quae non ad ... pertinent, which do not concern.' omnium nostrum: Cicero might have written nostram omnium ritam, and it is usual for the possessive pronoun to be used, and not the genitive of the personal pronoun; here omnium being placed first, the genitive nostrum follows by attraction; it is a possessive genitive, and not partitive as it usually is. (See note on nostrum, i. § 1.)

§ 15. horum neminem, 'no one of these senators here' - 'no one in this House,'

pridie Kal. Ian., ‘Dec. 31,' 66 B. C., see Introduction, p. 4. cum telo: this was contrary to a law of the XII Tables. Telum sword.

=

manum, &c.: order is, te pararisse manum causa interficiendorum, &c.

ROMAN SWORD AND SCABBARD. (From a grave-relief.)

sceleri, &c.: take passively, 'your mad crime was defeated not by ...

timorem, misgiving.'

fortunam, 'good fortune,' because it was a mere accident that Catiline gave the signal too soon.

neque enim sunt: neque goes with both obscura and non multa, for they are no secrets, nor have your subsequent offences been few.'

petitiones, metaphor from gladiatorial contests.

quadam: quidam, as often, modifies a somewhat strong expression; just a slight flinching of the body, as the phrase goes' (ut aiunt), i. e. a swerving of the body without shifting from one's ground. See Appendix A on quidam, p. 118. Declinatione et · corpore, hendiadys; cf. vim et manus. 'violent hands' i. § 21.

§ 16. quae quidem quibus, &c., 'and indeed I do not know with what sacred ceremonies this (quae) dagger has been ...

in that you think it your bounden duty to plunge it...' In order to further the success of an intended murder, an assassin would dedicate his weapon to some god.

VII

nunc vero: the argument is, Your life has all along been a vile and unhappy one; is it any better now? And to-day (after your exposure) what kind of life is yours?'

sed ut misericordia: sc. permotus esse videar.

quae... nulla, lit., 'none of which ''which in no way is due to you.'

si hoc post, &c., 'if (it is true that) such a greeting (hoc) has fallen to the lot or, been the privilege') of no man in all history.'

vocis... contumeliam, ‘rebuke of words' = 'outspoken rebuke.'

gravissimo . . oppressus, lit., crushed by the heavy verdict of their silence'='crushed by the weight of their silent condemnation.'

quid, quod, again, with what feelings, I ask (tandem), do you think you should bear this, namely that (quod). See note on i§ 1 tandem.

tibi, in your mind'; the dat. of agent is used when a thing is done by and for the advantage of the agent.

§ 17. servi: emphatic, 'why (mehercule) if my very slaves feared... See Appendix C, Rule II b, p. 126.

urbem: sc. relinquendam esse.

suspectum... offensum, 'an object of such deep suspicion and hatred, even wrongfully' (iniuria).

dubitas: the order is, dubitas ritare aspectum praesentiamque correm quorum, &c.

neque posses, and if you could not.'

ut opinor: take after concederes, you would retire, I imagine.'

nunc: after imaginary cases, Cicero returns to plain fact; but as it is.'

verēbĕre... sequere: fut. 2 sing., will you not respect your country's authority, will you not submit to her verdict, fear her power?'

$18. quae tecum, &c., 'your country indeed thus pleads with you, and, if I may say so (quodam modo, lit., 'after a certain fashion'), makes this mute appeal to you.' See Appendix A on quidam; tacita loquitur, oxymoron. i, e. the

combination of exactly contrary ideas. (Cf. cum tacent, clamant i. § 21.)

per te, by your agency.'

sine te, without your co-operation.'

tibi uni, ‘in your case alone.'

neces: refers to Catiline's share in the Sullan proscriptions. sociorum, ‘our provincials.' Catiline had been propraetor of Africa, B. c. 67; on his return to Rome he was charged with misgovernment (extortion); the evidence was all against him, but bribery secured his acquittal.

ut potui, as well as I could.'

nunc vero me... non est ferendum, me totam, 'that I (your country), in every part, should stand in fear... this is intolerable.'

quidquid increpuerit, 'that, whatever is noised abroad, it is Catiline that is dreaded,' 'that in every alarm our fears should point to Catiline'; increpuerit, subj. of Virtual Orat. Obliq.

si est verus: the order is, ne opprimar si est rerus (‘justified'), ut tandem ... desinam, si falsus (‘groundless').

VIII

$ 19. quid, quod, ‘again, what about the fact that...?' custodiam: as a rule, a Roman citizen, awaiting trial on some charge, gave bail for his appearance; sometimes he was placed in what was called Custodia Libera, i, e. he was intrusted to the safe-keeping of one of the higher Magistrates or a Senator of distinction who was responsible for his appearance. Catiline had only recently been indicted for inciting to riot, and, to disarm suspicion, had offered to surrender to 'private custody.' See Introduction, p. 7. Lepidum: consul, B. c. 66.

qui. ..essem: subj. with causal force, 'seeing that I was'; contineremur, subj., being subord. clause in Orat. Obliq.

