De Bello Catilinario et Jugurthino

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50. Dum haec in senatu aguntur et dum legatis Allobrogum et T. Volturcio,
comprobato eorum indicio, praemia decernuntur, liberti et pauci ex
clientibus Lentuli diversis itineribus opifices atque servitia in
vicis ad eum eripiundum sollicitabant, partim exquirebant duces
multitudinum,[242] qui pretio rem publicam vexare soliti erant. Cethegus
autem per nuntios familiam atque libertos suos, lectos et exercitatos in
audaciam, orabat, ut grege facto cum telis ad sese irrumperent. Consul,
ubi ea parari cognovit, dispositis praesidiis, ut res atque tempus
monebat, convocato senatu refert, quid de his fieri placeat, qui in
custodiam traditi erant. Sed eos paulo ante frequens senatus judicaverat
contra rem publicam fecisse.[243] Tum D. Junius Silanus, primus
sententiam rogatus,[244] quod eo tempore consul designatus erat, de
his, qui in custodiis tenebantur, praeterea de L. Cassio, P. Furio,
P. Umbreno, Q. Annio, si deprehensi forent, supplicium sumendum
decreverat; isque postea, permotus oratione C. Caesaris, pedibus in
sententiam Tib. Neronis iturum[245] se dixerat, quod de ea re praesidiis
additis referundum censuerat.[246] Sed Caesar, ubi ad eum ventum est,
rogatus sententiam a consule, hujuscemodi verba locutus est:

[242] _Multitudines_; that is, _catervae, factiones_, crowds or bands of
men united for the purpose of creating disturbances among the people.
[243] This is the customary form of condemnation in a decree of the
senate, whereby it is declared that a wrong has actually been done
to the state, or that an attempt has been made upon the constitution.
The verdict of 'guilty,' therefore, had been pronounced by the
senate itself.
[244] _Sententiam rogatus_. See Zumpt, S 393, note 1.
[245] He had declared that at the voting, which took place after the
members of the senate had expressed their opinions, he would vote
for the opinion of Tib. Nero; for the voting took place by a division
(_discessio_), only one proposal being voted upon at a time, so
that those who supported it separated from those who did not support
it, but intended to vote for any other opinion (_alia omnia_).
[246] This opinion then aimed only at an adjournment of the matter.
Its issue was to be waited for; but in the meantime, the posts of
guards were to be strengthened, and a fresh proposal was to be made
respecting the punishment of the prisoners. The Tib. Nero here
mentioned is the grandfather of the Emperor Tiberius, who was raised
to the imperial throne in A. D. 14, in the fifty-sixth year of his
age.

51. 'Omnes homines, patres conscripti, qui de rebus dubiis consultant, ab
odio, amicitia, ira atque misericordia vacuos esse decet. Haud facile
animus verum providet, ubi illa officiunt, neque quisquam omnium libidini
simul et usui paruit. Ubi intenderis ingenium, valet; si libido possidet,
ea dominatur, animus nihil valet. Magna mihi copia est memorandi,
P. C., quae reges atque populi ira aut misericordia impulsi male
consuluerint;[247] sed ea malo dicere, quae majores nostri contra
libidinem animi sui recte atque ordine fecere. Bello Macedonico, quod cum
rege Perse[248] gessimus, Rhodiorum civitas, magna atque magnifica, quae
populi Romani opibus creverat, infida atque adversa nobis fuit; sed
postquam bello confecto de Rhodiis consultum est, majores nostri, ne quis
divitiarum magis quam injuriae causa bellum inceptum diceret, impunitos
eos dimisere. Item bellis Punicis omnibus, quum saepe Karthaginienses et
in pace et per inducias multa nefaria facinora fecissent, nunquam ipsi
per occasionem talia fecere; magis, quid se dignum foret, quam quid in
illos jure fieri posset, quaerebant. Hoc item vobis providendum est,
P. C., ne plus apud vos valeat P. Lentuli et ceterorum scelus quam vestra
dignitas; neu magis irae vestrae quam famae consulatis. Nam si digna
poena pro factis eorum reperitur, novum consilium approbo; sin magnitude
sceleris omnium ingenia exuperat, his utendum censeo, quae legibus
comparata sunt. Plerique eorum, qui ante me sententiam dixerunt,
composite atque magnifice casum rei publicae miserati sunt; quae belli
saevitia esset, quae victis acciderent, enumeravere; rapi virgines,
pueros, divelli liberos a parentum complexu, matres familiarum pati, quae
victoribus collibuissent, fana atque domos spoliari, caedem, incendia
fieri, postremo armis, cadaveribus, cruore atque luctu omnia compleri.
