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rum corpus habere; tanta saevitia foeneratorum atque praetoris fuit. Saepe majores vestrum, miseriti plebis Romanae, decretis suis inopiae opitulati sunt: ac novissume, memoria nostra, propter magnitudinem aeris alieni, volentibus omnibus bonis, Zargentum aere solutum est. Saepe ipsa plebes, aut dominandi studio permota, aut superbia magistratuum, armata a patribus secessit. At nos non imperium neque divitias petimus, quarum rerum caussa bella atque certamina omnia inter mortalis sunt; sed libertatem, quam nemo bonus, nisi cum anima simul, amittit. Te atque senatum obtestamur, consulatis miseris civibus; legis praesidium, quod iniquitas praetoris eripuit, restituatis; neve eam necessitudinem imponatis, ut quaeramus, quonam modo ulti maxume sanguinem nostrum pereamus."

XXXIV. Ad haec Q. Marcius: " Si quid ab senatu petere vellent, dab armis discedant, Romam supplices proficiscantur: ea mansuetudine atque misericordia senatum populumque Romanum semper fuisse, ut nemo umquam ab eo frustra auxilium petiverit." At Catilina ex itinere plerisque consularibus, praeterea foptumo cuique, litteras mittit: " se falsis criminibus circumventum, quoniam factioni inimicorum resistere nequiverit, fortunae cedere, Massiliam in exilium proficisci; non "quo sibi tanti sceleris conscius; sed uti respublica 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.

z Argentum ære solutum. Some have supposed that are here is put for ex ærario, and have understood the meaning to be that the debts of individuals were paid out of the public treasury. This conjecture is not only unsupported by proof, but is in itself absurd. The more probable meaning is, that creditors were obliged by law to compound with their debtors; and to receive an as, which was of brass, for a sesterce, which was of silver. A law of this kind, passed under the consulship of Valerius Flaccus, authorized debtors to discharge their debts by the payment of one-fourth of their value. If, as some assert, there were silver sesterces coined of the value of five asses, and if an as was paid instead of a sesterce, the creditor received but one-fifth of his debt. Reckoning two and a half asses to a sesterce, the creditor in this way received two-fifths of his debt.

a Bonus. Nemo bonus, no man of spirit, bonus being here used for fortis.

b Consulatis. Ut is understood after licet, oportet, necesse est, dico, volo, facio, sino, caveo, and verbs of asking and commanding.

• Marcius. Respondit is elegantly understood.

d Ab armis discedan

Should lay down their arms.

XXXV. " L. CATILINA Q. Catulo S. Egregia tua fides, re cognita, gratam in magnis periculis fiduciam commendationi meae tribuit. Quamobrem defensionem in novo consilio non statui parare; satisfactionem ex nulla conscientia de culpa proponere decrevi, quam, 'me dius fidius, veram licet cognoscas. Injuriis contumeliisque concitatus, quod, fructu laboris industriaeque meae privatus, mstatum

e Consularibus. Men of consular dignity; i. e. who had held. the consulship.

f Optumo cuique. I take these words in their connection to mean all the most influential men.

g Massiliam. A famous city of Gallia Narbonensis, now called Marseilles, founded by a colony of Phocians according to Justin.

h Quo. In the ablative case, and by virtue of the signification which that case bears, may be taken for quia or quod. It is so used by Cicero, book vi. epist. 3.

i S. A contraction for salutem dicit, the complimentary salutation among the Romans; equivalent to-presents his respects.

* Quam veram. Referring to conscientia. Some editions have quæ vera.

1 Me dius fidius. A corruption of speech for ma dios filium; the ancients having often changed / into d: or it is an elliptical expression for me dios filius juvet. In both cases it is a species. of oath by Hercules the son of Jupiter. The Roman men swore by Hercules, the women by Castor, and both by Pollux, m Statum dignitatis, &c. I did not obtain a rank or station

dignitatis non obtinebam, publicam miserorum caussam pro mea consuetudine suscepi: non quin aes alienum meis "nominibus ex possessionibus solvere possem, cum alienis nominibus liberalitas Orestillae, suis filiaeque copiis, persolveret: sed quod non dignos homines honore honestatos videbam, meque falsa suspicione alienatum sentiebam. Hoc nomine satis honestas, pro meo casu, spes reliquae dignitatis conservandae sum secutus. Plura cum scribere vellem, nunciatum est, vim mihi parari. Nunc Orestillam commendo, tuaeque fidei trado: eam ab injuria defendas, per liberos tuos rogatus. Haveto."

