De Bello Catilinario et Jugurthino

C >> Caius Sallustii Crispi (Sallustius) >> De Bello Catilinario et Jugurthino

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53. Postquam Cato assedit, consulares omnes itemque senatus magna pars
sententiam ejus laudant, virtutem animi ad coelum ferunt, alii alios
increpantes timidos vocant, Cato clarus atque magnus habetur, senati
decretum fit, sicuti ille censuerat. Sed mihi multa legenti, multa
audienti, quae populus Romanus domi militiaeque, mari atque terra
praeclara facinora fecit, forte libuit attendere, quae res maxime tanta
negotia sustinuisset.[302] Sciebam saepenumero parva manu cum magnis
legionibus hostium contendisse; cognoveram parvis copiis bella gesta cum
opulentis regibus, ad hoc saepe fortunae violentiam toleravisse, facundia
Graecos, gloria belli Gallos ante Romanos fuisse. Ac mihi multa agitanti
constabat, paucorum civium egregiam virtutem cuncta patravisse,[303]
eoque factum, uti divitias paupertas, multitudinem paucitas superaret.
Sed postquam luxu atque desidia civitas corrupta est, rursus res publica
magnitudine sua imperatorum atque magistratuum vitia sustentabat, ac,
sicuti effeta parentum,[304] multis tempestatibus haud sane quisquam
Romae virtute magnus fuit. Sed memoria mea ingenti virtute, diversis
moribus fuere viri duo, M. Cato et G. Caesar; quos quoniam res obtulerat,
silentio praeterire non fuit consilium, quin[305] utriusque naturam et
mores, quantum ingenio possem, aperirem.

[302] 'What has chiefly helped in carrying out such great undertakings.'
_Negotium sustinere_, 'to be able to carry out a business,'
representing the _negotium_ as a burden.
[303] Sallust states that, after mature consideration of all the
circumstances, he has come to the conviction that the merit of
individual citizens had raised Rome to its supremacy over the world,
but that afterwards there were no men of importance, or excelling
others by mental superiority, and that the state, as a whole, alone
made the faults of individuals bearable. We must honour the judgment
of Sallust, but cannot agree with it; we must rather believe that the
unvarying ability of the whole Roman people, notwithstanding the not
very prominent minds of individuals, was the cause of the rapid
progress of the Roman dominion. In the later times, on the other
hand, we meet a Scipio the younger, a Marius, a Sulla, a Pompey, and
a Caesar, all of whom were men or generals of eminent talent, while
all those who served under them were persons of inferior abilities.
[304] _Effeta parentum_, the same as _effeta parens_, 'a mother who has
had children, but can have no more.' Respecting the partitive
genitive (as in _aliqui militum_ for _aliqui milites_), see
Zumpt, S 430. The author in the progress of his sentence abandons the
construction with which he began, and which ought to have been
continued thus: _Roma haud sane quemquam virtute magnum protulit_,
for which he says, _Romae haud sane quisquam virtute magnus fuit_.
This deviation from the construction may be explained still more
easily, if in our mind we add _facit_ to the words _sicuti effeta
parentum_, 'as is the case with an aged mother.' _Multis
tempestatibus_, 'during a long time.' The singular _tempestas_ in the
sense of 'time' is not uncommon, but the plural _tempestates_ in the
sense of 'periods of time' occurs only in Sallust in this passage,
and _Jug_. 73, 96, and 108.
[305] _Quin_ is used regularly for _ut non_ after a negative clause:
'I would not pass them over in silence, without unfolding their
characters.'