Sed, per deos immortales, quo illa oratio pertinuit? an[249] uti vos
infestos conjurationi faceret? Scilicet[250] quem res tanta et tam,
atrox non permovit, eum oratio accendet. Non ita est; neque cuiquam
mortalium injuriae suae[251] parvae videntur: multi eas gravius aequo
habuere.[252] Sed alia aliis licentia est, P. C. Qui demissi in obscuro
vitam habent,[253] si quid iracundia deliquere, pauci sciunt; fama atque
fortuna eorum pares sunt: qui magno imperio praediti in excelso aetatem
agunt, eorum facta cuncti mortales novere. Ita in maxima fortuna minima
licentia est; neque studere, neque odisse, sed minime irasci decet; quae
apud alios iracundia dicitur, ea in imperio superbia atque crudelitas
appellatur. Equidem ego[254] sic existimo, P. C., omnes cruciatus minores
quam facinora illorum esse; sed plerique mortales postrema meminere, et
in hominibus impiis sceleris eorum obliti de poena disserunt, si ea paulo
severior fuit. D. Silanum, virum fortem atque strenuum, certo scio, quae
dixerit, studio rei publicae dixisse, neque illum in tanta re gratiam aut
inimicitias[255] exercere; eos mores eamque modestiam viri cognovi.[256]
Verum sententia ejus mihi non crudelis,--quid enim in tales homines
crudele fieri potest?--sed aliena a re publica nostra videtur. Nam
profecto aut metus aut injuria te subegit,[257] Silane, consulem
designatum, genus poenae novum decernere. De timore supervacaneum est
disserere, quum praesertim diligentia clarissimi viri, consulis, tanta
praesidia sint in armis. De poena possumus equidem dicere id quod res
habet;[258] in luctu atque miseriis mortem aerumnarum requiem, non
cruciatum esse, eam cuncta mortalium mala dissolvere, ultra neque
curae neque gaudio locum esse. Sed, per deos immortales, quamobrem
in sententiam non addidisti, uti prius verberibus in eos
animadverteretur?[259] An quia lex Porcia[260] vetat? At aliae leges item
condemnatis civibus non animam eripi, sed exilium permitti jubent.[261]
An, quia gravius est verberari quam necari? Quid autem acerbum aut nimis
grave est in homines tanti facinoris convictos? Sin, quia levius est; qui
convenit[262] in minore negotio legem timere, quum eam in majore
neglexeris? At enim[263] quis reprehendet, quod in parricidas rei
publicae decretum erit? Tempus, dies, fortuna, cujus libido gentibus
moderatur. Illis merito accidet, quidquid evenerit; ceterum vos, P. C.,
quid in alios statuatis, considerate. Omnia mala exempla ex bonis orta
sunt; sed ubi imperium ad ignaros aut minus bonos pervenit, novum
illud exemplum ab dignis et idoneis ad indignos et non idoneos
transfertur.[264] Lacedaemonii devictis Atheniensibus triginta viros[265]
imposuere, qui rem publicam eorum tractarent. Hi primo coepere pessimum
quemque et omnibus invisum indemnatum necare; ea[266] populus laetari et
merito dicere fieri. Post ubi paulatim licentia crevit, juxta bonos et
malos libidinose interficere, ceteros metu terrere. Ita civitas servitute
oppressa stultae laetitiae graves poenas dedit. Nostra memoria victor
Sulla quum Damasippum[267] et alios hujusmodi, qui malo rei publicae
creverant, jugulare jussit, quis non factum ejus laudabat? Homines
scelestos et factiosos, qui seditionibus rem publicam exagitaverant,
merito necatos ajebant. Sed ea res magnae initium cladis fuit. Nam uti
quisque domum aut villam, postremo vas aut vestimentum alicujus
concupiverat, dabat operam, ut is in proscriptorum[268] numero esset. Ita
illi, quibus Damasippi mors laetitiae fuerat, paulo post ipsi
trahebantur; neque prius finis jugulandi fuit quam Sulla omnes suos
divitiis explevit. Atque ego haec non in M. Tullio neque his temporibus
vereor, sed in magna civitate multa et varia ingenia sunt. Potest alio
tempore, alio consule, cui item exercitus in manu sit, falsum aliquid pro
vero credi; ubi hoc exemplo per senati decretum consul gladium eduxerit,
quis illi finem statuet aut quis moderabitur? Majores nostri, P. C.,
neque consilii neque audaciae unquam eguere, neque illis superbia
obstabat, quo minus aliena instituta, si modo proba erant, imitarentur.
