BC, Sallust 15-16
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Latin
English
[ 15 ] iam prīmum adulēscēns Catilīna multa nefanda stupra fēcerat , cum virgine nōbilī , cum sacerdōte Vestae , alia huiusce modī contrā iūs fāsque . 2 postrēmō captus amōre Aurēliae Orestillae , cuius praeter fōrmam nihil umquam bonus laudāvit , quod ea nūbere illī dubitābat , timēns prīvignum adultā aetāte , prō certō crēditur necātō fīliō vacuam domum scelestīs nūptiīs fēcisse . 3 quae quidem rēs mihi in prīmīs vidētur causa fuisse facinus mātūrandī . 4 namque animus impūrus , dīs hominibusque īnfestus , neque vigiliīs neque quiētibus sēdārī poterat ; ita cōnscientia mentem excitam vāstābat . 5 igitur colōs exsanguis , foedī oculī , citus modo , modo tardus incessus ; prōrsus in faciē voltūque vēcordia inerat .
[ 16 ] sed iuventūtem quam , ut suprā dīximus , illēxerat , multīs modīs mala facinora ēdocēbat . 2 ex illīs testīs signātōrēsque falsōs commodāre ; fidem , fortūnās , perīcula vīlia habēre , post , ubi eōrum fāmam atque pudōrem attrīverat , maiōra alia imperābat . 3 sī causa peccandī in praesēns minus suppetēbat , nihilō minus īnsontīs sīcutī sontīs circumvenīre , iugulāre ; scīlicet nē per ōtium torpēscerent manūs aut animus , grātuītō potius malus atque crūdēlis erat .
4 hīs amīcīs sociīsque cōnfīsus Catilīna , simul quod aes aliēnum per omnīs terrās ingēns erat , et quod plērīque Sullānī mīlitēs , largius suō ūsī , rapīnārum et victōriae veteris memorēs , cīvīle bellum exoptābant , opprimundae reī pūblicae cōnsilium cēpit . 5 in Ītaliā nūllus exercitus ; Cn . Pompeius in extrēmīs terrīs bellum gerēbat ; ipsī cōnsulātum petentī magna spēs ; senātus nihil sānē intentus ; tūtae tranquillaeque rēs omnēs ; sed ea prōrsus opportūna Catilīnae .
[ 16 ] sed iuventūtem quam , ut suprā dīximus , illēxerat , multīs modīs mala facinora ēdocēbat . 2 ex illīs testīs signātōrēsque falsōs commodāre ; fidem , fortūnās , perīcula vīlia habēre , post , ubi eōrum fāmam atque pudōrem attrīverat , maiōra alia imperābat . 3 sī causa peccandī in praesēns minus suppetēbat , nihilō minus īnsontīs sīcutī sontīs circumvenīre , iugulāre ; scīlicet nē per ōtium torpēscerent manūs aut animus , grātuītō potius malus atque crūdēlis erat .
4 hīs amīcīs sociīsque cōnfīsus Catilīna , simul quod aes aliēnum per omnīs terrās ingēns erat , et quod plērīque Sullānī mīlitēs , largius suō ūsī , rapīnārum et victōriae veteris memorēs , cīvīle bellum exoptābant , opprimundae reī pūblicae cōnsilium cēpit . 5 in Ītaliā nūllus exercitus ; Cn . Pompeius in extrēmīs terrīs bellum gerēbat ; ipsī cōnsulātum petentī magna spēs ; senātus nihil sānē intentus ; tūtae tranquillaeque rēs omnēs ; sed ea prōrsus opportūna Catilīnae .
15
From
the
very
first
,
Catiline
as
an
adolescent
had
committed
many
unspeakable
acts
of
illicit
sex
-
with
a
noble
maiden
,
with
a
priestess
of
Vesta
-
and
other
deeds
of
this
type
contrary
to
divine
and
human
law
.
Finally
he
was
captivated
by
love
for
Aurelia
Orestilla
(
in
whom
no
good
man
ever
praised
anything
but
her
appearance
)
,
but
,
because
she
hesitated
to
marry
him
through
fear
of
a
stepson
of
adult
years
,
it
is
believed
for
certain
that
he
killed
his
son
,
thereby
ensuring
an
empty
house
for
the
criminal
marriage
.
It
is
this
affair
above
all
which
seems
to
me
to
have
been
his
reason
for
speeding
up
the
deed
:
for
his
vile
spirit
-
hostile
to
gods
and
men
-
could
not
be
calmed
by
wakefulness
or
repose
:
to
such
an
extent
was
his
conscience
preying
upon
his
unquiet
mind
.
Hence
his
bloodless
complexion
and
ugly
eyes
,
and
his
walk
alternating
between
fast
and
slow
;
in
short
,
there
was
derangement
in
his
demeanour
and
face
.
16 . As for the young men whom ( as we said above ) he had enticed , he taught them wicked deeds in numerous ways . From them he provided false witnesses and signatories ; he commanded of them , first , that they should regard loyalty , fortunes and danger as cheap , and then , when he had worn away their reputation and sense of shame , other and still greater deeds . If reasons for wrongdoing were temporarily in short supply , he would nonetheless entrap and butcher the guiltless no differently from the guilty . ( It was of course to prevent their muscles or minds from languishing through inactivity that he was gratuitously wicked and cruel instead . )
These were the friends and allies on whom Catiline relied ; and , both because there was mighty debt across every land , and because many Sullan soldiers — too lavish with their own property , and mindful of the seizures of their old victory — were longing for civil war , he conceived the scheme of an assault upon the commonwealth . There was no army in Italy , and Cn . Pompeius was waging war in the most distant lands ; he had high hopes of his own candidacy for the consulship , and the senate was of course not concentrating : conditions on all fronts were settled and calm , but that was favourable to Catiline .
16 . As for the young men whom ( as we said above ) he had enticed , he taught them wicked deeds in numerous ways . From them he provided false witnesses and signatories ; he commanded of them , first , that they should regard loyalty , fortunes and danger as cheap , and then , when he had worn away their reputation and sense of shame , other and still greater deeds . If reasons for wrongdoing were temporarily in short supply , he would nonetheless entrap and butcher the guiltless no differently from the guilty . ( It was of course to prevent their muscles or minds from languishing through inactivity that he was gratuitously wicked and cruel instead . )
These were the friends and allies on whom Catiline relied ; and , both because there was mighty debt across every land , and because many Sullan soldiers — too lavish with their own property , and mindful of the seizures of their old victory — were longing for civil war , he conceived the scheme of an assault upon the commonwealth . There was no army in Italy , and Cn . Pompeius was waging war in the most distant lands ; he had high hopes of his own candidacy for the consulship , and the senate was of course not concentrating : conditions on all fronts were settled and calm , but that was favourable to Catiline .