cipes nobiles, quos magis dominationis fpes hortabatur, quàm inopia, aut alia neceffitudo. Ceterùm juventus pleraque, fed maxumè nobilium, Catilinæ inceptis favebat. quibus in otio vel magnificè, vel molliter vivere copia erat, incerta pro certis, bellum, quàm pacem, malebant. Fuere item eâ tempeftate, qui crederent M. Licinium Craffum non ignarum ejus confilii fuiffe; quia Cn. Pompeius invifus ipfi magnum exercitum ductabat, cujufvis opes voluiffe contra illius potentiam crefcere: fimul confifum, fi conjuratio valuiffet, facilè apud illos principem fe fore.

XVIII. Sed antea item conjuravere pauci contra rempublicam, in quibus Catilina, de qua quàm veriffumè potero dicam. L. Tullo, M. Lepido Confulibus, P. Autronius et P. Sulla, defignati Confules, legibus ambitiûs inter

vertly affociates in this plot, whom the hopes of power prompted more than want, or any o ther neceffity. Moreover, moft of the youth, but especially thofe of quality, favoured Catiline's enterprife. they who had it in their power to live in quiet, either fplendidly or delicately, preferred uncertainties to certainties, war to peace. There were too, at that time, who believed that M. Licinius Craffus was not ignorant of the design; becaufe Cn. Pompey, a man odious to him, had the command of a great army, and he would have been pleafed that any one's intereft fhould be increased in oppofition to his power: withal trufting, if the conspiracy fucceeded, that he might easily be chief among ft them.

XVIII. But likewife before this, a few had entered into a confpiracy against the ftate, among whom Catiline of which Ifhall give an account with as much truth as I can. When L. Tullus, and M. Lepidus were Confuls, P. Autronius and P. Sulla, Confuls elect, being tried, rogati

XVIII. 1. De qua] sciz. corjuratione, referring to the verb conju

ravere.

2. Defignati Confules] The Confuls were chofen about the end of July or beginning of Auguft, but did not enter on their office till the first of January following: during which time they were called Confules defignati, and in point of honour had the precedence of all the fenators. N. B. These words have been omitted in Cortius's edition through inadvertency, as appears from his notes; and therefore I have restored them.

3. Legibus ambitus] Ambire is to go about and carefs the people for their votes; and crimen ambitûs was when any one made ufe of bribes,

or

rogati pœnas dederant. by the laws against bribery in fuing for offices, had undergone the penalties. A little after this Catiline, being accused of extortion in the provinces, was not allowed to and candidate for the confulate; because he could not enter his name within the days prefcribed by law. There was at the fame time one Cn. Pifo, a young nobleman, of great boldness, needy, and factious, whom poverty, and vitious morals, excited to disturb the government. With him Catiline and Autronius entering into a cabal, came to a refolution to affainate in the Capitol, upon the first of January, L. Cotta and L. Torquatus the Confuls; and they, feizing the fafces, were to fend Pifo with an army to take poffeffion of the two Spains. The matter being dif covered, they again put off the affaffination plot till the nones of February. At which time they intended a violent death, not only for the Confuls, but for moft of the Senators. And if Catiline had not been over hafty to give

Polt paullò Catilina, pecuniarum repetundarum reus, prohibitus erat confulatum petere; quòd in tra legitimos dies profiteri nequiverit. Erat eodem tempore Cn. Pifo, adolefcens nobilis, fummæ audaciæ, egens, factiofus, quem ad perturbandam rempublicam inopia atque mali mores ftimulabant. Cum hoc Catilina et Autronius, confilio communicato, parabant in Capitolio Kalendis Januariis L. Cottam et L. Torquatum Confules interficere; ipfi, fafcibus correptis,Pifonem cum exercitu ad obtinendas duas Hifpanias mittere. Ea re cognitâ, rurfus in Nonas Februarias confilium cædis tranftulerant. Jam tum non Confulibus modò, fed plerifque Senatoribus perniciem machinabantur. Quòd nî Catilina maturâffet pro curia fignum fociis dare; co die,

or other bafe and corrupt methods for this end; against which many fevere laws were made, called leges ambitús, or leges de ambitu.

