B.C., brought to trial for extortion, but acquitted in spite of strong evidence of guilt. The term _socii_ had been originally confined to those Italians who were not _cives_; but since the franchise had been given to all Italians (90-89 B.C.) it had been extended to the provincials.
investigation'). Criminal jurisdiction belonged legally to the people assembled in the Comitia Centuriata. As it soon became impossible for the whole body of citizens to try every case, trials were delegated from time to time to commissions (_quaestiones_) specially appointed.
Hence arose the idea of establishing standing commissions (_quaestiones perpetuae_) to try particular classes of offences. The earliest of these was the _quaestio perpetua de repetundis_ (149 B.C.), which had cognizance of all cases of extortion. Catilina would have been indicted before it. Other _quaestiones perpetuae_ were subsequently added, and the whole system was regulated and extended by Sulla.
§19.
=si loquatur...debeat=. Contrast this with the conditional sentence in §17 above, 'si metuerent...putarem.' Both the imperf. and the pres. subj. make an imaginary supposition; but the imperfect, throwing it into the past, marks it as impossible; the present regards it as still conceivable. Thus 'si metuerent' (Greek 'ei ephobounto') = 'if they feared' (which they do not); but 'si loquatur' (Greek 'ei legoi') = 'if it were to speak' (now or at any future time).
=custodiam=. A citizen was not imprisoned pending his trial on a criminal charge. As a rule, he simply gave bail for his appearance; sometimes however he was placed in the charge of some citizen of reputation, who became responsible for his safe keeping (_libera custodia_). Catilina had offered to place himself under some such restraint on his indictment for inciting to riot (_de vi_) by L.
Paullus. See Introduction, page 11. The trial never took place, owing to the subsequent events.
=parietibus...moenibus=. _Paries_ is the wall of a house; _moenia_ the walls of a town; _murus_ the general term.
=videlicet=, ironical ('videre licet,' like 'scilicet' = 'scire licet').
§20.
=aliquas=, cf. 'aliquo,' 1. 17 and note there.
=ad senatum referre=, the technical term for bringing a matter before the senate for discussion. This could only be done by the consul (or other magistrate) who summoned and presided over the meeting.
=non referam=. The real reason of his refusal was that the senate, not being a judicial court, had no power to pass sentence upon any individual. Moreover exile was not technically a punishment known to Roman law; it was merely a recognized means of anticipating a sentence.
See on §28 below.
=hi=, the senators.
After =proficiscere= Cicero pauses, to give time for an expression of opinion from the senators. As they are silent he resumes, 'Quid est,' etc. Cf. the rhetorical artifice in Demosth. de Cor. §52.
=auctoritatem=, expressed request; =voluntatem=, unexpressed desire.
§21.
=P. Sestio=. Now quaestor; tribune in 57 B.C. when he was active in promoting Cicero's return from exile. In 56 Cicero defended him on a charge of riot.
=M. Marcello=, consul 51 B.C. Opposed Caesar; but was recalled from exile by him and pardoned 46 B.C.
=vim et manus=, hendiadys.
=cum=, with indicative, see note on 1. 7. 'By their silence, they approve.'
=cara=, because he professed himself ready to submit to a decree of the senate ordering his exile.
=iam pridem studes=, 'have long been desiring.' Cf. the Greek 'palai epithumei'.
§22.
=te ut ulla res frangat?= 'What? anything break _your_ resolution?' This is exactly like the exclamatory use of the acc. and inf. in phrases like 'Mene incepto desistere victam?' (Virg. Aen. 1. 37) only here 'ut' with subj. takes the place of the more usual acc. and infin. (i.e. he might have said, 'Tene ullam rem frangere?') Cf. below §24 'tu ut illa diutius carere possis?' 'Hoccine ut ego nomine appellem eversores huius imperii?' (pro Sestio §17), 'Utne tegam spurco Damae latus?' (Hor. Sat.
2. 5. 18).
=duint=. Subj. from 'duo' (perhaps an older form of 'do') with _i_ as the characteristic vowel, in the place of the more usual _a_, as in 'sim,' 'velim,' 'possim,' 'edim,' etc. The form is found frequently in Plautus, Terence, and old legal phrases. See Roby's Lat. Gr. vol. i.
§589.
=sed est tanti=, 'but it is worth while' (to risk the unpopularity).
=privata=, i.e. affects me only as a private citizen.
=legum poenas=, 'the punishment _prescribed by_ the laws.' Cf. 'rei publicae poena' 1. 4.
