Olivia Veenendaal-Casper

Furman University

Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 18

Olivia Veenendaal-Casper /
Changes to Catiline's plans
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Previously a small number likewise conspired against the commonwealth , and one of them was Catiline ; I shall speak about the matter as briefly as I can .

In the consulship of L . Tullus and of M’ . Lepidus , P . Autronius and P . Sulla ( the designated consuls ) had been questioned under the laws of canvassing and punished . A little after , Catiline’s prosecution for extortion had prevented him from being a candidate for the consulship , because he had been unable to put forward his name within the prescribed number of days . A contemporary was Cn . Piso , an adolescent from the nobility , of the utmost daring , destitute and factious , who was being spurred by want and wicked habits to disrupt the commonwealth . It was with him that Catiline and Autronius around the Nones of December shared their scheme , and they were preparing to kill the consuls L . Cotta and L . Torquatus on the Capitol on the Kalends of January , and , having themselves seized the fasces , to send Piso with an army to hold the two Spains . But after the discovery of the affair , their response had been to transfer the murderous scheme to the Nones of February , and now they were already devising the destruction not only of the consuls but of numerous senators . And , had not Catiline been too speedy in giving the signal to his allies in front of the curia , the worst deed since the founding of the City of Rome would have been perpetrated on that day . But , because the armed men had not yet assembled in force , that circumstance caused the scheme to be broken off .

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Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 19

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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 " 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 , 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 , 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 .

9 " quae quō ūsque tandem patiēminī , ō fortissumī virī ? nōnne ēmorī per virtūtem praestat quam vītam miseram atque inhonestam , ubi aliēnae superbiae lūdibriō fuerīs , per dēdecus āmittere ? 10 vērum enim vērō , prōh deum atque hominum fidem , victōria in manū nōbīs est . viget aetās , animus valet ; contrā illīs annīs atque dīvitiīs omnia cōnsenuērunt . tantummodo inceptō opus est ; cētera rēs expediet . 11 etenim quis mortālium cui virīle ingenium est tolerāre potest illīs dīvitiās superāre quās profundant in exstruendō marī et montibus coaequandīs , nōbīs rem familiārem etiam ad necessāria dēesse ? illōs bīnās aut amplius domōs continuāre , nōbīs larem familiārem nusquam ūllum esse ? 12 cum tabulās , signa , toreumata emunt , nova dīruunt , alia aedificant , postrēmō omnibus modīs pecūniam trahunt , vexant , tamen summā lubīdine dīvitiās suās vincere nequeunt . 13 at nōbīs est domī inopia , forīs aes aliēnum , mala rēs , spēs multō asperior ; dēnique , quid relicuī habēmus , praeter miseram animam ?

14 " quīn igitur expergīsciminī ? ēn illa , illa quam saepe optāstis lībertās , praetereā dīvitiae , decus , glōria in oculīs sita sunt ; fortūna omnia ea victōribus praemia posuit . 15 rēs , tempus , perīcula , egestās , bellī spolia magnifica magis quam ōrātiō mea vōs hortantur . 16 vel imperātōre vel mīlite ūtiminī ; neque animus neque corpus ā vōbīs aberit . 17 haec ipsa , ut spērō , vōbīscum ūnā cōnsul agam , nisi forte animus fallit et vōs servīre magis quam imperāre parātī estis . "

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 .

‘For how long , then , will you endure these things , most courageous of men ? Is it not better to die with prowess than to lose in disgrace a life which is pitiable and dishonourable , once you have become a plaything of the haughtiness of others ? That is surely true , but , by the faith of gods and men , victory is in our hands ! We have the vigour of youth , hearts of valour . Everything of theirs , by contrast , has been enfeebled by the years and by riches . Only a start is needed ; circumstances will make light of the rest . What mortal of manly disposition can tolerate the fact that they abound in riches which they can pour into building on the sea and levelling mountains , while we lack the private assets even for necessities ? That they each link two or more houses together , while our household gods are nowhere to be found ? They buy their pictures , statues and reliefs ; they destroy new structures and put up others ; in fact , they plunder and ravage their money by every means at their disposal , yet , despite the extreme nature of their whims and lusts , they are unable to achieve victory over their riches . But for us it is want at home and debt abroad , a distressing situation and the prospect of much worse ; what , in the end , have we left , except the pitiful breath that we breathe ?

