), because that game was played
with the hand, either with or without the cup containing the dice
(_fritillus_).
[85] _Difficulter_. See Zumpt, S 267, note 2.
[86] 'In accordance with his (still) youthful age.' Zumpt, S 309.
[87] _Dum_ for _dummodo_, 'if but.'
15. Jam primum adolescens Catilina multa nefanda stupra fecerat, cum
virgine nobili, cum sacerdote Vestae, alia hujuscemodi contra jus fasque.
Postremo captus amore Aureliae Orestillae cujus praeter formam nihil
unquam bonus laudavit, quod ea nubere illi dubitabat, timens privignum
adulta aetate, pro certo creditur necato filio vacuam domum scelestis
nuptiis fecisse.[88] Quae quidem res mihi in primis videtur causa fuisse
facinoris maturandi. Namque animus impurus, dis hominibusque infestus,
neque vigiliis neque quietibus sedari poterat; ita conscientia mentem
excitam vastabat.[89] Igitur color exsanguis, foedi oculi, citus modo,
modo tardus incessus; prorsus in facie vultuque vecordia inerat.
[88] Catiline then had a son from a previous marriage, whom he got rid of
because Orestilla would not become his wife, from fear of the young
man, who was already grown up, and who would have become her stepson
(_privignus_).
[89] 'The consciousness of his guilt disturbed his thinking powers,' for
this is the meaning of _mens_ as distinct from _animus_, which has
reference to the feelings.
16. Sed juventutem, quam, ut supra diximus, illexerat, multis modis mala
facinora edocebat. Ex illis testes signatoresque falsos commodare; fidem,
fortunas, pericula vilia habere, post, ubi eorum famam atque pudorem
attriverat, majora alia imperabat; si causa peccandi in praesens minus
suppetebat, nihilo minus insontes sicuti sontes circumvenire, jugulare;
scilicet, ne per otium torpescerent manus aut animus, gratuito[90] potius
malus atque crudelis erat.
His amicis sociisque confisus Catilina, simul quod aes alienum per omnes
terras ingens erat, et quod plerique Sullani milites,[91] largius suo
usi, rapinarum et victoriae veteris memores civile bellum exoptabant,
opprimundae rei publicae consilium cepit. In Italia nullus exercitus;
Gn.[92] Pompeius in extremis terris bellum gerebat; ipsi consulatum
petenti magna spes; senatus nihil sane intentus;[93] tutae tranquillaeque
res omnes: sed ea prorsus opportuna Catilinae.
[90] _Gratuito_, 'gratuitously,' 'without any advantage.' Respecting the
form of this adverb, see Zumpt, S 266.
[91] Sulla had given settlements to the legions with which he had
gained the victory over the Marian party in the territory of those
towns which had longest remained faithful to his adversaries; and
it was more especially in Etruria that this measure had brought
about a complete change of the owners of the soil. But the new
landowners had acted very recklessly on their new estates, and
therefore were inclined to favour any fresh revolutionary attempt
which seemed to promise an equally favourable result.
[92] Gn. Pompeius. Respecting the orthography of the prenomen _Gneius_,
see Zumpt, S 4. Pompey was then engaged in the war against
Mithridates, king of Pontus, and Tigranes, king of Armenia; and in
consequence of this war, the extensive country of Syria, which had
before been an independent kingdom, became a Roman province.
[93] _Nihil sane intentus_, 'in no way attentive.' For the difference
between nihil and non, see Zumpt, S 677.
17. Igitur, circiter Kalendas Junias, L. Caesare et G. Figulo
consulibus,[94] primo singulos appellare, hortari alios, alios temptare;
opes suas, imparatam rem publicam, magna praemia conjurationis docere.
Ubi satis explorata sunt quae voluit, in unum omnes convocat, quibus
maxima necessitudo[95] et plurimum audaciae inerat. Eo convenere
senatorii ordinis P. Lentulus Sura, P. Autronius, L. Cassius Longinus,
G. Cethegus, P. et Servius Sullae, Servii filii, L. Vargunteius,
Q. Annius, M. Porcius Laeca, L. Bestia, Q. Curius; praeterea ex equestri
ordine M. Fulvius Nobilior, L. Statilius, P. Gabinius Capito,
G. Cornelius; ad hoc multi ex coloniis et municipiis, domi nobiles. Erant
praeterea complures[96] paulo occultius concilii hujusce participes
nobiles, quos magis dominationis spes hortabatur quam inopia aut aliqua
necessitudo. Ceterum juventus pleraque,[97] sed maxime nobilium,
Catilinae inceptis favebat; quibus in otio vel magnifice vel molliter
vivere copia erat, incerta pro certis, bellum quam pacem malebant. Fuere
item ea tempestate[98] qui crederent M. Licinium Crassum[99] non ignarum
ejus consilii fuisse; quia Gn. Pompeius invisus ipsi magnum exercitum
ductabat, cujusvis opes voluisse contra illius potentiam crescere, simul
confisum, si conjuratio valuisset, facile apud illos principem se fore.
[94] That is, in the year B.C. 64, or 690 after the building of the city.
[95] _Necessitudo_, 'a close connection' or 'friendship' is commonly
distinguished from _necessitas_, 'necessity,' or 'a compulsory
circumstance;' but the two words are often confounded with each
other, as here, and subsequently in this chapter, _necessitudo_ is
used in the sense of _necessitas_.
[96] For the difference between _plures_ and _complures_, see
Zumpt, S 65.
