que facere quidquam penfi or did. He had an old amorous habebat. Erat ei cum intrigue with one Fulvia, a Fulvia, muliere nobili, ftu- lady of quality; to whom when pri vetus confuetudo; cui he was less acceptable, because cùm minùs gratus effet, by reafon of his poverty he was quia inopiâ minus largiri lefs able to make her prefents, all poterat, repentè glorians on a fudden boafting he begun to maria montefque polliceri promife feas and mountains; coepit; minari interdum fometimes threatened her swith ferro, nifi obnoxia foret: his fword, unless she would be poftremò ferociùs agitare, obfequious: in fhort he behaved quàm folitus erat. At Ful- more huffily than he had been via, infolentiæ Curii cauf- wont to do. But Fulvia, bafâ cognitâ, tale periculum ving difcovered the ground of reipublicæ haud occultum Curius's unufual carriage,made habuit; fed, fublato au- no fecret of fuch a danger to the &tore, de Catilinæ conju- tate; but, concealing her auratione quæ quoque modo thor, told to feveral, what, and audierat compluribus nar- what way, fhe had heard of ravit. Ea res in primis Catiline's confpiracy. That dif ftudia hominum accendit covery in the firft place kindled ad confulatum mandan- a zeal among the people for condum M. Tullio Ciceroni. ferring the confulate on M. TulNamque antea pleraque lius Cicero. For before this most nobilitas invidiâ æftuabat, et quafi pollui confulatum credebant, fi eum, quamvis egregius, homo novus adeptus foret. Sed ubi periculum advenit, invidia atque fuperbia poft fuere. XXIV. Igitur comitiis XXIV. Accordingly the courts habitis, Confules declaran- of election being held, M. Tul tur M. Tullius et C. An- lius and C. Antonius were detonius. quod factum pri- clared Confuls. which procedure mò popularis conjurationis first gave a shock to the accom

of the nobility were frying for fpite, and thought the confular dignity in a fort fullied, if an upstart, though an extraordina ry perfon, should obtain it. But when danger approached, envy and pride were dropt.

3. Maria montefque polliceri] a proverbial expreffion, denoting whatever is grand and in great abundance.

4 Pleraque nobilitas] See Jug. cap. liv. note 4.

5. Homo novus] Cujus parentes atque majores non fuere honoribus in republica cogniti. A man who was the first in his family, that had bore fome curule office; that is, had been Curule Adile, Cenfor, Prætor, er Conful. See Curule, cap. xlvii. note 6.

concufferat.

concufferat. Neque tamen Catilinæ furor minuebatur; fed in dies plura agitare; arma per Italiam locis opportunis parare; pecuniam fuâ, aut amicorum fide fumtam mutuam, Fæfulas ad Manlium quemdam portare, qui poftea princeps fuit belli faciundi. Ea tempeftate plurimos cujufque generis homines adfciviffe dicitur; mulieres etiam aliquot, quæ primò ingentis fumtus ftupro corporis toleraverant: pòft u bi ætas tantummodo quæftui, neque luxuriæ modum fecerat, æs alienum grande conflaverant. per eas fe Catilina credebat poffe fervitia úrbana follicitare, urbem incendere, viros earum vel adjungere fibi, vel interficere.

XXV. Sed in his erat Sempronia, quæ multa fæpe virilis audaciæ facinora commiferat. Hæc mulier genere atque formâ, præterea viro, liberis, fatis fortunata: litteris Græcis atque Latinis docta: pfallere, faltare elegantiùs, quam neceffe eft probe:

plices of the confpiracy. Never
thelefs Catiline's fury was not a-
bated; but every day he was
hatching more contrivances; he
provided arms in convenient pla-
ces all over Italy; conveyed bor-
rowed money, taken up on his
own or his friends credit, to Faż
fula, to one Manlius, who af-
terwards was the first that be-
gan the war.
At this time he
is faid to have drawn in a great
many men of every rank; also
fome women, who formerly had
fupported a vaft extravagance
by the prostitution of their body:
afterwards, when age had put
an end to their gain, and to it
only, not to their luxury, they
had contracted huge debts. by
their means Catiline expected to
draw over the city-flaves, to
fire the town, and either en-
gage their husbands to himself,
or murder them.