=temporibus rei publicae cedas=, 'yield to the exigencies of the state'; 'tempora,' as often, of a political crisis. Catilina is to yield to these in the sense that he is to sacrifice his personal convenience for the public advantage.
=ratio=, 'sound reasoning,' 'reflection.' The consecutive sentence is best translated by turning 'revocaverit' into a passive, 'you are not the man to have been recalled,' etc.
=exsulta=, 'revel.' Lit. 'leap about,' 'gambol.' Cf. §26 below.
§23.
=latrocinio=, 'brigandage' opposed to 'bellum,' §27. 'Latro,' originally 'a mercenary,' connected with [Greek] 'latreuô'; hence a brigand, because mercenary troops were addicted to indiscriminate plundering.
§24.
=sciam=, subjunctive, as giving a reason, '_seeing that_ I know you have sent on,' etc.
=Forum Aurelium=, a small place on the Via Aurelia, about fifty miles from Rome.
=cui=. See note on 1. 16.
=aquilam=. Marius introduced the silver eagle as the standard of the legion. The one in question had been used (according to Sallust) in the war against the Cimbri.
=cui domi tuae=, etc. The place where the eagles were set up in the camp was regarded as sacred. Catilina prepares a similar sacred spot for his in his own house. _Sacrarium_ means (1) a shrine, (2) any secret place; it is here used in both senses; hence trans. 'for which you have consecrated at your house the secret chamber of your crimes.' But Halm would omit 'scelerum tuorum' as an interpolation.
=tu ut illa=, etc. See above on §22.
=altaribus=, 'the altar'; the singular form is not found in classical Latin.
§25.
=haec res=, i.e. making war upon your country.
=tu non modo otium=, sed ne bellum quidem, etc. As the two clauses have the same verb ('concupisti') the negative is _expressed_ only in the second which contains the verb, and must be understood from it to the first, i.e. 'non concupisti' must be understood after 'non modo.'
Literally, 'you not only (did not want) peace, but did not even want a war unless it were wicked.' Observe that the negation in these two clauses does not cancel but _repeats_ the original negative 'nunquam.'
This is the regular usage where a negative proposition branches out into two clauses. Cf. 'Ea Caesar nunquam neque fecit neque fecisset' (Cic. ad Fam. 14. 13), 'Caesar never did nor would have done those things.' See Kennedy's Public Sch. Lat. Gr. §84. In English we may avoid the repetition of negatives and say, 'you have never desired--I will not say peace--but even war that was anything but criminal.' Exactly parallel is 2. 8 'Nemo non modo Romae, sed ne ullo quidem in angulo totius Italiae fuit' Cf. also 2. 20 'ut iam,' etc.; 2. 21 'ut non modo,' etc.
=conflatam=. Metaphor from working metals, 'fused,' 'welded together.'
Cf. Virg. Georg. 1. 508 'falces conflantur in ensem,' and pro Roscio §1 'iniuriam novo scelere conflatam.' So 'sumphusan' in Greek; cf. Ar.
Knights 468 kai taut' eph' hoisin esti sumphusômena egôida.
§26.
=meditati=, in passive sense, as the participles of many other deponents; e.g. 'ultus,' 'complexus,' 'testatus,' 'adeptus,' etc. Cf.
Phil. 2. 34. 85 'meditatum et cogitatum scelus.'
=qui feruntur labores=, [Greek] 'hoi legomenoi ponoi', 'those exertions of yours they talk of.'
=iacere=, =vigilare=, infinitives in apposition to labores.
§27.
=a consulatu=. At the election of consuls for 62, held a few weeks before, Cicero had used his influence to defeat Catilina. See Introduction, page 10. On 'cum' with indic. see 1. 7.
=est=. Generally a verb dependent on a subjunctive is itself subjunctive. Here however the relative clause is not really part of the consecutive sentence, but a mere epithet explanatory of 'id,' added by the speaker, hence _est_ not _esset_. Cf. 3. 21 '(quis est) qui neget haec omnia quae _videmus_,' etc.
=latrocinium=. See on §23 above.
=detester=, 'detestari' = 'to avert by entreaty.'
=si loquatur=. The apodosis is not expressed, owing to the length of the following address. On pres. subj. see note on 1. 19.
=mactari=. Cicero and Caesar only use the acc. and inf. after 'impero' with _passive_ verbs; in other cases 'ut' and subj.
§28.