[97] _Juventus pleraque_, 'most young men.' Commonly the plural
_plerique_ only is used; but see Zumpt, S 103.
[98] _Ea tempestate_, an old-fashioned expression, such as Sallust is
fond of, for _eo tempore_; for in ordinary Latinity, _tempestas_
is used only in the sense of 'storm' or 'tempest.'
[99] M. Licinius Crassus had been consul several years before (B.C.
70), together with Cn. Pompey, and enjoyed considerable popularity
both on account of his former practical usefulness in the state, and
on account of his colossal wealth, which he used with proper
discretion.
18. Sed antea[100] item conjuravere pauci contra rem publicam, in quibus
Catilina fuit; de qua[101] quam verissime potero, dicam. L. Tullo et
M. Lepido consulibus,[102] P. Autronius et P. Sulla designati consules,
legibus ambitus interrogati[103] poenas dederant. Post paulo[104]
Catilina, pecuniarum repetundarum reus,[105] prohibitus erat consulatum
petere, quod intra legitimos dies profiteri[106] nequiverat. Erat eodem
tempore Gn. Piso, adolescens nobilis, summae audaciae, egens, factiosus,
quem ad perturbandam rem publicam inopia atque mali mores stimulabant.
Cum hoc Catilina et Autronius circiter Nonas Decembres consilio
communicato parabant in Capitolio Kalendis Januariis L. Cottam et L.
Torquatum consules[107] interficere, ipsi fascibus correptis Pisonem cum
exercitu ad obtinendas duas Hispanias[108] mittere. Ea re cognita, rursus
in Nonas Februarias consilium caedis transtulerant. Jam tum non
consulibus modo, sed plerisque senatoribus perniciem machinabantur.
Quodni[109] Catilina maturasset pro curia signum sociis dare, eo die post
conditam urbem Romam pessimum facinus patratum foret. Quia nondum
frequentes armati convenerant, ea res consilium diremit.
[100] _Antea_. Sallust, who has commenced speaking of the conspiracy
entered into in the year B. C. 64, considers it necessary, before
relating its progress, to go back to an earlier conspiracy, which
failed, and in which Catiline had likewise taken an active part. This
earlier conspiracy the author relates in chaps. 19 and 20.
[101] _Qua_; supply _conjuratione_, which is to be taken from the verb
_conjuravere_. This is an irregularity arising from the desire to be
brief and concise.
[102] That is, in the year B. C. 66, or 688 after the building of the
city.
[103] _Interrogati_--that is, _accusati_, 'taken to account by accusers,'
because the beginning of all such accusations consisted in the
accused being asked whether they owned having done this or that thing
forbidden by law.
[104] _Post paulo_ is less common than _paulo post_.
[105] _Repetundarum reus_, 'accused of extortion.' _Res repetundae_, in
legal phraseology, signifies the things or money which had been
illegally taken by public officers from those subject to their
authority; for such citizens or subjects had a right, after the
expiration of the official year of their ruler, to reclaim
(_repetere_) their property in a court of law. Those officers who
were found guilty had, in addition, to pay a fine, or were otherwise
punished. A person who stood accused of extortion was not allowed to
come forward as a candidate for any other office before he was tried
and acquitted.
[106] _Profiteri_, 'to announce one's self' as a candidate for an
office.
[107] These are the consuls of the year B. C. 65, who had obtained
their office after the condemnation of the above-mentioned P. Sulla
(a nephew of the dictator) and P. Autronius.
[108] _Hispanias_. Ancient Spain was, for administrative purposes,
divided into two provinces--_Hispania Tarraconensis_, or _provincia
citerior_, with Tarraco (the modern Tarragona) for its capital; and
_Hispania Baetica_, or _ulterior_, deriving its name from the river
Baitis (the modern Guadalquiver). Its chief towns were Corduba and
Hispalis (now Seville).
[109] About the force of _quod_, when joined to conjunctions, see
Zumpt, S 807. Compare p.14, note 6 [note 14].
19. Postea Piso in citeriorem Hispaniam quaestor pro praetore[110] missus
est, adnitente Crasso, quod eum infestum inimicum Gn. Pompeio cognoverat.
Neque tamen senatus provinciam invitus dederat; quippe foedum hominem a
re publica procul esse volebat; simul quia boni complures praesidium in
eo putabant, et jam tum potentia Pompeii formidolosa erat. Sed is Piso in
provincia ab equitibus Hispanis, quos in exercitu ductabat, iter faciens
occisus est. Sunt qui ita dicunt,[111] imperia ejus injusta, superba,
crudelia barbaros nequivisse pati; alii autem equites illos Gn. Pompeii
veteres fidosque clientes voluntate ejus Pisonem aggressos; numquam
Hispanos praeterea tale facinus fecisse, sed imperia saeva multa ante
perpessos. Nos eam rem in medio relinquemus. De superiore conjuratione
satis dictum.
[110] That is, he was only quaestor, but had the powers of a praetor,
being commissioned to supply the place of a praetor.
[111] Respecting the indicative _dicunt_, see Zumpt, S 563.