XXV. Now amongst thefe was Sempronia, who had often done many exploits of a manly hardiness. This woman was abundantly happy in her paren tage and perfon, alfo in a bufband and children: fhe was a fkilled mistress in the learning of Greece and Italy: could play on musical instruments, and dance

XXIV. 1. Amicorum file] His friends became furety for him. Sureties on fuch occafions were interrogated by the lender in a fet form of words, to this purpose, Centum à me Catiline tuâ fide credita effe jubes? Juleo.

2. Fefuls] a town in Etruria.

XXV. 1. Litteris Græcis] Litteræ funt hiftoriæ, fcripta, doctrinæ.

D

multa

multa alia, quæ inftrumenta luxuriæ. Sed ei cariora femper omnia, quàm decus atque pudicitia fuit: pecuniæ an famæ minùs parceret, haud facile decerneres: lubido fic accenfa, ut fæpiùs peteret viros, quàm peteretur. Sed ea fæpe antehac fidem prodiderat, creditum abjuraverat, cadis confcia fuerat, Juxuriâ atque inopiâ præceps abierat. Verùm in genium ejus haud abfurdum; poffe verfus facere, jocum movere, fermone uti vel modesto, vel molli, vel procaci. prorfus, multæ facetiæ multufque lepos inerat.

more nicely than was needful for a virtuous matron: and dexterous at many other things, which minifter to luxury. But every thing was always more precious to her, than honour and chastity : you could not eafily have determined, whether he was less fparing of her money or her reputation: her luft was so furious,that he oftener made advan ces to the men, than she was fought to. But frequently before this she had broke promises, forfworn trufts, had been privy to murder, and by profufion and poverty had been carried headlong into wickedness. But her parts were far from being mean; fhe could make verses, be facetious, ufe difcourfe either modeft, or smutty, or wanton. in fhort, she had a great deal of jocofe humour, and abundance of graceful wit. XXVI. His rebus com- XXVI. Matters being thus paratis, Catilina nihilo minus in proxumum annum confulatum petebat; fperans, fi defignatus foret, facilè fe ex voluntate Antonio ufurum. Neque interea quietus erat, fed o. mnibus modis infidias parabat Ciceroni. Neque illi tamen ad cavendum dolus, aut aftutiæ deerant. Namque à principio confulatus fui, multa pollicendo per Fulviam, effe

prepared,Catiline notwithstanding fet up for the confulate againft the next year; hoping, if he should be chofen,that he would eafily manage Antonius according to his mind. Nor in the mean time was he idle, but all manner of ways laid traps for Cicero. Nor yet was cunning or craft wanting on his part to avoid them. For from the beginning of his confulship he had brought it about, through Fulvia's means, by making large

2. Multa alia] Understand docia, on which pfallere and faltare do alfo, as to their conftruction, depend. See Jug. cap. vi. note 1.

3. Vel molli, vel procaci] Sermo mollis eft voluptuarius et cui infunt occultæ quædam illecebræ, quæ capiunt animum; at procax eft liberier et impudens.

cerat,

eerat, ut Q Curius, de quo paullò antè memoravi, confilia Catilinæ fibe proderet. Ad hoc collegam fuum Antonium pactione provinciæ perpulerat, ne contra rempublicam fentiret. circum fe præfidia amicorum atque clientium occultè habebat Poftquam dies comitiorum venit, et Catilinæ neque petitio, neque infidiæ, quas Confuli bus in campo fecerat, profperè ceffere; conftituit bellum facere, et extrema omnia experiri: quoniam quæ occultè tentaverat, afpera fœdaque evenerant.