‘Why not , therefore , rouse yourselves ? Here , stretching before your eyes , lies that freedom which you have often craved , as well as riches , respect and glory ! All these things Fortune has set out as the rewards for the victors . The issue , the moment , the danger , the destitution , the magnificent spoils of war are a greater encouragement to you than any speech of mine . Use me as either commander or soldier : neither my mind nor my body will fail you . These are the very things , I hope , that I shall be discussing with you when I am consul , unless perchance my mind deceives me and you are prepared for servitude rather than for command . These words were received by men who possessed every wickedness in abundance , but neither substance nor any good prospect ; and , although they thought it highly profitable to disrupt the calm , nevertheless many of them demanded that he put forward what the nature of the war would be , what rewards they were seeking by arms and what resource or prospect they had . Then Catiline guaranteed fresh accounts and the proscription of the wealthy ; magistracies and priesthoods ; and seizures and everything else which is yielded by war and by the victors’ whim and lust . Apart from that , he said , there was

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Sallust Bellum Catilinae Section 61 Alignment

Olivia Veenendaal-Casper /
  • Created on 2021-12-01 20:43:09
  • Modified on 2021-12-08 00:13:05
  • Translated by Campbell and Watson
  • Aligned by Olivia Veenendaal-Casper
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Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 61
Conspiracy of Catiline. Sallust. Rev. John Selby Watson, M.A. New York and London. Harper & Brothers. 1899.
A New English Translation with text, translation, and commentary by E.H. Campbell:
sed cōnfectō proeliō , tum vērō cernerēs quanta audācia quantaque animī vīs fuisset in exercitū Catilīnae . [ 2 ] nam ferē quem quisque vīvos pugnandō locum cēperat , eum āmissā animā corpore tegēbat . [ 3 ] paucī autem , quōs mediōs cohors praetōria disiēcerat , paulō dīvorsius , sed omnēs tamen advorsīs volneribus conciderant . [ 4 ] Catilīna vērō longē ā suīs inter hostium cadāvera repertus est , paululum etiam spīrāns ferōciamque animī quam habuerat vīvos in voltū retinēns . [ 5 ] postrēmō ex omnī cōpiā neque in proeliō neque in fugā quisquam cīvis ingenuos captus est : [ 6 ] ita cūnctī suae hostiumque vītae iuxtā pepercerant .
[ 7 ] neque tamen exercitus populī Rōmānī laetam aut incruentam victōriam adeptus erat ; nam strēnuissumus quisque aut occiderat in proeliō aut graviter volnerātus discesserat . [ 8 ] multī autem , quī ē castrīs vīsundī aut spoliandī grātiā prōcesserant , volventēs hostīlia cadāvera , amīcum aliī , pars hospitem aut cognātum reperiēbant ; fuēre item quī inimīcōs suōs cognōscerent . [ 9 ] ita variē per omnem exercitum laetitia , maeror , lūctus , atque gaudia agitābantur .
When the battle was over , it was plainly seen what boldness , and what energy of spirit , had prevailed throughout the army of Catiline ; [ 2 ] for , almost every where , every soldier , after yielding up his breath , covered with his corpse the spot which he had occupied when alive . [ 3 ] A few , indeed , whom the prætorian cohort had dispersed , had fallen somewhat differently , but all with wounds in front . [ 4 ] Catiline himself was found , far in advance of his men , among the dead bodies of the enemy ; he was not quite breathless , and still expressed in his countenance the fierceness of spirit which he had shown during his life . [ 5 ] Of his whole army , neither in the battle , nor in flight , was any free-born citizen made prisoner , [ 6 ] for they had spared their own lives no more than those of the enemy .
[ 7 ] Nor did the army of the Roman people obtain a joyful or bloodless victory ; for all their bravest men were either killed in the battle , or left the field severely wounded . [ 8 ] Of many who went from the camp to view the ground , or plunder the slain , some , in turning over the bodies of the enemy , discovered a friend , others an acquaintance , others a relative ; some , too , recognized their enemies . [ 9 ] Thus , gladness and sorrow , grief and joy , were variously felt throughout the whole army .
But when the battle was over you were indeed able to see how great must have been the boldness and how great in Catiline’s army the strength of spirit must have been .
[ 2 ] For nearly each one that let his soul slip away was covering with his body that place which , when fighting , he occupied alive . [ 3 ] A few in the center , on the other hand , whom the praetorian cohort had scattered , were a little apart , but all the same were killed by wounds in the front . [ 4 ] Indeed Catiline was found far out from them among the bodies of the enemy , still breathing a little , and in his face holding the ferocity of mind which he had in life . [ 5 ] Finally out of the whole army , neither in battle nor in flight was anyone of the free-born citizens captured , [ 6 ] in such a way , on the whole they had spared their own lives and those of the enemy just the same . [ 7 ] Still neither had the army of the Roman people obtained a happy or bloodless victory , for each one of the
most vigorous had fallen in battle or had come away severely wounded . [ 8 ] Many , however , who had come out from the camp for reason to see or to pilliage , turing over the
bodies of the enemies found a friend , part of the others , a guest or a relative ; some would also have recognized those who were their personal enemies . [ 9 ] In this manner ,
everyone throughout the whole army was variously affected with rejoicing and mourning , with sorrow and happiness .

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