54. Igitur his genus, aetas, eloquentia prope aequalia fuere; magnitudo
animi par, item gloria, sed alia alii.[306] Caesar beneficiis ac
munificentia magnus habebatur, integritate vitae Cato. Ille mansuetudine
et misericordia clarus factus, huic severitas dignitatem addiderat.
Caesar dando, sublevando, ignoscendo, Cato nihil largiundo gloriam
adeptus est. In altero miseris perfugium erat, in altero malis pernicies;
illius facilitas, hujus constantia laudabatur. Postremo Caesar in animum
induxerat laborare, vigilare; negotiis amicorum intentus sua neglegere,
nihil denegare, quod dono dignum esset; sibi magnum imperium, exercitum,
bellum novum exoptabat, ubi virtus enitescere posset. At Catoni studium
modestiae, decoris, sed maxime severitatis erat. Non divitiis cum divite,
neque factione cum factioso, sed cum strenuo virtute, cum modesto pudore,
cum innocente abstinentia certabat, esse quam videri bonus malebat; ita
quo minus petebat gloriam, eo magis ilium sequebatur.[307]

[306] 'But the one a different one from the other.' The Latin custom of
repeating the same word obliges the author, having once said _alia_,
to use _alii_, which, strictly speaking, should be _alteri_, as he is
speaking of only two persons.
[307] 'The less he strove after fame, the more it followed him of
itself,' so that _gloria_ must be supplied.

55. Postquam, ut dixi, senatus in Catonis sententiam discessit,[308]
consul optimum factu ratus, noctem, quae instabat, antecapere, ne quid eo
spatio novaretur, III. viros[309] quae supplicium postulabat parare
jubet; ipse, praesidiis dispositis, Lentulum in carcerem deducit;[310]
idem fit ceteris per praetores. Est in carcere locus, quod[311] Tullianum
appellatur, ubi paululum descenderis ad laevam, circiter duodecim pedes
humi depressus.[312] Eum muniunt undique parietes atque insuper camera
lapideis fornicibus vineta,[313] sed incultu,[314] tenebris, odore foeda
atque terribilis ejus facies est. In eum locum postquam demissus est
Lentulus, viridices rerum capitalium,[315] quibus praeceptum erat, laqueo
gulam fregere. Ila ille patricius ex gente clarissima Corneliorum, qui
consulare imperium Romae habuerat,[316] dignum moribus factisque suis
exitium vitae invenit. De Cethego, Statilio, Gabinio, Caepario eodem modo
supplicium sumptum est.[317]

[308] _Dicessit_; that is, after the senate, a division having taken
place, had decided in favour of Cato's opinion. Compare p. 50, note 2
[note 245].
[309] Read _tresviros_; each one by himself was called _triumvir_ 'one of
the college of the three.' These officers belonging to the
magistratus minores, had the superintendence of the public prison,
and the carrying of the sentence into execution; whence their
complete title was _tresviri capitales_. The singular, _triumvir_,
does not justify the plural _triumviri_, since the ordinary
grammatical laws require _tres viri_. In manuscripts, we usually had
_III. viri_. Compare Zumpt, S 124.
[310] The preposition _de_ in this compound adds to the idea of the
simple verb _ducere_, that of the place to which a person is led,
and in which he is to remain; hence it is frequently used in the
expression _domum deducere_, 'to take' or 'lead a person home.'
[311] _Locus, quod_. Respecting the gender of the relative pronoun,
see Zumpt, S 372.
[312] The whole structure was called _carcer Mamertinus_, and its main
parts still exist, being changed into a Christian church, _San Pietro
in carcere_. It is situated not far from the ancient _forum Romanum_,
to the north-east, at the foot of the Capitoline hill. According to
Sallust's description, persons on entering had to go down a few
steps leading to the entrance of the _Tullianum_, a subterraneous
apartment cut into the rock, and covered over with a roof; and this
was the place where prisoners were executed. Their corpses were
afterwards publicly exhibited in the adjoining _Scalae Gemoniae_.
The name Tullianum is derived by the Romans from their king, Tullius
Hostilius.
[313] 'The roof is bound together by arches of stone,' to make it strong,
for otherwise, wooden beams were used for such purposes.
[314] _Incultus_, a substantive of rare occurrence, denoting 'want of
cleanliness,' 'the absence of care.'
[315] 'Punishers of capital offences' is only a paraphrase for
_carnifices_, 'executioners.'
[316] _Cornelius Lentulus_ had been consul as early as B.C. 71, but the
year after, he had been ejected from the senate by the censors, on
account of his base conduct. In order to be able to re-enter the
senate, he caused himself to become praetor a second time in this
year, B.C. 63, in which he ended his life so disgracefully. It is
mentioned that he was of a manly and handsome appearance; but the
baseness of his character is attested also by other authors.
[317] The only one among the others who was a member of the senate was
Cornelius Cethegus; Gabinius and Statilius were men of equestrian
rank, and Caeparius was a native of the municipium of Terracina.