4. Pecuniarum repetundarum] Extortion or oppreffion committed in the provinces by the provincial magistrates, was called crimen pecuniarum repetundarum; as being a cafe wherein repetition and reftis tution was allowed by the fenate to the people or party fo injured.

5. Intra legitimos dies] Thirty days before the day of election. 6. In Capitelio Kalendis] This being the day the Confuls entered upon their office, they went, attended by their friends, in proceffion to the Capitol, to perform their devotion to the gods, and implore their favour.

7. Duas Hifpanias] The Citerier and Ulterior; or Terraconenfis and

Batica.

poft conditam urbem Romanam, peffumum facinus patratum foret. Quia nondum frequentes armati convenerant ; ea res confilium diremit.

the fignal to the accomplices before the fenate house; that day an outrage had been committed the most execrable that ever happened fince the building of the city Rome. But because

no great number of the confpirators had yet got together; that circumftance broke their measures.

XIX. Poftea Pifo in citeriorem Hifpaniam Quæ ftor pro Prætore miffus eft, adnitente Craffo; quòd eum infeftum inimicum Cn. Pompeio cognoverat. Neque tamen fenatus provinciam invitus dederat: quippe fœdum hominem à republica procul effe volebat: fimul, quia boni quamplures præfidium in eo putabant: et jam tum potentia Cn. Pompeii formidolofa erat. Sed is Pifo, in provinciam ab e

XX. Afterwards Pifo was fent Quæftor with the authority of Prætor into hither Spain, Craffus making intereft for him; because he knew him to be an. implacable enemy to Cn. Pompey. Nor yet did the fenate unwillingly beftow the province: because they inclined fucha scandalous fellow should be at a diftance from the feat of govern ment: also because a great many worthy men placed a fecurity in him: for even, by this time, the power of Cn. Pompey was formidable. But this Pifo, as quitibus

XIX. I. Queftor] The Quæftor was a kind of Lord Treasurer, who attended the army, had the charge of the public money, and of the plunder that was not given to the foldiers. This was the firft and loweft office in the commonwealth; perfons were admitted to it about the age of twenty-five years.

2. Pro Pratore] The Prætors at Rome were fuperintendents of the courts of juftice: of whom there were two; the one applied himself wholly to the distribution of justice among the citizens, and had the name of Prator urbanus; the other appointed judges in all matters relating to foreigners, and was called Prator peregrinus. The provincial Prætors (and most of the provinces, except the two allotted for the Confuls, were governed by Prators) were not only fupreme judges in all matters within their own provinces, but had, when occafion required, the command of armies; and were in all refpects invefted with the fame authority in their own provinces and armies as the Confuls were in theirs. A perfon fent to officiate in lieu of the Conful or Prator, was called Proconful or Proprætor; or writing separately, he was faid to be miffus pro Confule or pro Pretore.

3. In provinciam] must be explained here intra provinciam, or in provincia; for we are affured from other authors, that Pifo was killed

quitibus Hifpanis, quos in exercitu ductabat, iter faciens, occifus eft. Sunt, qui ita dicunt, imperia ejus injufta, fuperba, crudelia, barbaros nequiviffe pati: alii autem, equites illos, Cn. Pompeii veteres fidofque clientes, voluntate ejus Pifonem adgreffos: numquam Hifpanos præterea tale facinus feciffe, fed imperia fæva multa antea perpeffos. Nos eam rem in medio relinquemus. De fuperiori conjuratione fatis dictum.

XX. Catilina ubi eos, quos paullò antè memoravi, conveniffe videt: tametfi cum fingulis multa fæpe egerat; tamen in rem fore credens univerfos adpellare et cohortari, in abditam partem ædium fece

he was upon a journey, was af-
faffinated in the province by the
Spanish horse, whom he had in
his army.
There are who fay,
that the barbarians could not
endure his unreafonable, haugh-
ty, cruel orders: but others fay
these horse, being old and trufty
clients of Cn. Pompey, did at-
tack Pifo at his defire: that the
Spaniards had never committed
fuch a fact in time past, but
born with many fevere orders
before now. We shall leave the
matter undetermined. There is
enough faid of the firft confpi-

racy.

