Lectitō › Cicero › Against Catiline I
In Catilinam 1.10
Made for this life
Cicero, In Catilinam I. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō1.25Ībis tandem aliquandō quō tē iam prīdem tua ista cupiditās effrēnāta ac furiōsa rapiēbat;
You will go at last where your unbridled and mad desire has long been sweeping you;
1.25neque enim tibi haec rēs adfert dolōrem, sed quandam incrēdibilem voluptātem.
for this brings you no pain, but a kind of incredible pleasure.
1.25Ad hanc tē āmentiam nātūra peperit, voluntās exercuit, fortūna servāvit.
For this madness nature bore you, your will trained you, fortune preserved you.
Note. A tricolon of nature, will and fortune; Cicero often moves in groups of three.
1.25Numquam tū nōn modo ōtium sed nē bellum quidem nisi nefārium concupīstī.
You never wanted peace, nor even war unless it was a wicked one.
Note. nōn modo … sed nē … quidem: 'not only (not) … but not even'. concupīstī = concupīvistī.
1.25Nactus es ex perditīs atque ab omnī nōn modo fortūnā vērum etiam spē dērelictīs cōnflātam improbōrum manum.
You have got together a band of villains, gathered from the ruined and from men abandoned not only by fortune but even by hope.
Note. Nactus es: from nancīscor, 'you have got hold of'.
1.26Hīc tū quā laetitiā perfruēre, quibus gaudiīs exsultābis, quantā in voluptāte bacchābere, cum in tantō numerō tuōrum neque audiēs virum bonum quemquam neque vidēbis!
What joy you will enjoy there, what delights will make you exult, what pleasure you will revel in, when in all that number of your followers you will neither hear nor see a single good man!
Note. perfruēre, bacchābere: future 2nd person of deponents. bacchor: to rave like a worshipper of Bacchus, an image of frenzy.
1.26Ad huius vītae studium meditātī illī sunt quī feruntur labōrēs tuī, iacēre humī nōn sōlum ad obsidendum stuprum vērum etiam ad facinus obeundum, vigilāre nōn sōlum īnsidiantem somnō marītōrum vērum etiam bonīs ōtiōsōrum.
Those famous labours of yours were practice for the pursuit of this life: lying on the ground not only to lie in wait for an illicit affair but also to commit a crime, staying awake not only plotting against the sleep of husbands but also against the property of peaceful citizens.
Note. Cicero turns Catiline's famous toughness (Sallust praises his endurance of hunger and cold) into a vice: he lay on the ground and stayed awake only for adultery and crime.
1.26Habēs ubi ostentēs tuam illam praeclāram patientiam famis, frīgoris, inopiae rērum omnium quibus tē brevī tempore cōnfectum esse sentiēs.
You have a place to show off that well-known endurance of yours, of hunger, of cold, of the lack of everything, by which you will soon find yourself worn out.
1.27Tantum prōfēcī, cum tē ā cōnsulātū reppulī, ut exsul potius temptāre quam cōnsul vexāre rem pūblicam possēs, atque ut id quod esset ā tē scelerātē susceptum latrōcinium potius quam bellum nōminārētur.
I achieved this much when I kept you from the consulship: that you could attack the republic as an exile rather than harass it as consul, and that what you had wickedly undertaken would be called banditry rather than war.
Note. cum tē ā cōnsulātū reppulī: as consul, Cicero presided over the elections of 63 B.C. in which Catiline lost again; defeated, he turned to open rebellion. exsul … potius … quam cōnsul: 'as an exile rather than as consul'.