=persaepe etiam privati=, an exaggeration. The only case of a 'privatus' putting an offender to death which Cicero quotes is that of P. Scipio Nasica and Ti. Gracchus. See note on 1. 3.
=An leges=, etc. The earliest of these was the Lex Valeria (509 B.C.), which secured the right of appeal to the people from the magistrate ('_ne quis magistratus civem Romanum adversus provocationem necaret neve verberaret_'). This was re-enacted, and the penalty for violating it strengthened by the Lex Porcia (197 B.C.) and the Lex Sempronia (122 B.C., Gaius Gracchus). Notice that these laws only forbade the magistrate to inflict death or scourging on his own authority. The power to do so, after trial and condemnation, remained with the people; but it was seldom or never exercised, because the right of the accused to anticipate the sentence by voluntary exile was universally recognized, and even according to Sallust secured by law. See Cat. 51 'aliae leges condemnatis civibus non animam eripi sed exilium permitti iubent.'
=at nunquam=, etc. Cf. 4.10; on the validity of this argument see Intr.
Note B.
=invidiam posteritatis=. Subjective genitive, 'hatred of (felt by) posterity.' =fortitudinis=, just below, is objective, 'unpopularity of (attaching to) firmness.'
=per te cognitum=, 'known by your own exertions only'; cf. 1. 11 'per me tibi obstiti.' Cicero was a _novus homo_; i.e. none of his ancestors had held a curule office.
=tam mature=. The age which a citizen must attain before becoming a candidate for the several offices was fixed by the Lex Villia Annalis (180 B.C.). Cicero appears to have been chosen for each magistracy _suo anno_, i.e. as soon as he was legally eligible. He was now 43.
=per omnes honorum gradus=, 'through all the degrees of office.' By the Leges Annales of Sulla, the offices of quaestor, praetor, consul, had to be filled successively in the order named.
§29.
=si summi viri=, etc. See notes on 1. 3, 4.
=parricida=, because he is attacking the 'patria' which is 'omnium nostrum communis parens.' But the word is sometimes used in a more extended sense of wilful murder or sacrilege.
=redundaret=. Metaphor from the overflowing of a stream: 'lest any flood of unpopularity should overwhelm me in the future.' (Cf. the English phrase 'to redound to one's credit.')
§30.
=Quamquam=, etc. The first 'qui' is consecutive ('tales ut'), the second is the connecting relative ('hi autem'), hence followed by indic.
'aluerunt.'
=dissimulent=, sc. 'se videre.'
=sententiis=, 'votes' (in the senate). See on 1. 9.
=regie=, 'tyrannically,' i.e. like a despot, not like the magistrate of a free state. Gk. 'turannikôs'. Cf. 2. 14 'crudelissimum tyrannum.'
=naufragos=, 'castaways.' Cf. 2. 24 'illam naufragorum manum.'
§31.
=nescio quo pacto=, 'somehow.' 'Nescio quis' is treated as a single word, hence _erupit_ not _eruperit_.
=latrocinio=, abstract for concrete; 'band of brigands.'
=aestu febrique=, hendiadys, 'in the burning heat of fever.'
=relevatus= represents the protasis, 'si relevatus erit.'
§32.
=praetoris urbani=. The business of the praetors during their year of office was mainly judicial. They were now eight in number; two presided in the civil court; of these the _praetor urbanus_ tried suits between citizens at a fixed tribunal in the Forum; the _praetor peregrinus_ suits between citizens and foreigners. The remaining six (without distinctive name) acted as judges in criminal cases. Cicero means that Catilina and his friends tried to intimidate the praetor in the discharge of his duties.
=malleolos=. The 'malleolus' was a missile used in sieges. It was filled with tow, which was ignited before it was thrown, and had an arrow affixed. The name seems to be derived from the shape, which resembled a mallet.
=tantam in vobis, etc=., i.e. he would as consul secure the execution of whatever the senate might decree.
§33.
=cum=. Used of the attendant circumstances of an action. In English, 'to the salvation of the state, the destruction of yourself,' etc.
=Iuppiter=. The temple of Iuppiter Stator (the 'Stayer of flight,' the 'Stablisher,') was vowed by Romulus during the fight with the Sabines (Livy 1. 12); it was not, however, built till 294 B.C. (Livy 10. 37).
=auspicia=, augury from the flight of birds, which always preceded any important undertaking. As the auspices were taken by the chief, 'to do a thing under a person's auspices' came to mean 'to act under his leadership and protection.'
