NOTES TO THE CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. Page. 1. Omnis. For omnes. The old form. (Jugurtha, note 9, 79 page 1,).-Sese student praestare. The insertion of the pronoun here is not a pleonasm, as some maintain, but in reality the older and fuller form of expression, and may be regarded as equivalent to ut ipsi praestent. Instances occur in other writers also. Thus, Cicero, (Off. 2. 20.) "Gratum se videri studet." So also after cupere, velle, and malle. 2. Silentio. "In obscurity." The silence which the rest of mankind preserve respecting us, when we have done nothing to render our names illustrious. 3. Prona. "Stooping downward to the earth." Compare Ovid, (Met. 1, 84,)" Pronaque quum spectent animalia caetera terram." 4. Animi imperio, &c. "We use more the empire of the mind, the obedience of the body." Sallust wishes to convey the idea, that it is the province of the mind to command, of the body to obey. Some very erroneously make imperio depend for its government on the comparative magis. "We make more use of the empire of the mind, than of the obedience of the body." 5. Quo. "On which account."-Rectius. with reason."-Opibus. "By the resources." "More consistent 6. Memoriam nostri. "The remembrance of ourselves." Memoriam nostram would mean "our faculty of memory." 7. Habetur. The force of this verb, in the present passage, is best seen by a paraphrase: "The endowments of mind form the only illustrious and lasting possession." 8. Sed. Elegantly used in the sense of continuation, like de in Greek, and to be rendered "Now."-Vine corporis, &c. "Whether a warlike enterprise depended more for its success on strength of body, or energy of mind." Literally, "whether a warlike operation proceeded more from strength of body," &c. 9. Consulto. "Of deliberation."-Mature facto. "Of speedy execution," i. e. in proper season. The participles consulto and 215 Page. 79 facto are here clegantly used in place of nouns. The literal translation would be, "of a thing's being deliberated upon," and "of its being performed in proper season." 10. Imperii. “Of authority."—Diversi. "Differing in their views." -Agitabatur. The frequentative for the simple verb, as in Jugurtha. 11. Cyrus. The elder of the name. 12. Lubidinem dominandi. "A lust of dominion.”—Maxumam gloriam. Understand sitam esse, or something equivalent. 13. Periculo atque negotiis. "From actual experience, and from affairs themselves," i. e. from the experience which affairs themselves bestowed. 80 1. Quod si regum, &c. "But if the mental qualities of kings and of those who command were exercised to the same degree in peace that they are in war."-Aequabilius atque constantius, &c. “Human affairs would proceed with more regularity and steadiness." This usage of the verb habeo with the pronoun is analogous to the Greek idiom : εὖ ἔχει “ he is well,” i. e. εὖ ἔχει (ἑαυτόν) 'he has himself well." (Compare Viger's Greek Idioms, P. 84. Seager's transl.) 66 2. Aliud alio, &c. Alius, as has already been remarked in the Notes to the Jugurthine War, is frequently used by Sallust, and also by the best writers, with one of its own cases, or an adverb derived from it, to denote what in English requires two separate expressions. Thus we may render the passage in the text, "neither would you behold one thing carried in one direction, another in another," &c.-Artibus. "Means." 3. Pro labore. "In the stead of active exertion." Labor has here a special reference to military operations.-Pro continentia et aequitate, &c. "In the stead of moderation and a regard for natural equality, cupidity, and a tyrannical spirit," &c. As Sallust here contrasts virtues and vices, continentia will be opposed to lubido, and aequitas to superbia; which removes, we conceive, all difficulty as to the meaning of the individual terms. Burnouf makes lubido in this passage signify "caprice," an opinion in which we cannot concur.-Fortuna. Understand principum. 4. Optumum quemque. "The most deserving." Literally, "each most deserving person."-Arant, &c. Equivalent to arando, navigando, aedificando efficiunt: hence quae homines arant, &c., may be rendered by nouns, "agriculture, navigation, architecture." -Virtuti omni parent. "6 Depend all upon the energies of mind for their successful employment." 5. Peregrinantes. A beautiful expression, by which the sensualist and the sluggard are compared to "travellers in a foreign Page. land." Cortius, cites in explanation, a passage from Zeno of Ve- 80 rona, (Serm. 32,) “ Sed qui sunt praetereuntes, nisi qui peregrinantes corporalis vitae saeculum transeunt." 6. Quibus, profecto, &c. "Unto whom, certainly in opposition to the views of nature," &c.-Juxta. unimportant. Quoniam de utraque siletur. served respecting each," i. e. since they leave no memorial of their having ever existed. 7. Frui anima. "To enjoy his rational nature, i. e. to answer the end of his existence.-Qui, aliquo negotio intentus, &c. "Who, in whatever employment he may be engaged, seeks for the reputation attendant on some praiseworthy deed or the exercise of some useful talent." 8. In magna copia rerum. "In the great variety of employments."—Aliud alii. Compare note 2. 9. Bene dicere. Equivalent to eloquentiam exercere. Eloquence was one of the surest passports to office among the Romans.-Absurdum. This term was originally applied to any harsh and disagreeable sound, ("Vox quae surdis auribus audiri digna est,”) and subsequently to any thing devoid of merit and unworthy of notice. Haud absurdum est may therefore be rendered, "is no contemptible acquirement." 10. Et qui fecere, &c. Supply eorum before qui. 11. Auctorem rerum. "The actor." Some editions have actorem rerum: both lections occur in manuscripts. Compare Velleius Paterculus, (2, 120, 6,) "Praeclari facinoris auctor fuit Caldus Coelius," &c.-Res gestas. "An historical narrative."-Dictis. "By the style." Livy has an expression similar to that in the text, in which, however, dicta is used in its original meaning; “facta dictis aequando." (6. 