56. Dum ea Romae geruntur, Catilina ex omni copia,[318] quam et ipse
adduxerat et Manlius habuerat, duas legiones instituit, cohortes pro
numero militum complet,[319] deinde, ut quisque voluntarius aut ex sociis
in castra venerat, aequaliter distribuerat, ac brevi spatio legiones
numero hominum expleverat, quum initio non amplius duobus milibus[320]
habuisset. Sed ex omni copia circiter pars quarta erat militaribus armis
instructa; ceteri, ut quemque casus armaverat, sparos aut lanceas,[321]
alii praeacutas sudes portabant. Sed postquam Antonius[322] cum exercitu
adventabat, Catilina per montes iter facere, modo ad urbem, modo in
Galliam versus castra movere, hostibus occasionem pugnandi non dare;
sperabat propediem magnas copias sese habiturum, si Romae socii incepta
patravissent. Interea servitia repudiabat, cujus[323] initio ad eum
magnae copiae concurrebant, opibus conjurationis fretus, simul alienum
suis rationibus existimans, videri[324] causam civium cum servis
fugitivis communicavisse.

[318] A regular military force is more commonly called _copiae_, but
the singular, _copia_, also occurs in the sense of 'army,' especially
when it consists of an irregular mass of troops.
[319] _Cohortes complet_ cannot mean in this passage, 'he makes the
cohorts complete,' for such a completeness (consisting of at least
420 men) is incompatible with the addition _pro numero militum_,
'according to the number of his soldiers' in each cohort was not the
usual number of a complete cohort. _Complet_ refers to the number
of cohorts, ten of which made a legion. Translate therefore, 'he
makes the full number of cohorts.'
[320] _Duobus milibus_, Sallust might have said _duo milia_, with the
ellipsis of _quam_ so customary with _plus_, _amplius_, and _minus_.
See Zumpt, S 485.
[321] _Sparus_ is said to be a wooden kind of weapon, resembling a
shepherd's staff, turned at the top; and _lancea_ a spear with
a handle in the middle. Both these weapons were not used by Roman
soldiers, for the latter, besides the short and broad _gladius_,
used the _pilum_, as long as a man is high, and as thick as a
fist, the upper end of which was strongly provided with iron, and
sometimes the _hasta_, which was still longer, and had an
iron point.
[322] _L. Antonius_, the colleague of Cicero in the consulship, B.C. 63.
[323] _Servitia, cujus magnae copiae_; a singular construction, which
cannot be explained otherwise than by taking _cujus_ as a neuter,
'slaves, _of which_ large numbers flocked to him.' This explanation,
however, is supported by the consideration that slaves were regarded
as things, and were designated by names of the neuter gender, as
_servitia_, _mancipia_. In ordinary language, we should say _cujus
generis_, 'of which class of men.'
[324] _Videri_ for _se videri_, 'he thought it contrary to his interest
to appear to have maintained the cause of citizens with the aid of
runaway slaves.' Respecting the omission of the subject of the
infinitive when it is a personal pronoun, see Zumpt, S 605.

57. Sed postquam in castra nuntius pervenit Romae conjurationem
patefactam, de Lentulo et Cethego ceterisque, quos supra memoravi,
supplicium sumptum; plerique, quos ad bellum spes rapinarum aut novarum
rerum studium illexerat, dilabuntur; reliquos Catilina per montes asperos
magnis itineribus in agrum Pistoriensem[325] abducit, eo consilio, uti
per tramites occulte perfugeret in Galliam Transalpinam. At Q. Metellus
Celer cum tribus legionibus in agro Piceno praesidebat, ex difficultate
rerum eadem illa existimans, quae supra diximus, Catilinam agitare.
Igitur, ubi iter ejus ex perfugis cognovit, castra propere movet ac sub
ipsis radicibus montium consedit, qua illi descensus erat in Galliam
properanti. Neque tamen Antonius procul aberat, utpote qui magno exercitu
locis aequioribus expeditos in fuga sequeretur.[326] Sed Catilina
postquam videt montibus atque copiis hostium sese clausum, in urbe res
adversas, neque fugae neque praesidii ullam spem, optimum factu ratus, in
tali re fortunam belli temptare, statuit cum Antonio quam primum
confligere. Itaque contione advocata hujuscemodi orationem habuit:

[325] The territory of Pistoria, in the north of Etruria, not far from
Faesulae, and to the north of Florentia, is in the Apennines. The
regular road from Pisae to Genoa, and thence across the Alps into
Transalpine Gaul, ran along the sea-coast. Cisalpine Gaul was
likewise protected against Catiline by Metellus, so that he could
reach his goal (Transalpine Gaul) only by mountain passes.
[326] Antonius followed the bands of Catiline, which were not
inconvenienced by baggage, as they were fleeing (_in fuga_; that is,
_fugientes_). Antonius's army marched on smoother roads, but had
to carry heavier baggage. From all this, we see why Antonius, though
not far from the enemy, yet could not reach him. Respecting the
adverb _utpote_, see Zumpt, S 271. _Utpote qui_, 'the which,' is
used as a conjunction for _quippe qui_, generally with the
subjunctive, and indicates the cause of the preceding statement.

58. 'Compertum ego habeo, milites, verba virtutem non addere, neque ex
ignavo strenuum neque fortem ex timido exercitum oratione imperatoris
fieri. Quanta cujusque animo audacia natura aut moribus inest, tanta in
bello patere solet. Quem neque gloria neque pericula excitant, nequidquam
hortere; timor animi auribus officit.[327] Sed ego vos, quo pauca
monerem, advocavi; simul uti causam mei consilii aperirem. Scitis
equidem, milites, socordia atque ignavia Lentuli quantam ipsi nobisque
cladem attulerit; quoque modo, dum ex urbe praesidia opperior, in Galliam
proficisci nequiverim.[328] Nunc vero quo in loco[329] res nostrae sint,
juxta mecum omnes intellegitis. Exercitus hostium duo, unus ab urbe,
alter a Gallia obstant; diutius in his locis esse, si maxime animus
ferat, frumenti atque aliarum rerum egestas[330] prohibet. Quocunque ire
placet, ferro iter aperiundum est. Quapropter vos moneo; uti forti atque
parato animo sitis et, quum proelium inibitis, memineritis vos divitias,
decus, gloriam, praeterea libertatem atque patriam in dexteris vestris
portare. Si vincimus, omnia nobis tuta erunt, commeatus abunde, municipia
atque coloniae patebunt; sin metu cesserimus, eadem illa adversa fient:
neque locus neque amicus quisquam teget, quem arma non texerint.
Praeterea, milites, non eadem nobis et illis necessitudo impendet; nos
pro patria, pro libertate, pro vita certamus: illis supervacaneum est pro
potentia paucorum pugnare. Quo audacius aggredimini, memores pristinae
virtutis. Licuit vobis cum summa turpitudine in exilio aetatem agere;
potuistis nonnulli Romae amissis bonis alienas opes expectare: quia illa
foeda atque intoleranda viris videbantur, haec[331] sequi decrevistis. Si
haec relinquere vultis, audacia opus est; nemo nisi victor pace bellum
mutavit.[332] Nam in fuga salutem sperare, quum arma, quis[333] corpus
tegitur, ab hostibus averteris, ea vero dementia est. Semper in proelio
iis maximum est periculum, qui maxime timent; audacia pro muro habetur.
Quum vos considero, milites, et quum facta vestra aestimo, magna me spes
victoriae tenet. Animus, aetas, virtus vestra me hortantur;[334]
praeterea necessitudo, quae etiam timidos fortes facit. Nam multitudo
hostium ne circumvenire queat, prohibent angustiae loci. Quodsi virtuti
vestrae fortuna inviderit, cavete,[335] inulti animam amittatis, neu
capti potius sicuti pecora trucidemini, quam virorum more pugnantes
cruentam atque luctuosam victoriam hostibus relinquatis.'