20. Catilina,[112] ubi eos, quos paulo ante memoravi, convenisse videt,
tametsi cum singulis multa saepe egerat, tamen in rem fore credens
universos appellare et cohortari, in abditam partem aedium secedit, atque
ibi, omnibus arbitris procul amotis, orationem hujuscemodi habuit. 'Ni
virtus fidesque vestra spectata mihi forent, nequidquam opportuna res
cecidisset; spes magna, dominatio in manibus frustra fuissent. Neque ego
per ignaviam[113] aut vana ingenia incerta pro certis captarem. Sed quia
multis et magnis tempestatibus vos cognovi fortes fidosque mihi, eo
animus ausus est maximum atque pulcherrimum facinus incipere, simul quia
vobis eadem quae mihi bona malaque esse intellexi; nam idem velle atque
idem nolle, ea demum firma amicitia est. Sed ego quae mente agitavi omnes
jam antea diversi[114] audistis. Ceterum mihi in dies magis animus
accenditur, quum considero, quae condicio vitae futura sit, nisi
nosmet ipsi vindicamus in libertatem. Nam postquam res publica in
paucorum potentium jus atque dicionem concessit, semper illis reges,
tetrarchae[115] vectigales esse, populi, nationes stipendia pendere;
ceteri omnes, strenui, boni, nobiles atque ignobiles vulgus fuimus sine
gratia, sine auctoritate, iis obnoxii, quibus, si res publica valeret,
formidini essemus. Itaque omnis gratia, potentia, honos, divitiae apud
illos sunt, aut ubi illi volunt; nobis reliquere pericula repulsas,
judicia, egestatem. Quae quousque tandem patiemini fortissimi viri? Nonne
emori per virtutem praestat quam vitam miseram atque inhonestam,
ubi alienae superbiae ludibrio fueris, per dedecus amittere? Verum
enimvero pro deum atque hominum fidem[116] victoria in manu nobis est,
viget aetas, animus valet; contra illis annis atque divitiis omnia
consenuerunt. Tantummodo incepto opus est; cetera res expediet. Etenim
quis mortalium cui virile ingenium est, tolerare potest, illis divitias
superare,[117] quas profundant in extruendo mari et montibus coaequandis,
nobis rem familiarem etiam ad necessaria deesse? illos binas aut amplius
domos continuare, nobis larem familiarem[118] nusquam ullum esse? Quum
tabulas, signa, toreumata[119] emunt, nova diruunt, alia aedificant,
postremo omnibus modis pecuniam trahunt, vexant, tamen summa libidine
divitias vincere[120] nequeunt. At nobis est domi inopia, foris aes
alienum, mala res, spes multo asperior; denique quid reliqui habemus
praeter miseram animam? Quin[121] igitur expergiscimini? En[122] illa,
illa, quam saepe optastis, libertas, praeterea divitiae, decus, gloria
in oculis sita sunt. Fortuna omnia ea victoribus praemia posuit. Res,
tempus, pericula, egestas, belli spolia magnifica magis quam oratio mea
vos hortentur. Vel imperatore vel milite me utimini; neque animus neque
corpus a vobis aberit. Haec ipsa, ut spero, vobiscum una consul agam,
nisi forte me animus fallit, et vos servire magis quam imperare parati
estis.'
[112] The author now continues his account of the conspiracy entered
into in B.C. 64.
[113] _Per ignaviam_, 'by means of cowardice,' here means, 'with the
assistance of cowardly men,' 'such as you are not, since I have
evidence of your valour and trustworthiness.' _Vana ingenia_ are
men of untrustworthy character. In both cases the abstract quality is
mentioned instead of the person possessing it.
[114] _Diversi_, 'separately;' that is, at different times, and in
different places.
[115] _Tetrarcha_ is a title which properly belonged only to such princes
as ruled over the fourth part of a whole nation. Such a division took
place in Galatia, and afterwards also in Judaea. A similar title,
_ethnarcha_, but that of king also, was sometimes granted to powerful
princes; or, when they had had it before, the Roman senate sometimes
allowed them to keep it.
[116] _Pro fidem_, or _proh fidem_, is an exclamation, and _pro_ an
interjection. The accus. _fidem_ is governed by some such verb as
_testor_ or _invoco_. See Zumpt, S 361.
[117] _Superare_ here has an intransitive meaning, 'to exist in
abundance.'
[118] _Lar familiaris_, a domestic or family divinity, whose image stood
in the interior of the house, by the domestic altar; hence _lar_, or
the plural _lares_, is sometimes used in the sense of 'a house,' or
'home.'
[119] _Toreumata_ are the _vasa caelata_ mentioned in chap. 11; works
in metal, especially silver, with raised figures. The instrument
called by the Latins _caelum_, was called by the Greeks [Greek:
toros], whence [Greek: toreuein, toreuma].
[120] 'They cannot master their wealth;' that is, they are not able to
spend it.
[121] _Quin_--that is, _qui non_ or _quo non_? 'why not?'
[122] _En_, as well as _ecce_, are most commonly construed with the
accusative.
21. Postquam accepere ea homines, quibus mala abunde omnia erant, sed
neque res neque spes bona ulla, tametsi illis quieta movere magna merces
videbatur, tamen postulavere plerique, uti proponeret, quae condicio
belli foret, quae praemia armis peterent, quid ubique opis aut spei
haberent. Tum Catilina polliceri tabulas novas,[123] proscriptionem
locupletium, magistratus, sacerdotia, rapinas, alia omnia, quae bellum
atque libido victorum fert. Praeterea esse in Hispania citeriore Pisonem,
in Mauretania cum exercitu P. Sittium Nucerinum, consilii sui participes;
petere consulatum G. Antonium, quem sibi collegam fore speraret, hominem
et familiarem et omnibus necessitudinibus circumventum; cum eo se
consulem[124] initium agendi facturum. Ad hoc maledictis increpat omnes
bonos, suorum unum quemque nominans laudare; admonebat alium egestatis,
alium cupiditatis suae, complures periculi aut ignominiae,[125] multos
victoriae Sullanae, quibus ea praedae fuerat. Postquam omnium animos
alacres videt, cohortatus, ut petitionem suam curae haberent, conventum
dimisit.
