Sophie BC Chapter 20
Sophie Pike /
- Created on 2021-10-01 19:41:46
- Aligned by Sophie Pike
Latin
English
[ 20 ] Catilīna , ubi eōs quōs paulō ante memorāvī convēnisse videt , tametsī cum singulīs multa saepe ēgerat , tamen in rem fore crēdēns univorsōs appellāre et cohortārī , in abditam partem aedium sēcēdit atque ibi , omnibus arbitrīs procul āmōtīs , ōrātiōnem huiusce modī habuit :
2 " nī virtūs fidēsque vostra spectāta mihi forent , nēquīquam opportūna rēs cecidisset ; spēs magna , dominātiō in manibus frūstrā fuissent , neque ego per ignāviam aut vāna ingenia incerta prō certīs captārem . 3 sed quia multīs et magnīs tempestātibus vōs cognōvī fortīs fīdōsque mihi , eō animus ausus est maxumum atque pulcherrumum facinus incipere , simul quia vōbīs eadem quae mihi bona malaque esse intellēxī : 4 nam idem velle atque idem nōlle , ea dēmum firma amīcitia est .
5 " sed ego quae mente agitāvī omnēs iam anteā dīvorsī audīstis . 6 cēterum mihi in diēs magis animus accenditur , cum cōnsīderō quae condiciō vītae futūra sit , nisi nōsmet ipsī vindicāmus in lībertātem . 7 nam postquam rēs pūblica in paucōrum potentium iūs atque diciōnem concessit , semper illīs rēgēs , tetrarchae vectīgālēs esse , populī , nātiōnēs stīpendia pendēre ; cēterī omnēs , strēnuī , bonī , nōbilēs atque ignōbilēs , volgus fuimus sine grātiā , sine auctōritāte , iīs obnoxiī quibus , sī rēs pūblica valēret , formīdinī essēmus . 8 itaque omnis grātia , potentia , honōs , dīvitiae apud illōs sunt aut ubi illī volunt ; nōbīs relīquēre perīcula , repulsās , iūdicia , egestātem .
2 " nī virtūs fidēsque vostra spectāta mihi forent , nēquīquam opportūna rēs cecidisset ; spēs magna , dominātiō in manibus frūstrā fuissent , neque ego per ignāviam aut vāna ingenia incerta prō certīs captārem . 3 sed quia multīs et magnīs tempestātibus vōs cognōvī fortīs fīdōsque mihi , eō animus ausus est maxumum atque pulcherrumum facinus incipere , simul quia vōbīs eadem quae mihi bona malaque esse intellēxī : 4 nam idem velle atque idem nōlle , ea dēmum firma amīcitia est .
5 " sed ego quae mente agitāvī omnēs iam anteā dīvorsī audīstis . 6 cēterum mihi in diēs magis animus accenditur , cum cōnsīderō quae condiciō vītae futūra sit , nisi nōsmet ipsī vindicāmus in lībertātem . 7 nam postquam rēs pūblica in paucōrum potentium iūs atque diciōnem concessit , semper illīs rēgēs , tetrarchae vectīgālēs esse , populī , nātiōnēs stīpendia pendēre ; cēterī omnēs , strēnuī , bonī , nōbilēs atque ignōbilēs , volgus fuimus sine grātiā , sine auctōritāte , iīs obnoxiī quibus , sī rēs pūblica valēret , formīdinī essēmus . 8 itaque omnis grātia , potentia , honōs , dīvitiae apud illōs sunt aut ubi illī volunt ; nōbīs relīquēre perīcula , repulsās , iūdicia , egestātem .
When
he
saw
that
those
whom
I
recalled
a
little
before
had
assembled
,
Catiline
,
despite
the
frequent
and
detailed
discussions
which
he
had
had
with
individuals
,
nevertheless
believed
it
would
be
pertinent
to
call
upon
them
collectively
and
encourage
them
,
so
he
withdrew
to
a
secluded
part
of
the
house
and
there
,
with
all
witnesses
moved
well
away
,
he
made
a
speech
of
this
type
:
‘If your prowess and loyalty had not been demonstrated to my satisfaction , this favourable circumstance would have fallen to us in vain , and the high hopes and dominion in our grasp would have been to no purpose — and I am not a man who would clutch at uncertainties instead of certainties , aided by cowards of unreliable disposition . But , because I have come to know , through many great turmoils , that you are courageous and loyal to me , that is the reason why my spirit has dared to embark on the greatest and finest of deeds , and also because I have come to understand that your perception of goodness and wickedness is the same as mine : wanting and not wanting the same things — that , ultimately , is firm friendship .
‘You have already heard before , separately , what I have pondered in my mind . Yet my spirit is kindled more and more each day when I reflect what the conditions of life will be if we do not assert our freedom ourselves . For , ever since the commonwealth passed to the jurisdiction of a powerful few , it has always been to them that the dues of kings and tetrarchs go , that the taxes of peoples and nations are paid ; the rest of us — all the committed and good , noble and ignoble — have been simply " the masses " , denied favour , denied influence , beholden to those to whom , if the commonwealth thrived , we would be a source of fear . Hence all favour , power , honour and riches rest with them or are where they want them ; to us they have left the dangers , rejections , lawsuits and destitution .
‘If your prowess and loyalty had not been demonstrated to my satisfaction , this favourable circumstance would have fallen to us in vain , and the high hopes and dominion in our grasp would have been to no purpose — and I am not a man who would clutch at uncertainties instead of certainties , aided by cowards of unreliable disposition . But , because I have come to know , through many great turmoils , that you are courageous and loyal to me , that is the reason why my spirit has dared to embark on the greatest and finest of deeds , and also because I have come to understand that your perception of goodness and wickedness is the same as mine : wanting and not wanting the same things — that , ultimately , is firm friendship .
‘You have already heard before , separately , what I have pondered in my mind . Yet my spirit is kindled more and more each day when I reflect what the conditions of life will be if we do not assert our freedom ourselves . For , ever since the commonwealth passed to the jurisdiction of a powerful few , it has always been to them that the dues of kings and tetrarchs go , that the taxes of peoples and nations are paid ; the rest of us — all the committed and good , noble and ignoble — have been simply " the masses " , denied favour , denied influence , beholden to those to whom , if the commonwealth thrived , we would be a source of fear . Hence all favour , power , honour and riches rest with them or are where they want them ; to us they have left the dangers , rejections , lawsuits and destitution .