[327] _Officere_ is properly 'to oppose,' 'obstruct,' _aliquid alicui
rei_; then omitting the object (_aliquid_) with the dative alone, 'to
be an obstacle to,' or 'to hinder,' therefore, _officia famae tuae_,
'I oppose something to your fame.' 'Internal fear is a hindrance to
the ear,' so that admonitions are either not heard at all, or do not
penetrate into the mind.
[328] Catiline assigns the circumstance that he had expected aid and
succours from Rome itself, as the cause of his not having set out for
Gaul earlier, when he might have accomplished his end. _Opperior_,
'I wait for,' or _expecto dum aliquis veniat_.
[329] _Quo in loco_, 'in which situation.' The preposition _in_ might
have been omitted. See Zumpt, S 481.
[330] _Egestas_, 'want,' with the genitive of the thing wanted, is of
rare occurrence for _inopia_ or _penuria_. _Egestas_ is commonly used
absolutely in the sense of 'poverty,' 'neediness.'
[331] _Haec_ is here used in the general sense of 'these circumstances;'
that is, this honourable but difficult war. This we must infer from
the _haec_ following.
[332] For the construction of _mutare_, see Zumpt, S 456.
[333] _Quis_ for _quibus_. _Ea_, not _id_. Zumpt, S 372.
[334] 'Give me courage,' or 'give me hope,' for _hortari_ is applied to
persons doing good things, and _admonere_ to persons doing bad ones:
_hortamur properantem, admonemus cunctantem_.
[335] _Cavete--amittatis, neu trucidemeni_ for _cavete, ne amittatis,
neve (neu) trucidemini_. See Zumpt, S 586.

59. Haec ubi dixit, paululum commoratus, signa canere jubet,[336] atque
instructos ordines in locum aequum deducit. Dein, remotis omnium equis,
quo militibus exaequato periculo animus amplior esset, ipse pedes
exercitum pro loco atque copiis instruit. Nam, uti planities erat inter
sinistros montes et ab dextera rupe aspera,[337] octo cohortes in fronte
constituit, reliquarum signa[338] in subsidio artius collocat. Ab his
centuriones omnes, lectos et evocatos, praeterea ex gregariis militibus
optimum quemque armatum in primam aciem subducit.[339] G. Manlium in
dextera, Faesulanum quendam in sinistra parte curare[340] jubet; ipse cum
libertis et colonis propter aquilam assistit,[341] quam bello Cimbrico G.
Marius in exercitu habuisse dicebatur. At ex altera parte G. Antonius,
pedibus aeger,[342] quod proelio adesse nequibat, M. Petreio legato[343]
exercitum permittit. Ille cohortes veteranas, quas tumulti[344] causa
conscripserat, in fronte post eas ceterum exercitum in subsidiis locat.
Ipse equo circumiens, unum quemque nominans appellat, hortatur, rogat, ut
meminerint, se contra latrones inermes, pro patria, pro liberis, pro aris
atque focis suis certare. Homo militaris, quod amplius annos triginta
tribunus aut praefectus aut legatus aut praetor cum magna gloria in
exercitu fuerat, plerosque ipsos factaque eorum fortia noverat; ea
commemorando militum animos accendebat.