XXXVI. SED ipse, paucos dies commoratus apud C. Flaminium Flammam in agro 'Arretino, dum vicinitatem, antea sollicitatam, armis exornat, cum fascibus atque aliis imperii insignibus in castra ad Manlium contendit. Haec ubi Romae comperta; senatus" Catilinam et Manlium hostes judicat; ceterae multitudini diem statuit, ante quam sine fraude liceret ab armis discedere, praeter rerum capitalium condemnatis." Praeterea decernit, " uti consules "dilectum habeant; Antonius cum: exercitu Catilinam persequi maturet; Cicero urbi praesidio sit." Ea tempestate mihi imperium populi Romani multo maxume miserabile visum: cui cum, ad occasum ab ortu solis, omnia domita armis *paterent, domi otium atque divitiae, quae prima mortales putant, adfluerent; fuere tamen cives, qui seque remque publicam obstinatis animis perditum irent. Namque, duobis senati decretis, ex tanta multitudine, neque praemio inductus conjurationem patefecerat, neque ex castris Catilinae quisquam omnium discesserat: tanta vis morbi, uti tabes, plerosque civium animos invaserat.

suitable to my dignity. He had been prætor, and conceived himself entitled to the consulship.

n Meis nominibus alienis nominibus. Contracted in my own name, and under my own signature, or in the name of others; i. e. debts contracted by others on my account, or for which others have become securities. Otherwise: debts con tracted for my own behoof, or for the benefit of others. The former meaning accords best with the account before given in the history.

• Honore honestatos. Raised to honour, graced with honours. P Falsa suspicione alienatum. Alienated, rejected, disgraced, or rather treated as a stranger, in consequence of unjust suspicion.

Pro meo casu. Considering my circumstances. r Rogatus. The past participle, elegantly used for the present of the indicative, rogo te.

s Haveto. An archaism for aveto.

t Arretino Aretium, now Arezzo, was a city of Tuscany. Some editions have Reatino. Reate, now Rieti, was a town, of Umbria, belonging to the Sabines.

XXXVII. NEQUE solum illis aliena mens erat, qui conscii conjurationis; sed omnino cuncta plebes, novarum rerum studio, Catilinae incepta probabat. Id adeo more suo videbatur facere. Nam semper in civitate, quîs opes nullae sunt, bonis invident, malos extollunt; vetera odere, nova exoptant; odio suarum rerum mutari omnia student; turba atque seditionibus sine cura aluntur, quoniam egestas facile habetur sine damno. Sed urbana plebes, ea vero praeceps ierat multis de caussis. Primum omnium, qui ubique probro atque petulantia maxume praestabant; item alii per dedecora patrimoniis amissis; postremo omnes quos flagitium aut facinus domo expulerat; ii Romam, sicuti in sentinam, confluxerant. Deinde, multi memores Sullanae victoriae, quod, ex 'gregariis militibus, alios senatores videbant, alios ita divites, uti dregio victu atque cultu aetatem agerent, sibi quisque, si in armis forent, ex victoria talia sperabant. Prae terea, juventus, quae in agris, manuum mercede, inopiam toleraverat, privatis atque publicis largitionibus excita, urbanum otium ingrato labori praetulerant. Eos atque alios omnis malum publicum alebat. Quo minus mirandum, homines egentis, malis moribus, maxuma spe, reipublicae juxta ac sibi consuluisse. Praeterea, quorum, victoria Sullae, parentes proscripti, bona erepta, fjus libertatis imminutum erat, haud sane alio animo belli eventum exspectabant. Ad hoc, quicumque aliarum &atque senati partium erant, conturbari rempublicam,

u Sine fraude. With impunity, without danger: though sometimes it signifies without fraud, sincerely.

v Præter. A preposition here used adverbially for preter

quam.

w Dilectum. An archaism for delectum. To hold a levy, i. e. to select from the assembled youth proper persons within the military age to serve as soldiers.

* Paterent. Some editions have parerent, which may perhaps appear preferable.

y Prima The most important. z Adeo. Indeed.

a Bonis invident. Bonis, from its reference to opes, evidently signifies in this place, the wealthy, the better sort, as they are sometimes called. Thus we attach the same idea frequently in our language to good company. Among mercantile people in our day, a good man signifies, a man of property, one who may be safely trusted. Malos will of course in this place signify the poor, the lower class.

b Per dedecora. Turpiter, flagitiose basely, disgracefully. Sallust, in imitation of the Greeks, frequently uses substantives governed by prepositions in lieu of adverbs, or rather to express the meaning of adverbs.

• Gregariis, &c. Common soldiers.

d Regio victu, &c. Lived like princes: kept tables, and supported an equipage equal to those of kings.

e Reipublicæ juxta. Juxta is here taken adverbially. They showed no more regard to the public interest than to their own. Consulo te, I consult you, I ask your advice; consulo tibi, I provide for you, I give you advice.

f Jus libertatis imminutum. Had been deprived of the privileges of freemen: for Sylla had declared the children of the proscribed incapable of standing candidates for public offices. & Atque. Atque and ac after alius, secus, aliter, alter, are used for quam; after juxta, æque, they serve for ut, as.

E

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