Arma atque tela militaria ab Samnitibus, insignia magistratuum ab Tuscis
pleraque[269] sumpserunt: postremo quod ubique apud socios aut hostes
idoneum videbatur, cum summo studio domi exequebantur, imitari quam
invidere bonis malebant. Sed eodem illo tempore, Graeciae morem imitati,
verberibus animadvertebant in cives, de condemnatis summum supplicium
sumebant. Postquam res publica adolevit et multitudine civium factiones
valuere, circumvenire innocentes, alia hujuscemodi fieri coepere, tum lex
Porcia aliaeque leges paratae sunt, quibus legibus[270] exilium damnatis
permissum est. Ego hanc causam, P. C., quominus[271] novum consilium
capiamus, in primis magnam puto. Profecto virtus atque sapientia major in
illis fuit, qui ex parvis opibus tantum imperium fecere quam in nobis,
qui ea bene parta vix retinemus. Placet igitur eos dimitti et augere
exercitum Catilinae? Minime, sed ita censeo; publicandas eorum pecunias,
ipsos in vinculis habendos per municipia,[272] quae maxime opibus valent;
neu quis de his postea ad senatum referat neve cum populo agat; qui
aliter fecerit, senatum existimare eum contra rem publicam et salutem
omnium facturum.'

[247] _Male consulere_, 'to form bad' or 'injurious resolutions.'
[248] _Perse_. Respecting the forms of this name, see Zumpt, SS 52, 54.
[249] _An_ must be explained by supplying another interrogation before
it, such as _alione?_ 'had that speech any other object, or had it
this one?' for _an_ is used only in the second part of a double
question.
[250] 'To be sure words will fire him on, whom the thing itself did not
move'--that is, words are sure not to rouse him whom the thing
itself did not move; for _scilicet_ has an ironical force.
[251] _Injuriae suae_, 'the injuries done to him.'
[252] 'Many have taken them more seriously to heart than was necessary.'
It is more common to say _gravius tulerunt_. The perfect, _habuere_,
in expressing a general truth, has the sense of a present, or rather
of a Greek aorist, denoting that which once happened, and still
continues to happen. Compare p.22, note 2 [note 68].
[253] _Vitam habent_ for _vitam agunt_, which is more common. Sallust is
very fond of the verb _habere_ in certain phrases. See _Jug_. 10.
[254] _Equidem ego_ for _ego quidem_. See Zumpt, S 278.
[255] _Inimicitiae_. About this plural, see Zumpt, S 94. The singular
_inimicitia_ is not used at all.
[256] 'Such I know to be the character of the man.'
[257] _Subigere_ here, as in many other passages of Sallust, has the
meaning of _cogere, invitum impellere_ ('to force a person to
something'), followed by an infinitive instead of a clause with _ut_.
[258] _Id quod res habet_, 'that which is in the nature of the thing.'
Caesar hereby means to represent his opinion as philosophically
correct, and in accordance with nature. _Id quod_ belong together.