ORATION II.
§1.
=Quirites=, the regular title by which citizens were addressed when assembled in their civil capacity. Cf. the opening of the third speech, also addressed to the people. The derivation is uncertain; some suppose the word to be a form of 'Curetes,' i.e. inhabitants of the Sabine town 'Cures,' others derive it from 'Quiris,' a Sabine word meaning 'spear.'
=ferro flammaque=, another reading is 'ferrum flammamque.' We can say either 'minitari alicui aliquid,' or 'minitari alicui aliqua re.'
=vel...vel...vel=. Each 'vel' substitutes a milder form of expression for the preceding. 'We have driven him out,--let him go, if you will,--at least bidden him good speed on his voluntary departure.'
ipsum = 'sua sponte.' verbis prosecuti is of course ironical.
=abiit, etc.= Note the absence of connecting particles (asyndeton) and the increased force of each word rising to a climax in 'erupit.'
=versabitur=, 'will play around.'
=campo=, the Campus Martius.
=cum= (= 'quo tempore'), 'at the very moment when.' The two actions were simultaneous, there is no idea of cause or consequence; hence indicative. See on 1. 7, and cf. below 'cum...eiecimus.'
=hoste= is emphatic. By his action he has declared himself the enemy of the state. After bellum some MSS. insert 'iustum,' 'regular.'
§2.
=extulit=, indicative because the _fact_ that he did not carry away his dagger stained with blood is emphasized; 'extulerit' would have made it an expression of Catilina's feelings, as 'laetari quod evomuerit' below expresses the feelings of the citizens. Cf. also 'quod non comprehenderim' §3 ad init.
=tandem= adds force to the question. Cf. 1. 1 'quousque tandem?' and note there.
=iacet=, 'he lies helpless.' Cf. 2. 25 'quam valde illi iaceant.'
§3.
=in hoc ipso=, 'in this very point,' explained by 'quod non comprehenderim,' 'that I have not (as they complain) arrested.'
=capitalem=, threatening the 'caput' or principle of life; 'deadly.'
=huius imperii severitas=, 'the strict traditions of my (consular) authority.'
=crederent=, consecutive subj., as regularly after 'sunt qui,' where the relative refers not to certain specified individuals, but to a class.
=non modo invidiae=, etc., 'at the risk not merely of unpopularity, but of life.'
§4.
=cum viderem=, etc. 'Re probata' is ablative absolute; not 'approved by you,' but 'proved, demonstrated _to_ you.' 'Since I saw that the facts were even then not fully established to the satisfaction of all of _you_,' (much less to those inclined to sympathize with Catilina; this is the force of 'quidem,') 'and that, if I punished him as he deserved, I should not, under the burden of the unpopularity of that act, be able to attack his associates, I brought the matter to this point,' etc. The direct form of the conditional sentence would have been 'si multavero, non potero'; this becomes in Oratio Obliqua 'cum viderem, si multassem, fore ut non possem' (periphrasis being necessary because 'possum' has no future participle).
=quam vehementer=, ironical. =foris= is emphatic; once outside the city he does not fear him at all, as the context shows.
=exierit=, subjunctive, because the whole sentence stands as the object of 'fero.'
=mihi=, the so-called 'Ethic' dative; 'Tongilius, I see, he has taken with him.' The use of 'me' in the same sense is frequent in Shakespeare, as in the phrases 'Knock me on this door,' 'he steps me to her trencher,' etc., but is becoming obsolete in modern English.
=praetexta= (sc. 'toga'), the purple-edged 'toga' worn by boys up to the age of sixteen, when they assumed the 'toga virilis,' which was plain white.
§5.
=prae=, 'in comparison with.'
=Gallicanis legionibus=, the regular troops stationed in Cisalpine Gaul.
The coast district of Umbria from the Rubicon to the Aesis was known as 'ager Gallicus,' having been originally the home of the Senonian Gauls.
The praetor Q. Metellus had been ordered by the senate to levy troops in this district and Picenum for the defence of the government.
=agresti luxuria=, abstract for concrete. He is thinking particularly of the Sullan colonists. See Introduction p. 9, and §20 below.
=decoctoribus=, 'bankrupts.' _Decoquo_, lit. 'to boil down,' so to squander one's property, become bankrupt. Cf. Cic. Phil. 2. ch. 18 'Tenesne memoria, te praetextatum decoxisse?'
