In Catilinam 1.4

1.8Recognōsce mēcum tandem noctem illam superiōrem;

Go over that night before last with me, then;

Note. noctem illam superiōrem: the night of 6-7 November, when the conspirators met at Laeca's house.

1.8iam intellegēs multō mē vigilāre ācrius ad salūtem quam tē ad perniciem reī pūblicae.

you will soon realise that I keep watch far more keenly for the safety of the state than you do for its ruin.

Note. multō … ācrius: 'far more keenly'; multō is the ablative of the degree of difference.

1.8Dīcō tē priōre nocte vēnisse inter falcāriōs— nōn agam obscūrē— in M. Laecae domum;

I say that the night before last you came into the Scythe-makers' street (I will not speak in riddles) to the house of Marcus Laeca;

Note. inter falcāriōs: 'among the scythe-makers', i.e. in the Scythe-makers' street, where Laeca lived. nōn agam obscūrē: Cicero breaks off to say he will name names.

1.8convēnisse eōdem complūrīs eiusdem āmentiae scelerisque sociōs.

that many partners in the same madness and crime gathered there.

Note. convēnisse: still in indirect statement after Dīcō in 43. complūrīs = complūrēs (accusative plural).

1.8Num negāre audēs?

Do you dare to deny it?

1.8quid tacēs?

Why are you silent?

1.8Convincam, sī negās.

I shall prove it, if you deny it.

1.8Videō enim esse hīc in senātū quōsdam quī tēcum ūnā fuērunt.

For I see that some who were with you are here in the senate.

Note. Cicero turns from Catiline to the senators sitting near him: some of the conspirators are present.

1.9Ō dī immortālēs!

Immortal gods!

1.9ubinam gentium sumus?

Where in the world are we?

Note. ubinam gentium: 'where on earth', literally 'where of the peoples'; gentium is a partitive genitive.

1.9quam rem pūblicam habēmus?

What kind of state do we have?

1.9in quā urbe vīvimus?

What city do we live in?

1.9Hīc, hīc sunt in nostrō numerō, patrēs cōnscrīptī, in hōc orbis terrae sānctissimō gravissimōque cōnsiliō, quī dē nostrō omnium interitū, quī dē huius urbis atque adeō dē orbis terrārum exitiō cōgitent.

Here, here among our own number, members of the senate, in this most sacred and weighty council in the world, are men who are plotting the death of us all, the destruction of this city, and indeed of the whole world.

Note. Hīc, hīc: the adverb 'here', repeated. quī … cōgitent: relative clause of characteristic, 'men of the kind who are plotting'. orbis terrārum: 'the world'.

1.9Hōs ego videō cōnsul et dē rē pūblicā sententiam rogō, et quōs ferrō trucīdārī oportēbat, eōs nōndum vōce volnerō!

I, the consul, see them and ask their opinion on public affairs, and the men who ought to have been put to the sword I do not yet wound even with a word!

Note. sententiam rogō: the consul presiding over the senate asked each senator for his opinion in turn. ferrō trucīdārī oportēbat: 'ought to have been butchered with the sword'. volnerō: older spelling of vulnerō.

1.9Fuistī igitur apud Laecam illā nocte, Catilīna, distribuistī partīs Ītaliae, statuistī quō quemque proficīscī placēret, dēlēgistī quōs Rōmae relinquerēs, quōs tēcum ēdūcerēs, discrīpsistī urbis partīs ad incendia, cōnfirmāstī tē ipsum iam esse exitūrum, dīxistī paulum tibi esse etiam nunc morae, quod ego vīverem.

So you were at Laeca's house that night, Catiline; you shared out the regions of Italy, you decided where you wanted each man to go, you chose whom to leave at Rome and whom to take with you, you assigned the parts of the city to be burned, you confirmed that you yourself would soon leave, and you said there was still a little delay for you, because I was alive.

Note. A rapid list of what was decided at Laeca's house, each verb second person perfect. distribuistī partīs Ītaliae: the conspirators were to stir up revolt in different regions. partīs = partēs. paulum … morae: 'a little delay', partitive genitive. quod ego vīverem: subjunctive because Cicero reports Catiline's own reason.

1.9Repertī sunt duo equitēs Rōmānī quī tē istā cūrā līberārent et sē illā ipsā nocte paulō ante lūcem mē in meō lectō interfectūrōs esse pollicērentur.

Two Roman knights were found to free you from that worry and to promise that they would kill me in my bed that very night, a little before dawn.

Note. duo equitēs Rōmānī: Gaius Cornelius and Lucius Vargunteius (a senator), according to Sallust. They were to call on Cicero at dawn, as clients called on a patron, and kill him. quī … līberārent: relative clause of purpose.

1.10Haec ego omnia vixdum etiam coetū vestrō dīmissō comperī;

I found all this out almost before your meeting had broken up;

Note. coetū vestrō dīmissō: ablative absolute, 'when your meeting had just broken up'. Cicero had informers inside the conspiracy, among them Fulvia, mistress of the conspirator Curius.

1.10domum meam maiōribus praesidiīs mūnīvī atque firmāvī, exclūsī eōs quōs tū ad mē salūtātum māne mīserās, cum illī ipsī vēnissent quōs ego iam multīs ac summīs virīs ad mē id temporis ventūrōs esse praedīxeram.

I fortified and strengthened my house with larger guards and kept out the men you had sent to call on me in the morning, when the very men came whom I had already told many leading men would come to me at that time.

Note. salūtātum: supine of purpose after a verb of sending, 'to pay a morning call'. id temporis: 'at that time', an idiom with a partitive genitive.