[123] _Tabulae novae_ are literally 'new registers of debts;' that is, a
change or reduction of debts, when, for example, the interest
already paid was deducted from the principal, or when the amount of
debts was reduced by one-half, or even by three-fourths. Such
regulations of debts in favour of debtors were often resorted to in
the revolutions of the ancient republics.
[124] 'If he should be consul with him, he would begin to carry the
matter into effect.'
[125] _Ignominia_, 'disgrace' which a person incurs, either because
he has been condemned in a court of law, or with which he has been
branded by the censors.
22. Fuere ea tempestate qui dicerent, Catilinam, oratione habita, quum ad
jusjurandum populares[126] sceleris sui adigeret, humani corporis
sanguinem vino permixtum in pateris circumtulisse; inde quum post
execrationem omnes degustavissent, sicuti in sollemnibus sacris fieri
consuevit, aperuisse consilium suum, atque eo dictitare[127] fecisse, quo
inter se magis fidi forent, alius alii tanti facinoris conscii. Nonnulli
ficta et haec et multa praeterea existimabant ab iis, qui Ciceronis
invidiam, quae postea orta est, leniri credebant atrocitate sceleris
eorum, qui poenas dederant. Nobis ea res pro magnitudine parum comperta
est.
[126] _Popularis_, properly 'a fellow-countryman,' or 'belonging to the
same people;' but Sallust here, and in chapter 24, uses it in the
more general sense of _particeps, socius_, 'associate.'
[127] _Dictitare_, a contraction for _dictitavere_: 'it was frequently
said that Catiline had done it for this reason.' This contraction has
nothing that is offensive here, though in form it is the same as the
present infinitive; for such an ambiguity of form is not always
avoided, provided the context clearly shows what the meaning is.
_Dictitare_ contains a repetition of what is implied in _fuere qui
dicerent_.
23. Sed in ea conjuratione fuit Q. Curius, natus haud obscuro loco,
flagitiis atque facinoribus coopertus, quera censores senatu probri
gratia moverant. Huic homini non minor vanitas inerat quam audacia; neque
reticere, quae audierat, neque suamet[128] ipse scelera occultare,
prorsus neque dicere neque facere quidquam pensi habebat. Erat ei cum
Fulvia, muliere nobili, stupri[129] vetus consuetudo; cui quum minus
gratus esset, quia inopia minus largiri poterat, repente glorians maria
montesque polliceri coepit et minari interdum ferro, ni sibi obnoxia
foret, postremo ferocius agitare[130] quam solitus erat. At Fulvia,
insolentiae Curii causa cognita, tale periculum rei publicae haud
occultum habuit, sed sublato auctore[131] de Catilinae conjuratione quae
quoque modo audierat compluribus narravit. Ea res in primis studia
hominum accendit ad consulatum mandandum M. Tullio Ciceroni. Namque
antea pleraque nobilitas invidia aestuabat,[132] et quasi pollui
consulatum credebant, si eum quamvis egregius homo novus[133] adeptus
foret. Sed ubi periculum advenit, invidia atque superbia post fuere.[134]
[128] _Met_ is a suffix which may be appended to all the cases of
_suus_, and answers to our 'own.' It is usually followed by _ipse_.
See Zumpt, S 139, note.
[129] _Stuprum_ is the name for every unchaste connexion with unmarried
as well as with married women; but _adulterium_ is the illicit
intercourse with married women.
[130] 'To behave more ferociously;' for _agere_ and _agitare_, even
without an accusative, signify 'to behave,' 'conduct one's self,'
'lead a life.'
[131] _Sublato auctore_, 'without mentioning the one of whom she had
learned it.'
[132] 'The nobility was boiling with envy;' a figurative expression,
taken from the boiling of water over the fire, which is frequently
used to describe violent passions. So also _incendi, ardere,
flagrare cupiditate_.
[133] A _homo novus_ was at Rome the name for any person, none of
whose ancestors had been invested with a curule office; that is,
with the consulship, praetorship, quaestorship, or curule aedileship.
[134] _Post fuere_; that is, _postposita sunt_, 'were put on one side.'
24. Igitur comitiis habitis consules declarantur M. Tullius et
G. Antonius, quod factum primo populares conjurationis concusserat.[135]
Neque tamen Catilinae furor minuebatur, sed in dies plura agitare, arma
per Italiam locis opportunis parare, pecuniam sua aut amicorum fide
sumptam mutuam Faesulas[136] ad Manlium quendam portare,[137] qui postea
princeps fuit belli faciundi. Ea tempestate plurimos cujusque generis
homines adscivisse sibi dicitur, mulieres etiam aliquot, quae primo
ingentes sumptus[138] stupro corporis toleraverant, post ubi aetas
tantummodo quaestui neque luxuriae modum fecerat, aes alienum grande
conflaverant. Per eas se Catilina credebat posse servitia urbana
sollicitare, urbem incendere, viros earum vel adjungere sibi vel
interficere.
[135] 'Which fact _had_ at first intimidated the associates of the
conspiracy.' The pluperfect here seems to be used for the perfect,
but is necessary from the idea, which properly should have been
expressed by some such sentence as this: 'which fact, although it
had at first intimidated the conspirators, yet did not stop the
progress of the conspiracy.'