=vadimonia=, 'bail,' i.e. security given for appearance in court when called upon. Hence _vadimonia deserere_, 'to desert one's legal obligations,' 'make default.'
=edictum praetoris=. Every praetor, on entering upon his office, published an _edictum_, stating the rules to which he would adhere in the administration of justice. Hence Cicero says, 'they will collapse when I display to them the edict of the praetor,' i.e. remind them of the penalties to which they will be liable by their non-appearance in court to answer to their bail.
=hos=, strongly opposed to exercitum illum. He is not afraid of the ruined spendthrifts who compose Catilina's army; he _is_ afraid of the conspirators left behind in the city, who have, as it were, deserted that army. (Lentulus, Cethegus, etc. are pointed at.)
=suos milites eduxisset=, 'taken with him _as_ his force.'
=quod quid cogitent=, etc., i.e. because they must have some secret force at their back, which gives them confidence.
§6.
=superioris noctis consilia=, i.e. at the meeting in Laeca's house (1.
8), either the night before last or the last night but two. See Introduction, p. 12 note.
=ne=, 'truly' (like the Greek 'nai', 'nê'), to be distinguished from the conjunction. Used with pronouns only.
=nisi si quis=, 'nisi' is used like an adverb; hence the repetition of 'si.' Cf. Thuc. 1. 17 'ei mê ei ti'.
=ne patiantur=, 'in order that they may not permit.' Not prohibitive, which according to Cicero's usage would require the perfect subjunctive.
=Aurelia via=. This was the coast road, the shortest route to Massilia, whither Catilina pretended to be going.
§7.
=exhausto= keeps up the metaphor of draining away refuse contained in 'sentina.'
=subiector=, 'forger,' from 'subicere' in the sense of 'substitute.'
=nepos=, 'spendthrift,' 'prodigal.' Cf. the bad sense sometimes attaching to 'neanias' in Greek.
§8.
=Iam vero=, frequent in transitions; 'once more,' 'again.' He is passing to a fresh aspect of Catilina's character. Cf. 3. 22 and de Lege Manilia 11, where, after speaking of the military experience of Pompeius, he goes on 'Iam vero virtuti Cn. Pompeii quae potest oratio par inveniri?'
=fructum=, 'enjoyment,' 'satisfaction.'
§9.
=Nemo non modo Romae=, etc. Understand 'non fuit' from the second clause after 'non modo' and see note on 1. 25 for full explanation.
=ut eius diversa studia=, etc., 'to help you to understand other tastes of his in quite a different sphere of life' ('ratio,' lit. 'way,' 'method,' 'plan').
=ludo=, 'school,' where gladiators were trained under a fencing-master (_lanista_).
=in scaena= ([Greek] 'skênê'), 'on the stage.' The profession of an actor was considered degrading (_infamis_) for a Roman citizen, and was generally left to slaves and freedmen.
=levior et nequior=, 'a little more frivolous and worthless' (than his fellows).
=cum=, 'although.'
=instrumenta=, 'the instruments,' i.e. the powers of mind and body by which a virtuous disposition makes itself felt.
§10.
=fortunas=, 'estates,' as distinguished from property in money.
=obligaverunt=, 'mortgaged.'
=res=, 'money,' fides, 'credit.' This has just begun to fail them, because in view of the break-down of their schemes, their creditors will not trust them any longer. See on 'proximis Idibus' 1. 14.
§11.
=propagarit=, 'propago' ('pro' and 'pag-' root of 'pango,' 'to fasten down'), originally a botanical term; 'to generate by slips,' hence generally 'to extend,' 'prolong.' Tr. 'will have prolonged the existence of the state, not merely for a brief period, but for many generations.'
A variation for the more usual construction 'in multa saecula propagarit rempublicam.'
=rex...unius=. Pompeius, invested with the supreme command by the Gabinian and Manilian laws, had just crushed the pirates of Cilicia ('mari'), and brought to a close the third war against Mithridates king of Pontus ('terra'), by the battle of Nicopolis (B.C. 66).
§12.
Having answered those who might think his measures not strong enough (§§3-11) Cicero now (§§12-16) addresses those who might urge that he had acted tyrannically and abused his consular authority by driving Catilina from the city.
=exilium= is emphatic. They pretend that he has been unlawfully forced into exile; whereas really, so far from going into exile, he has voluntarily departed for the camp of his lieutenant Manlius.
=verbo=, 'by a mere word' (as they pretend I did in Catilina's case).
