In Catilinam 1.5

1.10Quae cum ita sint, Catilīna, perge quō coepistī: ēgredere aliquandō ex urbe;

Since this is so, Catiline, go on where you have started: leave the city at last;

Note. Quae cum ita sint: 'since these things are so', a set phrase. perge quō coepistī: 'go on where you have begun (to go)'. ēgredere: imperative of ēgredior. aliquandō: 'at last'.

1.10patent portae;

the gates are open;

Note. Short, abrupt clauses: patent portae; proficīscere. The rhythm pushes Catiline out of the door.

1.10proficīscere.

set out.

1.10Nimium diū tē imperātōrem tua illa Mānliāna castra dēsīderant.

That camp of Manlius' has been missing you as its commander for far too long.

Note. Mānliāna castra: the camp of Gaius Manlius in Etruria. tē imperātōrem dēsīderant: 'miss you as their commander'.

1.10Ēdūc tēcum etiam omnīs tuōs, sī minus, quam plūrimōs;

Take all your men with you, or if not all, as many as possible;

Note. sī minus: 'if not (all)'. quam plūrimōs: 'as many as possible'.

1.10pūrgā urbem.

cleanse the city.

1.10Magnō mē metū līberāveris, modo inter mē atque tē mūrus intersit.

You will free me from great fear, provided that there is a wall between you and me.

Note. līberāveris: future perfect, 'you will have freed me'. modo … intersit: modo with the subjunctive means 'provided that'.

1.10Nōbīscum versārī iam diūtius nōn potes;

You can no longer stay among us;

Note. versārī: 'to stay, move about'. Nōbīscum = cum nōbīs.

1.10nōn feram, nōn patiar, nōn sinam.

I will not bear it, I will not endure it, I will not allow it.

Note. Another tricolon, three verbs of rising force: feram, patiar, sinam ('bear', 'endure', 'allow').

1.11Magna dīs immortālibus habenda est atque huic ipsī Iovī Statōrī, antīquissimō custōdī huius urbis, grātia, quod hanc tam taetram, tam horribilem tamque īnfestam reī pūblicae pestem totiēns iam effūgimus.

Great thanks are owed to the immortal gods, and above all to this Jupiter Stator here, the most ancient guardian of this city, that we have so often escaped this pest, so foul, so horrible and so dangerous to the state.

Note. Magna … grātia: the long gap between Magna and grātia keeps the listener waiting. habenda est: passive periphrastic, 'thanks must be given'. Iovī Statōrī: Jupiter the Stayer, whose temple, where the senate met that day, was vowed by Romulus when the Romans were in flight. Cicero points to the statue.

1.11Nōn est saepius in ūnō homine summa salūs perīclitanda reī pūblicae.

The safety of the state must not be put at risk again and again in one man.

Note. saepius: 'too often'. in ūnō homine: 'in the person of one man', i.e. Catiline. perīclitanda: gerundive with est, 'must be put at risk'.

1.11Quam diū mihi cōnsulī dēsignātō, Catilīna, īnsidiātus es, nōn pūblicō mē praesidiō, sed prīvātā dīligentiā dēfendī.

As long as you plotted against me while I was consul-elect, Catiline, I defended myself not with a public guard but by private watchfulness.

Note. cōnsulī dēsignātō: Cicero had been consul-elect in the second half of 64 B.C. īnsidiātus es takes the dative.

1.11Cum proximīs comitiīs cōnsulāribus mē cōnsulem in campō et competītōrēs tuōs interficere voluistī, compressī cōnātūs tuōs nefāriōs amīcōrum praesidiō et cōpiīs nūllō tumultū pūblicē concitātō;

When at the last consular elections you wanted to kill me, the consul, and your rivals on the Campus, I crushed your wicked attempts with the protection and forces of my friends, without stirring up any public disturbance;

Note. proximīs comitiīs cōnsulāribus: the consular elections of 63 B.C., where Catiline stood again and lost. in campō: the Campus Martius, where the elections were held. nūllō tumultū pūblicē concitātō: ablative absolute: Cicero did not call out the public forces.

1.11dēnique, quotiēnscumque mē petīstī, per mē tibi obstitī, quamquam vidēbam perniciem meam cum magnā calamitāte reī pūblicae esse coniūnctam.

in short, every time you went for me, I blocked you by my own efforts, though I saw that my destruction would bring great disaster to the state.

Note. per mē: 'by my own efforts'. quamquam … vidēbam: Cicero claims he knew that his death would be a disaster for the state, so guarding himself was a public duty.

1.12Nunc iam apertē rem pūblicam ūniversam petis, templa deōrum immortālium, tēcta urbis, vītam omnium cīvium, Ītaliam tōtam ad exitium et vāstitātem vocās.

Now you openly attack the whole state; you summon the temples of the immortal gods, the houses of the city, the lives of all citizens, all Italy, to destruction and desolation.

1.12Quā rē, quoniam id quod est prīmum, et quod huius imperī disciplīnaeque maiōrum proprium est, facere nōndum audeō, faciam id quod est ad sevēritātem lēnius, ad commūnem salūtem ūtilius.

So, since I do not yet dare to do what comes first and what befits this office and the tradition of our ancestors, I will do what is milder in severity and more useful for the common safety.

Note. Qua rē: 'therefore'. id quod est prīmum: the obvious course, executing Catiline. ad sevēritātem lēnius: 'milder as regards severity'.

1.12Nam sī tē interficī iusserō, residēbit in rē pūblicā reliqua coniūrātōrum manus;

For if I order you to be killed, the rest of the band of conspirators will remain in the state;

Note. Here Cicero gives the reason he hinted at in 26: killing Catiline would leave the rest of the gang in Rome. coniūrātōrum manus: 'the band of conspirators'.

1.12sīn tū, quod tē iam dūdum hortor, exieris, exhauriētur ex urbe tuōrum comitum magna et perniciōsa sentīna reī pūblicae.

but if you leave, as I have long been urging you to, the large and dangerous dregs of the state, your companions, will be drained out of the city.

Note. sentīna reī pūblicae: 'the bilge-water of the state', the dregs of society that collect in the lowest part of a ship. exhauriētur: 'will be drained out', keeping the image of a ship.