Q. Metellum: afterwards consul, B. c. 60, now praetor.

. Metellum: nothing is known of him; 'your bosom friend, the worthy M. Metellus.' The whole of this passage is ironical.

carcere atque ... vinculis, 'n detention in prison,' i. e. imprisonment (rinoula) in the state prison carcer), the Tullianaan, not as a punishment, but as detention while awaiting execution; it was in this very prison that some of the conspirators were strangled after but a few hours' detention.

It was also in this dungeon that, according to Roman Catholic tradition, St. Peter was confined in the reign of Nero.

qui...iudicarit, qui=is qui, 'a man of such a kind that,' hence indicarit is consecutive subjunctive.

§ 20. aliquas terras, 'some other country.'

suppliciis: dat. of remote object, 'saved from many just and well-deserved penalties.' Cf. i. § 18 hunc mihi timorem eripe.

id enim postulas, &c., 'for that is what you demand, and you say that if this House shall decree that it is their pleasure (placere) that you should go... Of course the Senate had no power to pass such a decree, and that is the reason why Cicero could not put the question to the House. Exile was not a punishment, but a voluntary act, undergone in order to anticipate or cscape from the penalty incurred by conviction in a criminal trial. decreverit, subj. of reported condition.

=

faciam ut intellegas 'without definitely asking the Senate, I will contrive that you see their real opinion.' Cicero then bluntly bids Cat. 'leave the city-go!'; he pauses and there is hushed silence; if the Senate had disapproved, there would have been at least uproar.

patiuntur, 'they acquiesce.'

auctoritatem loquentium... voluntatem tacitorum, 'why wait for their express decree when you can see what is their unexpressed desire?'

§ 21. huic adulescenti optimo, &c., 'to the noble Sestius here (with a gesture), or to the worthy M. Marcellus.' optimus and rir fortissimus are customary epithets of courtesy, just as in our Houses of Parliament we find the expressions the noble lord,' 'the honorable member,' &c.

P. Sestius was now quaestor; Cicero's speech in his defence in an action de ri (B. c. 56) still survives.

M. Marcello: consul, B. c. 51; afterwards a bitter opponent of Caesar, by whom, however, he was recalled from exile and pardoned, B. c. 46.

iam, 'at once.'

vim et manus, hendiadys, 'violent hands,' see i. § 13.

oum quiescunt, &c., 'their passiveness expresses approval, their acquiescence is virtually a decree, their silence is emphatic condemnation.' cum tacent, clamant, oxymoron, see note on i. § 18 tacita loquitur.

་

hi, the Senators.'

illi equites, 'the knights yonder,' guarding the entrance of the temple.

studia, 'loyalty.'

·

quorum ego, &c. The construction is: facile adducam cosdem, quorum. . contineo, ut prosequantur te, &c., men from whose armed violence I have long had difficulty in shielding you, these men I will easily induce . . .'

i. e.

Rome.

haec... relinquentem, ‘if you will but consent to leave this city. haec, neut. pl., 'all this' which you see, prosequantur, cf. proseculi sumus, ii. § 1.

IX

'as if § 22. ut... frangat, 'the idea that anything...' anything could break your purpose.' te, emphatic; so tu in next clause, 'as if you are the sort of man ever to mend your ways.'

duint: this old form lends more dignity to the prayer than the monosyllabic dent would.

6

tametsi video, and yet I fully realize.'

mea voce, by my words.'

recenti memoria, when the recollection of your crimes is still fresh.'

impendeat, subj. of indirect question.

ista sit privata calamitas, (provided that) 'the trouble you cause (ista) affects me only as a private citizen and is not attended with peril to the State.'

sed tu ut, &c., but it is too much to expect that a man like you should be stung to remorse by. . .'

temporibus: see Vocabulary.

neque enim is es, &c., take passively, 'you are not the sort of man ever to be deterred from depravity by a sense of shame, &c.' ratio: see Vocabulary.

§ 23. praedicas: from praedics.

istius invidiae, 'the odium you arouse.'

§ 24. quid... invitem, 'why should I urge you to do this, seeing that I know that men have already been sent on by you, to...?' a quo cum a te, hence sciam, causal subj. praestolarentur, subj. of purpose.

cui: dat. of agent, see note on i. § 16 tibi.

diem: fem., a date.'

aquilam: this particular eagle, Sallust tells us, had been ased by Marius in the wars against the Cimbri; Marius' good Fortune was well known, and therefore the possession of this eagle would act as a kind of talisman.

sacrarium: Roman standards were regarded with sacred awe, the place in the camp where they were kept was