=videlicet= = 'videre licet,' 'it is easy to see,' 'of course.' He is sarcastically quoting the language of his assailants; his own reply begins at 'Hesterno die.'
=quin etiam= adds a still stronger testimony. 'Why, even,' etc.
=vehemens ille consul=, 'your violent consul.'
=necne= is used in indirect disjunctive questions, 'annon' in direct.
§13.
=homo audacissimus=, 'with all his audacity.'
=conscientia=, 'by his guilty knowledge.'
=constituisset=, sc. 'agendum.'
=ei=. See note on dative of the agent, 1. 16.
=ratio=, 'plan.'
=quo iam pridem pararet=, 'whither (I knew) he had long been preparing to go.'
=secures...fasces=, etc. Catilina meant to assume all the insignia of a consul commanding an army in the field.
=fecerat=, indic., because the sentence is a parenthesis added by Cicero here for the information of his hearers. It is not a quotation from his speech to the senate, for this would have required _fecisset_.
§14.
=credo=, strongly ironical.
=suo= is emphatic; 'in his _own_ name'; (Catilina, you ask us to believe, had nothing to do with it.)
=condicionem=, the external circumstances, given conditions under which a thing must be done. Here perhaps 'task' gives the meaning best; but it may also be rendered by 'lot,' 'position,' 'terms,' according to the context. Cf. 'nascendi condicio' 3. 2, 'consulatus condicio' 4. 1 and 3.
27.
=vi et minis=, hendiadys.
=tyrannum=. Cf. 'regie factum' 1. 30.
§15.
=Est mihi tanti=, 'I think it worth while.'
=falsae=, 'misdirected.'
=sane=, 'by all means.'
=non est iturus=, stronger than 'ibit,' 'he has no intention of going.'
=illud= refers to what _follows_ ('ne sit,' etc.). Cf. the use of 'ekeino' in Greek.
§16.
=Quamquam=, etc. 'And yet those, who keep saying that Catilina is going to Massilia, do not really regret, so much as fear it. No one of them is tender hearted enough to wish him to go thither rather than to Manlius.'
If their motive were really (as they pretend) disinterested pity for Catilina, they would be glad to hear he had gone to Massilia, because that is his only chance of escaping destruction. The truth is that they are secret partisans of his schemes, and are afraid he may be going to abandon them by voluntary exile.
§17.
=sanare sibi ipsos=, 'to restore them to themselves,' i.e. to their right minds.
§18.
=possessiones=, of landed property exclusively ('estates'); =maiores=, i.e. more than enough to pay their debts, if they were sold.
=dissolvi=, in a kind of middle sense, 'free themselves'; 'solvo' is the technical word for payment of debts. Cf. the English 'liquidate.'
=species=, 'outward appearance.'
=voluntas et causa=, 'intentions and position.'
=tu...sis=, etc., dubitative subjunctive, implying incredulous astonishment. 'Can you be?' 'is it possible that you are?' It is the ordinary potential subj., ('velim,' 'I could wish,' etc.) thrown into an interrogative form. Cf. Cic. ad Q. F. 1. 3 'Ego tibi irascerer, mi frater?' 'I, angry with you, my brother?' and pro Sulla 44 'Tu tantam rem ementiare?' 'You to utter such a falsehood?' Also Virg. Aen. 12. 947 'Tunc hinc spoliis indute meorum | Eripiare mihi?' Translate here, 'You to be luxuriously and abundantly supplied with estates and houses, silver plate and slaves, everything in short that you can wish for, and yet to hesitate, by sacrificing a part of your estate, to gain in respect of credit?' For ad, 'with respect to,' cf. 1. 12 'ad severitatem lenius.' He wishes them to sell some of their land and pay their debts with the proceeds; this, though apparently a sacrifice, would really be a gain, because by restoring their solvency it would improve their credit.
=tabulas novas=, lit. 'clean tablets,' 'new account books'; a phrase implying a general cancelling of all debts, which Catilina promised.
=meo beneficio=, etc., 'thanks to me, there shall be an issue of new tablets, but (they shall be) those of the auctioneers.' He means that he would propose a law, compelling those debtors who had land to sell it by auction, and pay with the proceeds. The necessary catalogues of sale ('auctionariae tabulae') would be 'novae tabulae' in a double sense, (1) because such a law would be a novelty; (2) because it would lead to freedom from debt, only by legal methods, instead of arbitrary repudiation of the creditor's claims.
=salvi=, 'solvent.'