20.), 12. Putant. The manuscripts vary, some inserting dicta before putant, others ducta, &c. We have followed the reading of Cortius. The ellipsis is to be supplied by reprehendisse, which is in fact expressed in one of the manuscripts. Sallust appears to have borrowed the idea in the text from Thucydides, (2, 35). 13. Ubi de magna virtute, &c. "When you make mention of the distinguished merit and glory of illustrious men," &c. 14. Supra ea. "Whatever things go beyond this," or, "all beyond this." 15. Studio ad rempublicam, &c. "Was led by the ardour of youth to turn my attention to public affairs," i. e. to become a candidate for public office.-Ibique. "And in this career."—Nam pro pudore, &c. Pudor is here opposed to audacia, avaritia to absti Page. 80 nentia, and largitio to virtus.—Insolens malarum artium. customed to evil practices." 81 "Unac 16. Reliquorum, &c. We have followed the reading of Havercamp and Burnouf. The Bipont text has reliquis and qua ceteros, by which eadem fama and invidia become ablatives. In our lection fama and invidia are likewise ablatives, but eadem is in the nominative agreeing with cupido. The whole passage may be rendered as follows:-" And though I was uncontaminated by the evil principles of others, nevertheless the same desire of advancement disquieted me, by reason of the obloquy and odium that accompanied it, which disquieted the rest," i. e. standing forth as a candidate for public honours, I shared the fate of others: my character was assailed with obloquy, and an attempt was made by my political opponents to render me an object of popular odium.-De Brosses thinks that Sallust here endeavours to offer a plausible excuse for his recent and disgraceful expulsion from the senate. 1. Ex multis miseriis, &c. "From the many miseries and dangers by which it had been encompassed." 2. Bonum otium. "Valuable leisure."-Servilibus officiis. "Mere coporeal employments." The phrase is here used in allusion to the expression in the first chapter, "animi imperio, coporis servitio magis utimur." The charge therefore which some bring against Sallust, of his stigmatizing agriculture and hunting as einployments fit only for slaves, rests on an entirely erroneous acceptation of the epithet servilibus. 3. Studio. Cortius considers studio as having reference to historical labours. We would rather, with Dahl, extend the term to "liberal studies" generally, so as to embrace the literature both of Greece and Rome, especially the former. 4. Carptim. "In detached portions:" Compare Pliny, (Ep. 8, 4, 7,) "Respondebis, non posse perinde carptim, ut, contexta, perinde inchoata placere, ut effecta," and Tacitus, (Hist. 4, 46, extr.) The term is sometimes used in the sense of breviter, as in Pliny, (Ep. 6, 22, 2, )" egit autem carptim et кarà κɛpáλaia," (i. e. breviter et summatim.)--Some editions of Sallust have strictim, “cursorily," in place of carptim; but this reading carries with it its own refutation. From this passage of Sallust, it appears that the history of Catiline's conspiracy was his first literary production. 5. Partibus reipublicae. "The factions which agitated the republic." Dahl is of opinion, that, from the language of the text, Sallust must have composed this narrative after his return from the government of Numidia; since, to suppose with some commentators that the work was written at the time of his expulsion from the Page. senate (A. U. C. 703) does not harmonize with the expressions, "a 81 spe, metu, &c., animus liber erat." 6. Paucis absolvam. "I will give a brief account." Paucis verbis absolvam narrationem.-Id facinus. "That daring deed." 7. Nobili genere natus. Catiline was the last of the gens Sergia, a patrician house. Consult Historical Index. 8. Sed ingenio malo pravoque. "But of a wicked and depraved spirit." The term ingenium appears to denote quicquid est ingenitum, and is applied to the native qualities of the whole soul, those of the heart, as well as those of the head. (Crombie, Gymn. vol. 2, p. 73.) 9. Ibique. "And in these." Ibi is here elegantly used for in iis rebus.-Juventutem. By the Romans, generally speaking, human life was divided into four stages of fifteen years each: thus pueritia was within 15: adolescentia within 30; juventus within 45; and senectus comprised the remaining period of life. Compare Classical Journal, vol. 1, p. 473. Crombie's Gymnasium, vol. 1, p. 160. 66 10. Patiens. The verbal adjective, distinguished from the participle by its particular government; thus, patiens inediae, “able to endure want of food," referring to a habit; patiens inediam, "suffering want of food," referring to a particular point of time. So ais doctus linguam Latinam, “one who has been taught the Latin language ;" doctus linguae Latinae, "one skilled in Latin." 11. Varius. Capable of assuming any shape." Compare the picture drawn by Cicero, (pro Coel. 6,) “Illa vero in illo homine (sc. Catilina) mirabilia fuerunt. versare suam naturam, et regere ad tempus, atque huc et illuc torquere et flectere: cum tristibus severe, cum remissis jucunde, cum senibus graviter, cum juventute comiter, cum facinorosis audaciter, cum libidinosis luxuriose pivere. Hac ille tam varia, multiplicique natura, cum omnes omnibus ex terris homines improbos, audacesque collegerat : tum etiam multos fortes viros et bonos specie quadam virtutis assimulatae tenebat." .... 12. Simulator. The verb simulare, whence this noun is formed, means "to pretend to be what we are not ;" but dissimulare, "to dissemble, or conceal what we are." It is the character of hypocrisy to pretend to virtues which it has not, (simulare,) and to dissemble the vices which it has, (dissimulare.) 13. Satis loquentiae. "Possessing fluency of speech enough." Several editions have eloquentiae, but this would be too strong here, although the reading appears in a majority of the MSS. The distinction between loquentia and eloquentia is well pointed out in the |