XX Catiline, when he fees those affembled, whom I mention ed a little before; though he had often dealt much with each of them feparately; yet believing it would be for his intereft to beSpeak and encourage all of them together, retires into a private

in Spain, and not upon the road thither. This appears too from Sal luft himself, cap. xxi. where Catiline tells the confpirators, effe in HiSpania Pifonem; which he could not have said, had he been murdered by the way. Nor need the conftruction surprise us; for not only Salluft, but several other authors, efpecially the ancients, make frequently the prepofition in govern the accufative or ablative promiscuously, without regard to grammatical motion and reft. Cap. xi. Exercitum, quem in Aliam duftaverat. Jug. cap. cxii. Cum talem virum in poteftatem haberet. Plaut. Caf. act. ii. sc. iii. ver. 26. Ubi in lustra jacuifti. Terent. Eunuch, act. ii. fc. ii. ver. 29. In tantum honorem effe. Quinctil. VI. cap. ii. p. 523. Neque enim funt motus in noftram poteftatem.

4. Cn. Pompeii veteres filofque clientes] This is a pure hexameter. It is not probable that Salluft calls thefe Spaniards here clientes Pompeii in the common fenfe of the word, becaufe Pompey was their pa tron. The meaning rather is, that Pompey had attached them to his intereft by special favours. And fuch Cæfar, 1. Civ. cap. lxxv. calls beneficiarii. See cap. xxxi. note 6.

5. In medio relinquemus] Nec affirmabimus, nec negabimus, ita ut fuum cuique liberum fit judicium.

Ca

dit.:

dit: atque ibi, omnibus arbitris procul amotis, orationem hujufcemodi habuit.

"Ni virtus fidefque veftra fpectata mihi forent, nequidquam opportuna res cecidiffet; fpes magna,dominatio in manibus fruftra fuiffent: neque ego per ignaviam, aut vana ingenia, incerta pro certis captarem. Sed quia multis et magnis tempeftatibus vos cognovi fortes fidofque mihi: eò animus aufus maxumum atque pulcherrumum facinus incipere: fimul quia vobis, eadem mihi, bona malaque intellexi. nam idem velle atque nolle, ea demum firma amicitia eft. Sed ego quæ mente agitavi, omnes jam antea diverfi audiftis. Ceterùm mihi in dies magis animus accenditur, cùm confidero, quæ conditio vitæ futura fit, nifi nofmet ipfi vindicamus in libertatem. Nam poft quam refpublica in paucorum jus atque ditionem conceffit; femper illis reges, tetrarchæ vectigales effe: populi, nationes ftipendia pendere: ceteri omnes, ftrenui, boni, no

part of the houfe: and there, all witnesses being removed at a diftance, he made a speech to this purpofe.

Unless your courage and fidelity were known to me, this lucky opportunity had fallen out in vain: vaft hopes and dominion had been in our hands to no purpose: nor would I grasp at uncertainties in place of things certain, by the help of men of unactive and fickle tempers. But because I have found you valiant and faithful to me upon many and important occafions: therefore my mind has dared to fet on foot a very great and very glorious enterprife: and also, because I understood that the things that were good and bad for you, were the fame to me. for to like and diflike the fame thing, that above all is false friendship. But all of you before now have heard feparately, what I have projected in my mind. Moreover my refolution is more animated from day to day, when I confider, what our state of life will be, unless we reftore ourselves to liberty. For fince the government came under the power and management of a few kings, tetrarchs are tributary to them fates and nations pay them taxes: all the rest of us, brave men, worthy men, nobles

XX. 1. Populi, nationes] Natio denotes a whole country or province; populus, a city or fate regulated by the fame laws; fo that natio is a word of a more extensive fignification, and may include feve ral populi, as natio Teutonem comprehends the populi called Alemanni, Bavari, et Saxones.