[136] _Faesulae_, now Fiesole, a town in the northern part of Etruria,
not far from Florentia (Florence), which is now the largest town in
that district, though it was not so in ancient times.
[137] _Portare_, 'he caused money to be taken.' See Zumpt, S 713.
[138] _Sumptus tolerare_, 'to bear the expenses,' implying the difficulty
of defraying them.
25. Sed in his erat Sempronia, quae multa saepe virilis audaciae
facinora commiserat. Haec mulier genere atque forma, praeterea viro,
liberis satis fortunata fuit; litteris Graecis et Latinis docta,
psallere, saltare elegantius, quam necesse est probae, multa alia, quae
instrumenta luxuriae sunt. Sed ei cariora semper omnia quam decus atque
pudicitia fuit; pecuniae an famae minus parceret, haud facile
discerneres;[139] libidine sic accensa, ut saepius peteret viros quam
peteretur. Sed ea saepe antehac fidem prodiderat, creditum abjuraverat,
caedis conscia fuerat, luxuria atque inopia praeceps[140] abierat. Verum
ingenium ejus haud absurdum; posse versus facere, jocum movere, sermone
uti vel modesto vel molli vel procaci; prorsus multae facetiae multusque
lepos inerat.
[139] _Haud facile discerneres_, 'it was not easy to determine whether
she was less concerned about her money or her reputation,' since she
was reckless in regard to both. Respecting the imperfect subjunctive,
see Zumpt, S 528, note 2.
[140] _Praeceps_ is used of steep and precipitous places, and of persons
who fall or throw themselves headlong down from or into anything.
Hence _Sempronia praeceps abierat_ is, 'she had thrown herself
headlong into ruin,' which might also be expressed by _in praeceps
iverat_.
26. His rebus comparatis Catilina nihilo minus in proximum annum[141]
consulatum petebat, sperans, si designatus foret, facile se ex voluntate
Antonio usurum. Neque interea quietus erat, sed omnibus modis insidias
parabat Ciceroni. Neque illi tamen ad cavendum dolus aut astutiae
deerant. Namque a principio consulatus sui multa pollicendo per
Fulviam effecerat, ut Q. Curius, de quo paulo ante memoravi, consilia
Catilinae sibi proderet. Ad hoc[142] collegam suum Antonium pactione
provinciae[143] perpulerat, ne contra rem publicam sentiret; circum se
praesidia amicorum atque clientium occulte habebat. Postquam dies
comitiorum venit, et Catilinae neque petitio neque insidiae, quas consuli
in Campo[144] fecerat, prospere cessere, constituit bellum facere et
extrema omnia experiri, quoniam quae occulte temptaverat aspera
foedaque[145] evenerant.
[141] Namely, for the year beginning with the first of January, B. C. 62.
The elections took place about the middle of the preceding year,
consequently, in the present instance, about the middle of the
year B. C. 63.
[142] _Ad hoc_ is a common expression in Sallust for _praeterea_.
[143] _Pactione provinciae_, by coming to an understanding with him
about the provinces which were assigned to the consuls after the
expiration of their year of office at Rome. Cicero had obtained by
lot the lucrative province of Macedonia and exchanged it for Gallia
Cisalpina, which had fallen to the lot of Antonius; but afterwards
he declined the latter also, in order to be able to remain at Rome,
which at that time was considered to be a sign that a man did not
care for money--_continentia abstinentia_.
[144] The _Campus Martius_, an extensive open plain between the city and
the Tiber, was the place for the large assemblies of the people; that
is, for the Comitia Centuriate, in which the consuls and praetors
were elected.
[145] _Aspera foedaque_ might also have been expressed by the adverbs
_aspere foedeque_, 'his attempts turned out unfavourably and
disgracefully.' Compare Zumpt, S 682.
27. Igitur G. Manlium Faesulas atque in eam partem Etruriae, Septimium
quendam Camertem[146] in agrum Picenum, G. Julium in Apuliam dimisit;
praeterea alium alio, quem ubique opportunum sibi fore credebat. Interea
Romae multa simul moliri, consuli insidias tendere, parare incendia,
opportuna loca armatis hominibus obsidere, ipse cum telo esse, item alios
jubere, hortari; uti semper intenti paratique essent, dies noctesque
festinare, vigilare, neque insomniis neque labore fatigari. Postremo ubi
multa agitanti nihil procedit, rursus intempesta nocte conjurationis
principes convocat per M. Porcium Laecam, ibique multa de ignavia eorum
questus, docet se Manlium praemisisse ad eam multitudinem, quam ad
capiunda arma paraverat, item alios in alia loca opportuna, qui initium
belli facerent, seque ad exercitum proficisci cupere, si prius Ciceronem
oppressisset; eum suis consiliis multum officere.
[146] _Camers_, 'a native of Camerium,' (the capital of the Umbrians),
for the inhabitants of that place were called Camertes. _Picenum_
or _ager Picenus_, was the Roman territory on the Adriatic between
the mouths of the rivers Aesis and Aternus with the capitals of
Ancona and Asculum.
28. Igitur perterritis ac dubitantibus ceteris, G. Cornelius eques
Romanus operam suam pollicitus, et cum eo L. Vargunteius senator
constituere ea nocte paulo post cum armatis hominibus sicuti
salutatum[147] introire ad Ciceronem ac de improviso domi suae imparatum
confodere. Curius ubi intellegit,[148] quantum periculum consuli
impendeat, propere per Fulviam Ciceroni dolum, qui parabatur, enuntiat.