[259] Such had indeed been the custom in former times. The condemned
person, previous to being beheaded with the axe, was bound to a post
and scourged. This barbarous punishment continued to be inflicted
sometimes even at a later period, when it was expressly mentioned in
the verdict that the criminal should be punished _more majorum_.
_Animadvertere_ is the proper expression for the infliction of
bodily punishment by a lictor, who _has to pay attention to his
orders_; but it is also used of the person who gives the order,
and causes it to be carried into effect, just as _interficere_
is said both of the executioner and the person who orders a man to be
put to death.
[260] This law, proposed by one Porcius, and passed by the people,
forbade the scourging of Roman citizens on the naked body; so that,
after the passing of that law, an execution consisted simply in
beheading a criminal with the sword; and if he was a soldier,
flogging took the place of scourging. The celebrated M. Porcius Cato,
about B. C. 160, recommended this bill to the people; but it was not
he who proposed it, but an unknown person of the name of Porcius,
probably a tribune of the people.
[261] There were no Roman laws forbidding capital punishment, or
substituting exile in its place, and for this reason Caesar does not
refer to any such law. He supports his view only by the circumstance
that, in all the more recent laws, especially in the criminal law of
Sulla, exile (_interdictio aquae et ignis_) was fixed upon as the
extreme penalty; and that according to the usual indulgence (not
sanctioned by any law), accused persons, if they denied being guilty,
and were defended by some one, remained in the enjoyment of their
freedom until the sentence was passed. Thus it happened that a
person, foreseeing his condemnation, might quit the Roman territory,
and take up his abode within the territory of some town or city where
the Roman law was not in force, and where the Roman state placed no
obstacles in his way.
[262] 'How is it consistent?' Respecting _qui_ for _quomodo_ or _quo
pacto_, see Zumpt, S 133, note. The _minus negotium_ is the
scourging, and the _majus negotium_ the execution.
[263] _At enim_ introduces an objection raised by the orator himself.
_At_ represents the objection, and _enim_ introduces an explanation
of it. See Zumpt, S 349.
[264] Caesar means to say that the present senate, which, as he
flatteringly says, consists of worthy men, will not abuse the power
of putting Roman citizens to death; but that a subsequent senate,
taking such an example as a precedent, might abuse its power. It
must be observed that the Roman senate possessed the power over the
life and death of citizens, not by virtue of legal enactments, but
only by ancient custom. This power legally belonged only to the
people assembled in the Comitia Centuriata, or to those to whom the
people expressly intrusted it--namely, the ordinary and extraordinary
courts of justice. It may seem surprising that Caesar does not
express himself more energetically against the right claimed by the
senate; but he would certainly have spoken in vain, for it was
every senator's interest that the power of the senate should be
recognised in its greatest extent, even though it should not be
exercised in every particular case.
[265] That is, the so-called thirty tyrants in the year B. C. 404.
[266] _Ea_; for this accusative, see Zumpt, S 385.
[267] _Damasippus_ was only a surname of the praetor M. Junius Brutus,
who in the year B. C. 82 put to death a great many Roman nobles of
the party of Sulla.
[268] Namely, by Sulla, after he had been made dictator.
[269] _Pleraque_; most of the ensigns and distinctions by which the
magistrates were distinguished from private persons, especially the
_toga praetexta_, _sella curulis_, _fasces_ (which were carried
by the lictors), and, above all, the splendid procession of the
_triumphatores_.
[270] _Legibus_ is here a pleonasm, and might have been omitted. We
must here repeat that Caesar makes an artful application of the
circumstance that, in all the late criminal laws, the _interdictio
aquae et ignis_ was fixed as the severest punishment, as if
thereby a person had been simply permitted to withdraw from the
republic. The _interdictio_ was a much more severe punishment,
inasmuch as the person on whom it was inflicted lost all his rights
as a citizen, and as every one was forbidden to receive him into his
house, so that he was a complete outcast. Wherever these regulations
were not carried into effect, and even in case a criminal made his
escape before the sentence was pronounced, we can see nothing but an
abuse of clemency.
[271] _Quominus_ is here used because the leading clause conveys the
idea of a hindrance; but _ne_ also might have been written.