XXVII. Igitur C. Manlium Fæfulas atque in eam partem Etruriæ, Septimium quemdam Camertem in agrum Picenum, C. Ju

promifes, that 2. Curius, of whom I made mention a little before, difcovered Catiline's meafures to him. And further, he had prevailed upon his colleague Antonius, by the grant of a province, not to entertain thoughts against the government. about his own perfon he kept privately guards of friends and dependents. After the day of election came, and neither Catiline's fuit for the confulate, nor the plot which he had laid for the Confuls in the field of Mars, fucceeded; he refolved to make war, and try all extremities: fince what he had attempted privately, had happened to be galling and dif graceful to him.

XXVII. Accordingly the dif patched C. Manlius to Fafula, and that part of Etruria next it, one Septimius a Gamertian to the territory of Picene, C. Julius

XXVI. 1. Pactione provincia] The fenate always allotted two provinces for the new Confuls, which they commonly divided by lot be twixt them. The confular provinces this year were Macedonia and Gallia; and as Antonius was fond to have Macedonia, Cicero, to oblige him, and attach him firmly to his intereft, generously gave him his choice, and took Gallia to himself.

2. Quas Confulibus in campo fecerat] As Salluft does not fay Confuli, but Confulibus, it would feem the disappointment Catiline met with at the election had put him upon a defperate refolution of cutting off not only Cicero, but the Confuls-elect; who had carried their point, and were preferred before him. By Campus we are to understand campus Martius, the place where the comitia were commonly held.

XXVII. 1. Camertem] Camers a gentile or patrial noun, derived from Camerinum, a town fituated upon the confines of Umbria and Picenum.

2. In agrum] Ager, commonly rendered territory or district, was a kind of fmall province or little county, denominated generally from the metropolis or chief town in it. We meet with numbers of them in old Italy. They may be compared to the pagi or cantons in Helvetia, and to the civitates or fates in Gallia.

:

lium in Apuliam dimifit; præterea alium aliò, quem ubique opportunum credebat. Interea Romæ multa fimul moliri; Confuli in fidias tendere, parare in cendia, opportuna loca armatis hominibus obfidere: ipfe cum telo effe,, item alios jubere: hortari, uti femper intenti paratique effent dies noctefque feftinare, vigilare, neque infomniis neque labore fatigari. Poftremò, ubi multa agitanti nihil procedit,rurfus intempeftâ nocte conjurationis principes convocat per M. Porcium Læ cam: ibique multa de ignavia eorum queftus, docet, "fe Manlium præmifisse ad eam multitudinem, quam ad capiunda arma paraverat; item alios in alia loca opportuna, qui initium belli facerent; feque ad exercitum proficifci cupere, fi priùs Ciceronem oppreffiffet: eum fuis confiliis multum obfi

cere.

XXVIII. Igitur perterritis ac dubitantibus ceteris, C. Cornelius, eques Romanus, operam fuam pollicitus, et cum eo L.

into Apulia; others likewife he
fent off one to one place, and
another to another; whom and
where he thought proper. In the
mean time at Rome he attempted
many projects at once; laid
fnares for the Conful, prepared
to fire the city, fecured proper
places, with armed men: he was
always provided with a word.
about him, and likewife order-
ed others to be so too: he defi-
red, that they would be always
looking out, and in readiness
he was in a hurry day and night,
got little fleep, and yet not wea-
ried out with watching or fa-
tigue. Finally, when nothing,
fucceeded with him, attempting
many things, again in the dead of
the night he convenes the ring-
leaders of the confpiracy by M.
Porcius Laca: and there, after
complaining much of their want
of fpirit, he informs them, "that
he had dispatched Manlius to that
party, which he had prepared
to take up arms; also others to
other proper places, who were to
begin the war; and that he in-
clined to go to the army, if once he
bad taken off Cicero: for that
be much obftructed his defigns."

XXVIII. Whereupon C. Cornelius, a Roman knight, the reft being difpirited and hesitating, having promifed his affiftance, and with him L. Vargunteius a

3. Cum telo effe] This is old Latin, being the very words of the XII. Tables, by which the wearing of fwords or other weapons within the city was forbid. The expreffion occurs again cap. xlix.

4. Dies noctefque] Plus cft quàm diu noctuque, et notat continuatio

nem.

Vargunteius