Ita illi janua prohibiti tantum facinus frustra susceperant. Interea
Manlius in Etruria plebem sollicitare, egestate simul ac dolore injuriae
novarum rerum cupidam, quod Sullae dominatione agros bonaque omnia
amiserat, praeterea latrones cujusque generis, quorum in ea regione magna
copia erat, nonnullos ex Sullanis colonis, quibus libido atque luxuria ex
magnis rapinis nihil reliqui fecerant.
[147] _Sicuti salutatum,_ 'as if to offer him his morning salutation,'
for such a morning call before sunrise was a common politeness among
the Romans.
[148] Or according to the common orthography, _intelligit_.
29. Ea quum Ciceroni nuntiarentur, ancipiti malo permotus, quod neque
urbem ab insidiis privato consilio longius tueri poterat, neque exercitus
Manlii quantus aut quo consilio foret satis compertum habebat, rem ad
senatum refert, jam antea vulgi rumoribus exagitatam.[149] Itaque, quod
plerumque in atroci negotio solet; senatus decrevit,[150] darent operam
consules, ne quid res publica detrimenti caperet. Ea potestas per senatum
more Romano magistratui maxima permittitur, exercitum parare,[151] bellum
gerere, coercere omnibus modis socios atque cives, domi militiaeque
imperium atque judicium summum habere; aliter sine populi jussu nulli
earum rerum consuli jus est.
[149] _Exagitatam_ for _agitatam_; but the preposition _ex_ gives to the
word the idea of something brought out of its obscurity to light. The
matter had already been discussed on the ground of certain rumours.
[150] About _decrevit_, with the mere subjunctive, without _ut_, see
Zumpt, S 624.
[151] _Parare_ should properly be _parandi_; but see Zumpt, S 598.
30. Post paucos dies L. Saenius senator in senatu litteras recitavit,
quas Faesulis allatas sibi dicebat, in quibus scriptum erat, G. Manlium
arma cepisse cum magna multitudine ante diem VI. Kalendas Novembres.[152]
Simul, id quod in tali re solet, alii portenta atque prodigia[153]
nuntiabant, alii conventus fieri, arma portari, Capuae atque in Apulia
servile bellum moveri. Igitur senati[154] decreto Q. Marcius Rex
Faesulas, Q. Metellus Creticus in Apuliam circumque ea loca missi; hi
utrique[155] ad urbem imperatores erant,[156] impediti ne triumpharent
calumnia paucorum, quibus omnia honesta atque inhonesta vendere mos
erat.[157] Sed praetores Q. Pompeius Rufus Capuam, Q. Metellus Celer in
agrum Picenum,[158] hisque permissum, uti pro tempore atque periculo
exercitum compararent. Ad hoc, si quis indicavisset de conjuratione, quae
contra rem publicam facta erat, praemium servo libertatem et sestertia
centum, [159] libero impunitatem ejus rei et sestertia ducenta; itemque
decrevere, uti gladiatoriae familiae Capuam et in cetera municipia
distribuerentur pro cujusque opibus,[160] Romae per totam urbem vigiliae
haberentur, iisque minores magistratus[161] praeessent.
[152] That is, 'on the 6th day before the 1st of November,' or on the
27th of October. In such computations with _ante_ and _post_, the
point of time from which the calculation begins is included. See
Zumpt, S 867. But we here reckon according to the calendar such as it
was subsequently reformed and rectified by J. Caesar.
[153] _Portenta_ are chiefly human beings or animals presenting at their
birth anything abnormal or monstrous; _prodigia_, on the other hand,
are strange phenomena in the heavens; and the superstition of the
ancients regarded both as signs sent by the gods to warn men.
[154] _Senati_ for _senatus_. See Zumpt, S 81.
[155] _Hi utrique_ for _horum uterque_. Zumpt, S 141, note 2.
[156] Both had received the military command (_imperium_) from the
senate and people: Marcius Rex as proconsul of Cilicia, and Metellus
for the purpose of subduing Crete. After their return from their
provinces, they tarried for a time outside the walls of Rome (_ad
urbem_), because, by entering the city, they would have lost their
imperium, which they were anxious to retain until their solemn
entrance in a military procession (the triumph), to which the senate
had not yet given its sanction. Accordingly, as they were still
generals in active service, they could legally be intrusted with the
military command in the disturbed districts of Italy.
[157] The intrigues of some influential members of the senate, who had
either received bribes from the opponents of the two commanders, or
expected some from the commanders themselves, prevented the
resolution of the senate here alluded to. Respecting _mos erat
vendere_, see Zumpt, S 598.
[158] Supply to the two names of places _missus est_, which is implied
in the preceding sentence.
[159] _Sestertia centum_; that is, _centum millia sestertiorum_, or the
ancient census of the citizens of the first class; for the neuter
sestertia was used in calculations as an imaginary coin of _mille
sestertii_ or ten nummi aurei.
[160] 'According to the means of every town.' As the Roman gladiators
might easily be tempted to join in conspiracies, they were quartered
at a distance from Rome, in the towns of a certain class of Roman
citizens (_municipia_); and the citizens of such places were
ordered to watch over those bands of gladiators, that they might not
make their escape. _Familiae_, in its proper sense, signifies the
whole body of slaves belonging to one master.