=certare cum usuris=, etc., 'instead of matching the produce of their estates against the interest' (on their loans). They had borrowed largely, and tried to pay the interest on the loans with the income derived from their land. It was a contest ('certare') between the two, in which the interest to be paid tended constantly to outstrip their income.
=uteremur=, 'we should find them.' Cf. Gk. 'chrômai' in the same sense.
§19.
=dominationem=, 'tyranny,' 'despotism,' used always (like 'dominus') of the rule of a single person.
=honores=, 'offices.'
=scilicet=, 'that is to say.'
=in bonis viris=, see note on 'bonorum' 1. 1.
=maximam multitudinem=, if genuine, must mean 'that their number is very great,' but the words are probably an interpolation; 'in maxima multitudine' (to be connected with 'magnam concordiam') has been conjectured.
=si sint adepti=, a very remote contingency, 'supposing they were to obtain.'
=fugitivo alicui=, etc., i.e. in the event of success the real power would be seized by the most worthless of their own party.
§20.
=Sunt homines=, etc. Sulla during his dictatorship (82-80 B.C.) rewarded his victorious soldiers to the number of 120,000, by distributing them in military colonies throughout Italy, assigning an allotment of land to each. Faesulae was one of these colonies.
=universas=, 'taken as a whole.' Cicero is careful to speak with respect of Sulla, because he had been the great champion of the aristocratic party, which was now supporting the orator against Catilina. But further on he alludes to the horror which the recollection of the proscriptions still inspired.
=sed tamen ii sunt coloni=, etc. Note that 'qui...iactarunt' is not consecutive. Hence tr. 'Nevertheless the men in question are colonists who,' etc. For 'ii' which seems awkward, 'in iis' has been conjectured.
=beati=, here, as often, of material prosperity, 'well-to-do.'
=familiis=, 'establishments,' (of slaves and dependents).
=illorum temporum=, i.e. the reign of terror under Marius and Cinna (87, 86 B.C.), during which many of the aristocratic leaders perished; and the period of Sulla's dictatorship, with its wholesale proscriptions of the popular party.
=tantus= is adverbial; 'to such an extent.' Cf. 1. 16 'quae tibi _nulla_ videtur.'
=non modo homines=, etc. Understand 'non passuri esse videantur' after 'non modo,' and see note on 1. 25 for explanation.
§21.
=iam pridem premuntur=, 'have long been overwhelmed.'
=emergunt=, 'get their heads above water.' Cf. Juvenal 3. 164 'Haud facile emergunt, quorum virtutibus obstat Res angusta domi.'
=vadimoniis=, etc, alludes to the three stages of legal proceedings against a debtor. _Vadimonium_, security given for appearance in court; _iudicium_, the trial and legal decision; _proscriptio bonorum_, the confiscation of the property for the benefit of the creditors.
=infitiator= is one who denies his legal obligations; 'lentos' is added to point the antithesis to 'acres'; 'not so much keen soldiers as shirking defaulters.'
=non modo=, sc. 'non sentiat.'
§22.
=carcer=. The 'Tullianum' under the Capitol was the only public prison in Rome.
=postremum=, 'the last,' i.e. 'the lowest,' both in point of number and morality.
=proprium=, 'Catilina's particular favourites; his special choice,--let me say rather his most cherished and bosom friends.'
=imberbes=, 'beardless,' i.e. effeminate.
=bene barbatos=, the wearing of a beard was contrary to the Roman custom at this time and held to be a mark of dissoluteness.
=quorum omnis=, etc., 'who spend all their life's energy and sacrifice their rest in banquets lasting until daybreak,' =antelucanis=, lit.
before dawn, i.e. prolonged till dawn.
§24.
=cohortem praetoriam=, the troop employed as the general's body guard; first organized by the younger Scipio during the siege of Numantia (133 B.C.) (Cf. _Praetorium_ = the headquarters in the camp.) Out of this grew the Praetorian Guard of the Emperors, which played such an important part in the history of imperial Rome.
=nunc=, ironical, 'now' (if you think it worth while).
=eiectam=, 'castaway,' keeping up the metaphor contained in 'naufragorum.'
=Iam vero=, 'Why, already,' etc.
=urbes coloniarum ac municipiorum=. Originally _colonia_ meant a colony whose citizens enjoyed the full Roman franchise; _municipium_ a town possessed of 'Latin rights' only. But since 89 B.C., when the franchise had been extended to all Italians, the distinction had ceased to exist.