[272] _Per municipia_, 'among the municipia.' See Zumpt, S 301.

52. Postquam Caesar dicendi finem fecit, ceteri verbo alius alii varie
assentiebantur: at M. Porcius Cato, rogatus sententiam, hujuscemodi
orationem habuit: 'Longe mihi alia mens est, P. C., quum res atque
pericula nostra considero, et quum sententias nonnullorum mecum ipse
reputo.[273] Illi mihi disseruisse videntur de poena eorum, qui patriae,
parentibus, aris atque focis suis bellum paravere; res autem monet cavere
ab illis magis quam, quid in illos statuamus, consultare. Nam cetera
maleficia tum persequare, ubi facta sunt; hoc nisi provideris ne accidat,
ubi evenit, frustra judicia implores; capta urbe nihil fit reliqui
victis. Sed, per deos immortales, vos ego appello, qui semper domos,
villas, signa, tabulas vestras pluris quam rem publicam fecistis,[274] si
ista, cujuscunque modi sunt quae amplexamini, retinere, si voluptatibus
vestris otium praebere vultis, expergiscimini aliquando et capessite rem
publicam.[275] Non agitur de vectigalibus neque de sociorum injuriis:
libertas et anima nostra in dubio est. Saepenumero, P. C., multa verba in
hoc ordine feci,[276] saepe de luxuria atque avaritia nostrorum civium
questus sum, multosque mortales ea causa adversos habeo; qui mihi atque
animo meo nullius unquam delicti gratiam fecissem,[277] haud facile
alterius libidini male facta condonabam. Sed ea tametsi vos parvi
pendebatis, tamen res publica firma erat; opulentia neglegentiam
tolerabat.[278] Nunc vero non id agitur, bonisne an malis moribus
vivamus, neque quantum aut quam magnificum imperium, populi Romani sit,
sed haec cujuscunque modi videntur, nostra an nobiscum una hostium futura
sint. Hic mihi quisquam mansuetudinem et misericordiam nominat.[279]
Jampridem equidem[280] nos vera vocabula rerum amisimus, quia bona aliena
largiri liberalitas, malarum rerum audacia fortitudo vocatur, eo[281] res
publica in extremo sita est. Sint sane, quoniam ita se mores habent,
liberales ex sociorum fortunis, sint misericordes in furibus aerarii; ne
illi sanguinem nostrum largiantur, et[282] dum paucis sceleratis parcunt,
bonos omnes perditum eant. Bene et composite G. Caesar paulo ante in hoc
ordine de vita et morte disseruit, credo falsa existimans ea, quae de
inferis memorantur, diverso itinere malos a bonis loca taetra, inculta,
foeda atque formidolosa habere. Itaque censuit pecunias eorum
publicandas, ipsos per municipia in custodiis habendos; videlicet timens,
ne, si Romae sint, aut a popularibus conjurationis aut a multitudine
conducta per vim eripiantur. Quasi vero mali atque scelesti tantummodo in
urbe et non[283] per totam Italiam sint, aut non ibi plus possit audacia,
ubi ad defendendum opes minores sunt. Quare vanum equidem hoc consilium
est, si periculum ex illis metuit; sin in tanto omnium metu solus non
timet, eo magis refert[284] me mihi atque vobis timere. Quare quum de P.
Lentulo ceterisque statuetis, pro certo habetote,[285] vos simul de
exercitu Catilinae et de omnibus conjuratis decernere. Quanto vos
attentius ea agetis, tanto illis animus infirmior erit; si paululum modo
vos languere viderint, jam omnes feroces aderunt.[286] Nolite existimare,
majores nostros armis rem publicam ex parva magnam fecisse.[287] Si ita
res esset, multo pulcherrimam eam nos haberemus; quippe sociorum atque
civium, praeterea armorum atque equorum major nobis copia quam illis est.