[161] _Minores magistratus_ are those officers who did not, by virtue
of their office, become members of the senate. The quaestors,
accordingly, did not belong to them, but they comprised the masters
of the mint, the superintendents of the paving of the roads, and
especially the superintendents of all matters connected with prisons,
and the _decemviri litibus judicandis_.
31. Quibus rebus permota civitas atque immutata urbis facies erat; ex
summa laetitia atque lascivia, quae diuturna quies pepererat, repente
omnes tristitia invasit; festinare, trepidare, neque loco neque homini
cuiquam satis credere, neque bellum gerere, neque pacem habere, suo
quisque metu pericula metiri. Ad hoc mulieres, quibus[162] rei publicae
magnitudine belli timor insolitus incesserat, afflictare sese,[163] manus
supplices ad coelum tendere, miserari parvos liberos, rogitare, omnia
pavere, superbia atque deliciis omissis sibi patriaeque diffidere. At
Catilinae crudelis animus eadem illa movebat, tametsi praesidia
parabantur et ipse lege Plautia[164] interrogatus erat ab L. Paullo.
Postremo dissimulandi causa aut sui expurgandi, sicuti[165] jurgio
lacessitus foret, in senatum venit. Tum M. Tullius consul, sive
praesentiam ejus timens sive ira commotus, orationem habuit luculentam
atque utilem rei publicae, quam postea scriptam edidit.[166] Sed ubi ille
assedit,[167] Catilina, ut erat paratus ad dissimulanda omnia, demisso
vultu, voce supplici postulare, 'Patres conscripti ne quid de se temere
crederent; ea familia ortum, ita se ab adolescentia vitam instituisse, ut
omnia bona in spe haberet; ne existimarent, sibi, patricio homini, cujus
ipsius atque majorum plurima beneficia in plebem Romanam essent, perdita
re publica opus esse, quum eam servaret M. Tullius, inquilinus civis
urbis Romae.'[168] Ad hoc maledicta alia quum adderet, obstrepere omnes,
hostem atque parricidam vocare. Tum ille furibundus: 'Quoniam quidem
circumventus, inquit, ab inimicis praeceps agor, incendium meum ruina
restinguam.'
[162] _Quibus_. Sallust more frequently uses the accusative in such
expressions. See chapter 8.
[163] _Afflictare sese_, 'they worried themselves.' The expression is
properly used of that kind of grief which manifests itself in
inflicting pain on the body, by pulling the hair, striking the breast
or loins, or by throwing one's self on the ground. So also
_plangere_ denotes the physical expression of pain.
[164] A law _de vi_ enacted in the year B.C. 89, and aimed at those who
might attempt by violence to subvert the existing constitution of the
state. On the ground of this law Catiline had already been summoned
before a court of law, though no formal charge had yet been brought
against him.
[165] _Sicuti_ is here used for _quasi_, _velut_, or _perinde ac si_,
'as if.'
[166] This is the first of Cicero's speeches against Catiline, which
was delivered A.D. 6, Id. Novemb.; that is, on the 8th of November.
[167] 'When he had sat down;' that is, when he had finished his speech,
for those who spoke in the senate did so standing.
[168] The imprudence of this speech, independent of the audacious denial
of facts, consists in his boasting of his patrician descent, and in
the insinuation that Cicero, who was born in the municipium of
Arpinum, was only an alien at Rome, although in regard to political
rights there no longer was any difference between patricians and
plebeians, nor between the citizens of Rome and those of a
municipium. Respecting the construction of _opus est_, with the
ablative of a participle, see Zumpt, S 464, note 1.
32. Dein se ex curia domum proripuit; ibi multa ipse secum volvens, quod
neque insidiae consuli procedebant et ab incendio intellegebat urbem
vigiliis munitam, optimum factu credens exercitum augere ac prius quam
legiones scriberentur, antecapere quae bello usui forent, nocte
intempesta cum paucis in Manliana castra profectus est. Sed Cethego atque
Lentulo ceterisque, quorum cognoverat promptam audaciam, mandat, quibus
rebus possent opes factionis confirment, insidias consuli maturent,
caedem, incendia aliaque belli facinora parent; sese propediem cum magno
exercitu ad urbem accessurum. Dum haec Romae geruntur, G. Manlius ex suo
numero legatos ad Marcium Regem mittit cum mandatis hujuscemodi:
33. 'Deos hominesque testamur, imperator, nos arma neque contra patriam
cepisse, neque quo periculum aliis faceremus, sed uti corpora nostra ab
injuria tuta forent, qui miseri, egentes, violentia atque crudelitate
feneratorum plerique patriae, sed omnes fama atque fortunis[169] expertes
sumus; neque cuiquam nostrum licuit more majorum lege uti,[170] neque
amisso patrimonio liberum corpus habere, tanta saevitia feneratorum atque
praetoris fuit. Saepe majores vestrum[171] miseriti plebis Romanae,
decretis suis inopiae ejus opitulati sunt; ac novissime memoria nostra,
propter magnitudinem aeris alieni, volentibus omnibus bonis, argentum
aere solutum est.[172] Saepe ipsa plebes, aut dominandi studio permota,
aut superbia magistratuum, armata a patribus secessit. At nos non
imperium neque divitias petimus, quarum rerum causa bella atque certamina
omnia inter mortales sunt, sed libertatem, quam nemo bonus nisi cum anima
simul amittit.[173] Te atque senatum obtestamur, consulatis miseris
civibus, legis praesidium, quod iniquitas praetoris eripuit, restituatis;
neve nobis eam necessitudinem imponatis, ut quaeramus, quonam modo maxime
ulti sanguinem nostrum pereamus.'