=respondebunt=, 'will be a match for.' Catilina's rustic strongholds ('tumuli silvestres') are contemptuously contrasted with the fortified towns ('urbes') which were in the hands of the government.
§25.
=urbe=, i.e. the capital.
=eget ille= is opposed to nos suppeditamur, the contrast being emphasized by the omission of the connecting particle and the arrangement of the words (Chiasmus).
=causas ipsas quae=, etc., 'simply the causes which are arrayed against one another.'
=velimus=, subj. because in the apodosis 'intelligere possumus' is equivalent to the potential subjunctive 'intelligamus.' Cf. 1. 2 'satisfacere videmur, si vitemus,' and note.
=denique aequitas=, etc., sums up the preceding; the four cardinal virtues (justice, temperance, bravery, wisdom) are set against the corresponding vices. The antithesis must be carefully kept in translation.
=bona ratio cum perdita=, 'upright against corrupt principles.'
§26.
=mihi=, dative of agent. See on 1. 16.
=gladiatores=. There were in Italy a number of schools (_ludi_) where gladiators were trained. Catilina had hoped to avail himself of these, but by decree of the senate (October 21) they had been placed under special guard. See Introduction, page 11.
§27.
=adeo= adds an emphasis, 'who indeed.'
=monitos=, sc. 'esse.' For the acc. and infin. construction after 'volo' cf. 1. 4 'cupio me esse clementem.'
=qui commoverit= is subject to =sentiet=.
=cuius= = 'si illius.'
=carcerem=, as a place of execution ('vindicem') not of detention, for imprisonment was not employed as a punishment in the case of citizens.
§28.
=togato duce et imperatore=. The toga was the civil dress of the magistrate in the city, opposed to the military cloak (_paludamentum_) worn by the general in the field. Tr. 'with me, a civil magistrate, as your leader and general.' Cicero especially prided himself on the fact that he defeated Catilina in his civil capacity as consul, without the aid of an army. Cf. 3. 15, 23, and the words of his own poem on the subject, 'Cedant arma togae.'
=illud=, explained by ut neque, etc. Cf. 2. 15.
ORATION III.
§2.
=quod salutis, etc.=, 'because the pleasure of safety is assured, while our lot at birth is doubtful; because again we are not conscious of our birth, while we can feel the delight of preservation.' =nascendi condicio= = the external circumstances, surroundings to which we are born. See on 2. 14.
=benevolentia famaque=, hendiadys, 'with affectionate praise.'
=templum= is the consecrated ground ([Greek] 'temenos'); =delubrum= the actual shrine ([Greek 'naos').
§3.
=ut= = 'ex quo tempore,' 'ever since.' Cf. Cic. ad Att. 1. 13. 2 'ut Brundisio profectus es, nullae mihi abs te sunt redditae litterae,' and Hor. Od. 4. 4. 42.
=paucis ante diebus=. Really, it was nearly a month ago (Nov. 8-Dec. 3).
=cum...eiciebam=, indic. because 'cum' = 'quo tempore,' 'at the time when.' Cf. 2. 1 and 1. 7, note.
=exterminari=, 'banished' (ex, terminus). The sense 'exterminated' is not found in classical Latin.
§4.
=fidem faceret=, 'would command confidence.'
=tumultus=, used exclusively of disturbances in Italy and Gaul. Cf. Cic.
Phil. 8. ch. 1 'itaque maiores nostri tumultum Italicum, quod erat domesticus, tumultum Gallicum, quod erat Italiae finitimus, praeterea nullum nominabant,' and the whole passage. On the Allobroges, see =ad Catilinam=, 'addressed to Catilina.'
§5.
=qui omnia=, etc., 'like men whose political sentiments were entirely sound and excellent.' sentirent is subj. because qui is causal.
=pontem Mulvium=, on the Via Flaminia, two miles N. of Rome; now called Ponte Molle.
=praefectura= was the name given to a provincial town governed by a magistrate sent annually from Rome, whereas the _municipia_ elected their own magistrates.
=Reate= was a Sabine town, of which Cicero was _patronus_.
=in reipublicae praesidio=, v.l. 'in republica,' 'praesidio' being then connected with 'miseram' as dat. of complement.
§6.
=tertia=, etc., i.e. between three and four a. m. The time between sunset and sunrise was divided into four _vigiliae_.
=integris signis=. See on §10 below.
=ipsi=, i.e. = Volturcius and the Gauls.