Sed alia fuere, quae illos magnos fecere, quae nobis nulla sunt, domi
industria, foris justum imperium, animus in consulendo liber, neque
delicto neque libidini obnoxius.[288] Pro his nos habemus luxuriam atque
avaritiam, publice egestatem, privatim opulentiam; laudamus divitias,
sequimur inertiam; inter bonos et malos discrimen nullum est; omnia
virtutis praemia ambitio possidet. Neque mirum: ubi vos separatim sibi
quisque consilium capitis, ubi domi voluptatibus, hic[289] pecuniae aut
gratiae servitis, eo fit, ut impetus fiat in vacuam[290] rem publicam.
Sed ego haec omitto. Conjuravere nobilissimi cives patriam
incendere,[291] Gallorum gentem infestissimam nomini Romano ad bellum
accersunt; dux hostium cum exercitu supra caput est: vos cunctamini
etiamnunc, quid intra moenia deprensis hostibus faciatis?[292]
Misereamini censeo[293],--deliquere homines adolescentuli per
ambitionem,--atque etiam armatos dimittatis. Nae ista vobis mansuetudo et
misericordia, si illi arma ceperint in miseriam onvertet.[294] Scilicet
res ipsa aspera est, sed vos non timetis eam.[295] Immo vero[296] maxime;
sed inertia et mollitia animi alius alium expectantes cunctamini,
videlicet dis immortalibus confisi, qui hanc rem publicam saepe in
maximis periculis servavere. Non votis neque suppliciis muliebribus
auxilia deorum parantur; vigilando, agendo, bene consulendo prospera
omnia cedunt; ubi socordiae te atque ignaviae tradideris, nequidquam deos
implores;[297] irati infestique sunt. Apud majores nostros A. Manlius
Torquatus bello Gallico filium suum, quod is contra imperium in hostem
pugnaverat, necare jussit,[298] atque ille egregius adolescens
immoderatae fortitudinis morte poenas dedit: vos de crudelissimis
parricidis quid statuatis cunctamini? Videlicet cetera vita eorum huic
sceleri obstat. Verum parcite dignitati Lentuli, si ipse pudicitiae, si
famae suae, si dis aut hominibus unquam ullis pepercit; ignoscite Cethegi
adolescentiae, nisi iterum jam patriae bellum fecit. Nam quid ego de
Gabinio, Statilio, Caepario loquar? quibus si quidquam[299] unquam pensi
fuisset, non ea consilia de re publica habuissent. Postremo, P. C., si
mehercule peccato locus esset,[300] facile paterer vos ipsa re corrigi,
quoniam verba contemnitis; sed undique circumventi sumus. Catilina cum
exercitu faucibus urguet:[301] alii intra moenia atque in sinu urbis sunt
hostes: neque parari neque consuli quidquam potest occulte; quo magis
properandum est. Quare ita ego censeo: quum nefario consilio sceleratorum
civium res publica in maxima pericula venerit, iique indicio T. Volturcii
et legatorum Allobrogum convicti confessique sint caedem, incendia
aliaque se foeda atque crudelia facinora in cives patriamque paravisse,
de confessis sicuti de manifestis rerum capitalium more majorum
supplicium sumendum.'

[273] Cato says, '_When I consider the danger of our situation, I form
quite a different view_ from what I do when I reflect upon the
opinions expressed by some about the punishment of the criminals; for
the present danger demands energetic measures of defence, while some
of you are speaking only about the punishment of a crime already
committed. But such a view is incorrect, for we are still surrounded
by the greatest dangers.'
[274] _Pluris facere_, 'to esteem higher.'
[275] _Capessere rem publicam_, 'to take part in the administration of
the state,' or 'to devote one's self to its service.'
[276] _Verba facere_, 'to speak,' or 'to make a speech.'
[277] 'I who had never connived at any of my bad acts'--that is, I who
had never given way to my own weaknesses. About this subjunctive
expressing the reason why the orator does not allow the faults of
others to pass unnoticed, see Zumpt, SS 555, 558.
[278] 'The strength of the state bore the negligence' in restraining the
arbitrary proceedings in which individuals indulged.
[279] 'And here any one will speak to me of clemency and mercy!' alluding
to Caesar. The negative pronoun _quisquam_ is used because the
meaning implied is, that no one ought to have done so. See
Zumpt, S 709.