[336] _Canere_ is used in different ways: _tubicen canit signum_, 'the
trumpeter blows the signal;' _tubicen canit_, 'the trumpeter blows
(his instrument);' _signa canuntur_, 'signals are blown' or 'given;'
and lastly, _signa canunt_, 'the signals sound.' The last expression
is the one used in our passage.
[337] _Rupe aspera_, &c. 'For in accordance with the nature of the plain
between hills on the left-hand side, and on the right a rugged rock,
he drew up (only) eight cohorts in front.' A simpler construction
would have been _et rupem asperam a dextra_, but the manuscripts are
decidedly in favour of the ablative, which must be considered as an
ablative absolute, and as forming a distinct clause. Other editions
have the correction _rupis aspera_, 'the rough part of a rock'
(_aspera_ being the neut. plur.), but this is a poetical expression.
See Zumpt, S 435.
[338] Literally, 'The signals (_vexilla_) of the other cohorts he places
in the rear as a reserve, more closely together.' _Signa_ here
denotes the separate divisions of the troops; that is, the cohorts
and the three maniples in each cohort, which are distinguished from
one another by their flags or banners (_vexilla_). When an army was
drawn up in a spacious plain, a space was left between the several
divisions, but in this case, the plain being too narrow, there were
no such spaces.
[339] 'From among these who were drawn up as a reserve, he draws, for the
purpose of strengthening the van, all centurions, picked men (in
apposition), and the volunteers who had not been enlisted, as well as
the ablest of the common soldiers who were provided with arms.' The
word _lectos_ belonging to _centuriones_, shows that Catiline had
appointed to the office of centurions only chosen men who were
personally known to him as able soldiers. _Evocati_ were those
soldiers in a Roman army who did not serve in the ranks of the other
common soldiers, but as a separate corps, and were exempt from
the ordinary military duties of standing as sentinels, making
fortifications, foraging, and the like. They derived their name from
the fact that they were invited (_evocare_) by the general to serve
in the army as volunteers; they, moreover, were generally more
advanced in years than the regular troops.
[340] _Curare_, 'to command.'
[341] Catiline himself stood nearest the standard (eagle) with his most
faithful followers, whose personal fate depended upon him; that is,
the freedmen of his family and the tenant farmers of his estates.
The Roman nobles, as early as that time, used to parcel out their
estates in small farms, which were tenanted especially by their
freedmen, who were thus patronised by their former masters.
[342] _Pedibus aeger_. He had the gout. Dion Cassius, a later historian
of Rome, who wrote in Greek, states that Antonius only pretended to
be ill, in order not to have to fight against his friend Catiline.
[343] A _legatus_, in this sense (for it also means 'ambassador'),
supplied, in a Roman army, the place of a commander possessing the
_imperium_. Accordingly, consuls and praetors, when intrusted with
the command of an army, had one or more legates, according to the
number of legions which they had under their command. The office of
legate was given by the senate to such men as had held a magistracy,
generally the praetorship, or at least the quaestorship, and the
senate appointed them on the proposal of the commander-in-chief.
When there were several legates, the commander-in-chief might
intrust one of them with the command of the whole army; but the
commander-in-chief was answerable for all the acts of his legate.
[344] _Tumulti_ for _tumultus_, as _senati_ for _senatus_.

60. Sed ubi, omnibus rebus exploratis, Petreius tuba signum dat, cohortes
paulatim incedere jubet, idem facit hostium exercitus. Postquam eo ventum
est, unde a ferentariis[345] proelium committi posset, maximo clamore cum
infestis signis[346] concurrunt; pila omittunt, gladiis res geritur.
Veterani, pristinae virtutis memores, comminus acriter instare; illi haud
timidi resistunt; maxima vi certatur. Interea Catilina cum expeditis in
prima acie versari, laborantibus succurrere; integros pro sauciis
accersere, omnia providere, multum ipse pugnare saepe, hostem ferire;
strenui militis et boni imperatoris officia simul exequebatur. Petreius,
ubi videt Catilinam, contra ac ratus erat, magna vi tendere, cohortem
praetoriam[347] in medios hostes inducit, eosque perturbatos atque alios
alibi resistentes interficit; deinde utrimque ex lateribus ceteros
aggreditur. Manlius et Faesulanus in primis pugnantes cadunt. Postquam
fusas copias seque cum paucis relictum videt Catilina, memor generis
atque pristinae suae dignitatis, in confertissimos hostes incurrit ibique
pugnans confoditur.

[345] _Ferentarii_ are light-armed troops fighting at a distance with
javelins.
[346] The banners being turned hostilely against one another. Respecting
_cum_, see Zumpt, S 473; for we also find _infestis signis
concurrere_, without _cum_, as an ablative of the instrument.
[347] The _cohors praetoria_ was a battalion which, in forming an army,
was composed of the ablest and most tried soldiers, as the bodyguard
of the commander-in-chief. They had to protect him, and assist him in
contriving to bring any engagement to the point where he wished it
to be. Under the emperors, the _cohortes praetoriae_, nine or
ten in number--the emperors having several armies under their
command--formed the body-guard of the emperor and the garrison of
Rome.

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