Vocabulary
| eō, īre, iī, itus | go |
| tandem, adv. | at length or last, finally |
| aliquandō, adv. | at some time or other; finally, at length |
| quō, adv. | to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long? |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| prīdem (adv.) | long ago; iam prīdem: long since |
| tuus, -a, -um | thy, thine, your |
| iste, ista, istud, dem. pron. | that of yours, that |
| cupiditās, -tātis, f. | desire, longing, eagerness |
| effrēnātus, -a, -um | unbridled, unrestrained |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| furiōsus, -a, -um | raging, mad, frenzied |
| rapiō, -ere, -uī, -tus | seize, snatch |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| enim, conj. | for |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| afferō, afferre, attulī, allātum | bring, bring to; cause |
| dolor, -ōris, m. | pain, grief; anger |
| sed, conj. | but |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| incrēdibilis, e | incredible |
| voluptās, -tātis, f. | pleasure |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| āmentia, -ae, f. | madness |
| nātūra, -ae, f. | nature, character |
| pariō, -ere, peperī, partus | bring forth; win, gain |
| voluntās, -tātis, f. | wish, will |
| exerceō, -ercēre, -ercuī, -ercitus | exercise |
| fortūna, -ae, f. | fortune |
| servō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | save, preserve |
| numquam, adv. | never |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| modo, adv. | only |
| ōtium, -ī n. | leisure, rest; peace, quiet |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| nisi, conj. | if not, unless |
| nefārius, -a, -um | wicked, criminal |
| concupīscō, -cupīscere, -cupīvī, -cupītus | long for, covet |
| nancīscor, nancīscī, nactus | get, obtain, find |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| perditus, -a, -um | abandoned, desperate |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| vērum (conj.) | but, but in fact; nōn modo ... vērum etiam: not only ... but also |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| spēs, speī, f. | hope |
| dērelinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | abandon, forsake completely |
| cōnflō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | blow up, kindle; bring together, scrape together; stir up (hatred) |
| improbus, -a, -um | wicked. in, prep, with acc., into, in, to, upon; with abl., in, on |
| manus, -ūs, f. | hand |
| hīc, adv. | here; hereupon |
| quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj. | what? |
| laetitia, -ae, f. | joy |
| perfruor, -fruī, -frūctus sum | enjoy to the full (+ abl.) |
| gaudium, -ī, n. | gladness, joy |
| exsultō, -āre, -āvī | leap up; exult, revel, run riot |
| quantus, -a, -um | how great or much? |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| bacchor, -ārī, -ātus sum | revel like a worshipper of Bacchus; rave, run wild |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | hear; listen or attend to |
| vir, virī, m. | man |
| bonus, -a, -um | good |
| quisquam, quicquam, indef. pron. | any one, anything |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| vīta, -ae, f. | life |
| studium, -ī, n. | eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit |
| meditor, -ārī, -ātus sum | think over, plan; practise, train for |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| iaceō, -ēre, -uī | lie, be prostrate |
| humus, -ī f. | ground, earth; humī: on the ground |
| sōlum (adv.); solum, -ī n. | only (nōn sōlum … sed etiam: not only … but also); ground, soil |
| obsideō, -sidēre, -sēdī, -sessus | beset, besiege |
| stuprum, -ī n. | debauchery, sexual crime |
| facinus, facinoris, n. | deed, crime |
| obeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go to meet; attend to, carry out |
| vigilō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | stay awake, keep watch; be watchful |
| īnsidior, -ārī, -ātus sum | lie in wait, lay an ambush |
| somnus, -ī, m. | sleep, drowsiness |
| marītus, -ī, m. | husband |
| bonum, -ī n. | a good thing, advantage; (pl.) goods |
| ōtiōsus, -a, -um | at leisure, quiet; as noun: a peaceful citizen |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| ostentō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | show, display; show off |
| praeclārus, -clāra, -clārum | very bright; splendid, remarkable, famous |
| patientia, -ae f. | endurance, hardiness |
| famēs, -is, abl. famē, f. | hunger |
| frīgus, -oris n. | cold |
| inopia, -ae f. | lack, want, scarcity |
| brevis, -e | short |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsus | perceive, feel |
| tantum, adv. | so much or far, only |
| prōficiō, -ere, -fēcī, -fectum | accomplish, make progress |
| cōnsulātus, -ūs m. | consulship |
| repellō, repellere, reppulī, repulsus | drive back or away, repulse, repel |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| exsul, -ulis m. | exile, banished person |
| potius (adv.) | rather |
| temptō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | try, attempt |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| cōnsul, -ulis m. | consul (one of Rome's two chief magistrates) |
| vexō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | harass, ravage |
| pūblicus, -a, -um | public, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state) |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| scelerātē (adv.) | wickedly, criminally |
| suscipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | undertake |
| latrōcinium, -ī n. | robbery, raiding |
| nōminō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | name, mention |