[280] _Equidem_ for _quidem_, as often in Sallust, but never in
Cicero. The meaning is: 'We have indeed (_quidem_) long since lost
the habit of calling things by their true names, but this erroneous
application of the word _mercy_ is not to be borne.'
[281] _Eo_; Cicero would have said _ea re_.
[282] Instead of _et_, the author might have used _neve_ (_neu_), since
from the preceding clause we have to supply _ne_ to _et_. This is not
a very common mode of speaking; but it occurs most frequently when,
after a negative clause, _et_ introduces a kind of antithesis, and
thus acquires the power of _sed_.
[283] _Et non_ corrects the untrue supposition, that there were no rebels
except at Rome. In such a case we can neither use _non_ without _et_,
nor _neque_. See Zumpt, S 334.
[284] 'If Caesar alone is unconcerned, it is more requisite (necessary
or important) that I should be concerned for me and for you.' About
_refert_, see Zumpt, SS 23, 449, note.
[285] _Habetote_; this future imperative denotes that something is to be
done when something else shall take place. Zumpt, S 583.
[286] The meaning is: 'All will be there immediately'--that is, they will
rise to make the attack.
[287] Cato means to say, 'It is a wrong opinion that our state has
become great by arms; for if this were true, it would now be in the
most flourishing condition, as our military power is now greater
than it ever was. The republic has become great much more by the
activity of the citizens, and by the justice of the government, and
it is this activity and stern justice that must be restored.'
[288] _Obnoxius_, 'subject to a punishment,' or 'to be injured (_noxa_);'
hence, figuratively, 'bound,' 'dependent.' Our ancestors, says Cato,
could deliberate and judge without bias, for their minds were not
crippled either by crimes they had committed, nor by immoderate
desires and passions--a hint intimating that those who were in favour
of lenient measures were conscious of their own guilt, and not free
from bad intentions.
[289] _Hic_--that is, in the senate, in discussing matters of public
importance, you allow yourselves to be guided only by your desire to
gain money and popularity, being anxious not to offend any one who
may be in your way.
[290] _Vacuam_--namely, _a defensoribus_, 'defenceless,' 'helpless.'
[291] _Incendere_, a free use of the infinitive for _ad patriam
incendendam_.
[292] A question expressive of wonder, in which the interrogative
particles are commonly not used. See Zumpt, S 351, note.
[293] Ironically: 'I am of opinion that you should have mercy, and
dismiss the criminals.' The subjunctive without _ut_ depends upon the
verb _censeo_; it is not a subjunctive for an imperative.
[294] 'Assuredly this clemency of yours will end in misery.' Respecting
_nae_, see Zumpt, S 360; and on the transitive sense of _vertere_,
S 145.
[295] The sentence beginning with _scilicet_ is again ironical. The
sense, without the irony, is: 'Nor can it be supposed that you
consider the matter indeed difficult, but that you are without fear.
You are, on the contrary, full of fear, but you hesitate.'
[296] _Immo vero_, 'oh no; on the contrary.' See Zumpt, S 277.
[297] Respecting this form of hypothetical sentences, see Zumpt, S 524,
note 1. The verb in the apodosis might be _implorabis_, without
altering the meaning.
[298] This statement differs in two points from the current tradition
of history. First, the praenomen of this Manlius is commonly _Titus_,
and so we must no doubt correct here, even though the manuscripts
have _Aulus_. Secondly, he did not show his severe military
discipline towards his son in the Gallic war, but in the great Latin
war, which ended, in B.C. 340, with the subjugation of Latium.
Manlius ordered his son to be executed in presence of the army; and
to characterise that harsh severity, the orator uses the word
_necare_ instead of _interficere_ or _occidere_.
[299] _Quidquam_ is stronger than _siquid_--that is, the expression of
the negative is more strongly marked in the protasis.
[300] 'If there were room for a mistake'--namely, in the resolution to be
come to. The meaning is: 'No time is to be lost, since, if you come
to a wrong determination, you will be ruined before you have time to
correct your decision.'
[301] 'Is upon our necks,' a figurative expression, properly applied to
a wrestler who seizes another by the throat.

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