[169] The adjective _expers_ here is joined in the same sentence with two
different cases; this is an unusual construction, though _expers_ may
be joined with the genit. as well as with the ablat. See Zumpt,
S 437, note 1.
[170] From what he quotes as the substance of the law, we see that he
means the lex Papiria Poetelia, which had been passed in B.C. 326,
and according to which the property of a debtor served as a security
to the creditor, while his person or his personal liberty could not
be touched.
[171] _Vestrum_; it would be more in accordance with the common usage to
say _vestri_, but the genitive of the personal pronoun also may be
used. See Zumpt, SS 424 and 431.
[172] Literally, 'the borrowed silver was repaid in copper;' that is,
instead of the ordinary silver coin, the sestertius, the value of
four copper ases, only one copper as was paid. By this means debtors
gained three-fourths of the capital they had borrowed. This reduction
of debts took place in B.C. 86, during the ascendancy of the Marian
party.
[173] _Amittit_; that is, _missam facit_, _dimittit_ or _omittit_, 'he
gives up.'
34. Ad haec Q. Marcius respondit: 'Si quid ab senatu petere vellent, ab
armis discedant, Romam supplices proficiscantur; ea mansuetudine atque
misericordia senatum populumque Romanum semper fuisse, ut nemo unquam
ab eo frustra auxilium petiverit.' At Catilina ex itinere plerisque
consularibus, praeterea optimo cuique, litteras mittit: 'Se falsis
criminibus circumventum, quoniam factioni inimicorum resistere
nequiverit, fortunae cedere, Massiliam[174] in exilium proficisci: non
quo sibi tanti sceleris conscius esset, sed uti res publica quieta foret,
neve ex sua contentione seditio oriretur.' Ab his longe diversas litteras
Q. Catulus in senatu recitavit, quas sibi nomine Catilinae redditas
dicebat; earum exemplum infra scriptum est:
[174] _Massilia_ (the modern Marseilles) was a free and independent city,
leagued with the Roman people by treaty. It had been founded about
the year B.C. 600, by Greek emigrants from Phocaea in Asia Minor. As
Massilia thus was not subject to the civil law of Rome, the Romans
who withdraw from the laws of their own country--that is, who went
into exile--might choose that city as a safe place of residence,
without fear of being delivered up to their own country.
35. 'L. Catilina Q. Catulo. Egregia tua fides re cognita, grata mihi, in
magnis meis periculis fiduciam commendationi meae tribuit. Quamobrem
defensionem in novo consilio non statui parare, satisfactionem ex nulla
conscientia de culpa proponere decrevi,[175] quam mediusfidius[176] veram
licet cognoscas. Injuriis contumeliisque concitatus, quod fructu laboris
industriaeque meae privatus statum dignitatis non obtinebam,[177]
publicam miserorum causam pro mea consuetudine suscepi, non quin aes
alienum meis nominibus ex possessionibus solvere possem, quum et alienis
nominibus liberalitas Orestillae suis filiaeque copiis persolveret;[178]
sed quod non dignos homines honore honestatos videbam, meque falsa
suspicione alienatum esse sentiebam.[179] Hoc nomine[180] satis honestas
pro meo casu spes reliquae dignitatis conservandae sum secutus. Plura
quum scribere vellem, nuntiatum est vim mihi parari.[181] Nunc Orestillam
commendo tuaeque fidei trado: eam ab injuria defendas per liberos tuos
rogatus. Haveto.'[182]
[175] Catiline writes that he will not undertake a detailed defence of
his new design of taking up arms, but he says that he wishes to
justify himself in regard to one point, and that merely because he
is not conscious of any criminal act. _Satisfactio_ is nearly the
same as _defensio_, but less formal. A man defends himself against
opponents, but before friends he merely gives an explanation, whereby
they may be gained over to his side. _Ex nulla conscientia_, 'in
consequence of his not being conscious of guilt.' The expression is
rather harsh and artificial, and seemingly in Catiline's own style
of writing.
[176] _Medius fidius_, the same as _mehercules_. See Zumpt, S 361.
[177] 'I could not maintain the position of my dignity;' that is, I could
not maintain my position in society after my enemies had deprived me
of the consulship.
[178] 'Not as if I could not pay my own debts out of my property, since
Orestilla has paid even other persons' debts out of her own purse;'
she would accordingly have done the same much more for me, her
husband. _Aes alienum meis nominibus_ is the same as _meum ipsius
aes alienum_, 'debts on my own account.' _Nomen_, in money
transactions, is something put down to a person's account. Hence
_aes alienum alienis nominibus_ is the same as _aliorum debita_,
'other persons' debts,' _aes alienum_ being understood from the
preceding clause.
[179] 'I felt that I had become estranged by false suspicions,' namely,
'from the Roman people,' who confer the honours which have been
obtained by unworthy persons.
[180] _Hoc nomine_, the same as _ideo_, 'accordingly,' 'for this reason.'
[181] This is said in allusion to the consul Cicero, as if he had
intended to arrest Catiline, and imprison him. Catiline evidently has
recourse to this expedient for the purpose of avoiding his awkward
explanation. They are hollow phrases about honour, the republic,
and persecution, and well suited to the ruined circumstances of that
nobleman.
[182] _Haveto_. It is much more common to use this word in meeting a
person, while _vale_ is the ordinary expression in parting from a
friend.