In Catilinam 2.10

2.21Quārtum genus est sānē varium et mīxtum et turbulentum;

The fourth kind is certainly mixed, varied and unruly:

Note. Class 4: a mixed group of ruined men. The relative clauses that follow (quī … quī … quī) have the genus as their antecedent, so the verbs are plural.

2.21quī iam prīdem premuntur, quī numquam ēmergunt, quī partim inertiā, partim male gerendō negōtiō, partim etiam sūmptibus in vetere aere aliēnō vacillant, quī vadimōniīs, iūdiciīs, prōscrīptiōne bonōrum dēfetīgātī permultī et ex urbe et ex agrīs sē in illa castra cōnferre dīcuntur.

men who have long been going under, who never get their heads above water, who partly through idleness, partly through mismanaging their affairs, partly also through extravagance, are tottering under old debts; men who, worn out by bail bonds, lawsuits and the forced sale of their property, are said to be going in great numbers from the city and from the country into that camp.

Note. vadimōniīs: bail bonds, promises to appear in court on a set day; the debtors are worn out by legal proceedings. prōscrīptiōne bonōrum: here the public notice of the sale of a debtor's goods.

2.21Hōsce ego nōn tam mīlitēs ācrīs quam īnfitiātōrēs lentōs esse arbitror.

These I consider not so much keen soldiers as slow-paying defaulters.

Note. īnfitiātōrēs lentōs: 'slow-paying defaulters', men who deny their debts. Cicero's joke is that they are no better as soldiers than as payers.

2.21Quī hominēs quam prīmum, sī stāre nōn possunt, conruant, sed ita ut nōn modo cīvitās sed nē vīcīnī quidem proximī sentiant.

Let these men, if they cannot stand, fall as soon as possible, but in such a way that not only the state but not even their next-door neighbours notice.

Note. conruant: jussive subjunctive, 'let them collapse'.

2.21Nam illud nōn intellegō quam ob rem, sī vīvere honestē nōn possunt, perīre turpiter velint, aut cūr minōre dolōre peritūrōs sē cum multīs quam sī sōlī pereant arbitrentur.

For I do not understand this: why, if they cannot live honourably, they want to die disgracefully, or why they think they will die with less pain in company with many than if they die alone.

Note. quam ob rem: 'why', introducing an indirect question. minōre dolōre … cum multīs: they think it less painful to go down with many others.

2.22Quīntum genus est parricīdārum, sīcāriōrum, dēnique omnium facinerōsōrum.

The fifth kind is of parricides, assassins, in short all criminals.

Note. Class 5: murderers and criminals. parricīda meant the murderer of a close relative and was used of any monstrous criminal.

2.22Quōs ego ā Catilīnā nōn revocō;

These I do not call back from Catiline;

2.22nam neque ab eō dīvellī possunt et pereant sānē in latrōciniō, quoniam sunt ita multī ut eōs carcer capere nōn possit.

for they cannot be torn away from him, and let them die in their brigandage, by all means, since there are so many of them that the prison cannot hold them.

Note. pereant sānē: 'let them perish, by all means'. carcer: the small state prison at the foot of the Capitol (the Tullianum).

2.22Postrēmum autem genus est nōn sōlum numerō vērum etiam genere ipsō atque vītā quod proprium Catilīnae est, dē eius dīlēctū, immō vērō dē complexū eius ac sinū;

The last kind, last not only in number but also in its very character and way of life, is Catiline's own: his chosen men, or rather his intimates and bosom friends;

Note. Class 6: Catiline's own inner circle. Postrēmum is both 'last' in the list and 'lowest' in character. immō vērō: 'or rather', a self-correction that makes the charge stronger.

2.22quōs pexō capillō, nitidōs, aut imberbīs aut bene barbātōs vidētis, manicātīs et tālāribus tunicīs, vēlīs amictōs, nōn togīs;

you see them with their hair combed, sleek, either beardless or with well-trimmed beards, in tunics with long sleeves reaching to their ankles, wearing sails, not togas;

Note. A satirical portrait of fashionable young men: combed hair, smooth or neatly bearded faces, long-sleeved tunics reaching to the ankles. Romans thought such dress effeminate. vēlīs … nōn togīs: their garments are as big as sails, not the citizen's toga.

2.22quōrum omnis industria vītae et vigilandī labor in antelūcānīs cēnīs exprōmitur.

all the industry of their life and all their labour of staying awake is spent on dinners that last till dawn.

Note. vigilandī: gerund. They stay awake not for the state (as Cicero does, vigilāre in 9) but for all-night dinners.

2.23In hīs gregibus omnēs āleātōrēs, omnēs adulterī, omnēs impūrī impudīcīque versantur.

In these gangs move all the gamblers, all the adulterers, all the filthy and shameless.

2.23Hī puerī tam lepidī ac dēlicātī nōn sōlum amāre et amārī neque saltāre et cantāre sed etiam sīcās vibrāre et spargere venēna didicērunt.

These boys, so charming and dainty, have learned not only to love and be loved, not only to dance and sing, but also to brandish daggers and sprinkle poisons.

2.23Quī nisi exeunt, nisi pereunt, etiam sī Catilīna perierit, scītōte hoc in rē pūblicā sēminārium Catilīnārum futūrum.

Unless they leave, unless they die, even if Catiline dies, know that this will be a breeding-ground of Catilines in the state.

Note. scītōte: future imperative of sciō, 'know'; sciō normally uses the future imperative (scītō, scītōte) instead of the present. sēminārium Catilīnārum: 'a nursery of Catilines'.

2.23Vērum tamen quid sibi istī miserī volunt?

But what do these wretches want for themselves?

2.23num suās sēcum mulierculās sunt in castra ductūrī?

Surely they are not going to take their little women with them to the camp?

Note. num: expects 'no'. sunt … ductūrī: future active periphrastic, 'are they going to take'.

2.23Quem ad modum autem illīs carēre poterunt, hīs praesertim iam noctibus?

And yet how will they be able to do without them, especially on these nights?

Note. his praesertim iam noctibus: the speech was given in November, when the nights are long and cold.

2.23Quō autem pactō illī Appennīnum atque illās pruīnās ac nivīs perferent?

And how will they endure the Apennines and those frosts and snows?

2.23nisi idcircō sē facilius hiemem tolerātūrōs putant, quod nūdī in convīviīs saltāre didicērunt.

Unless they think they will bear the winter more easily because they have learned to dance naked at banquets.

Note. nisi … putant: ironic, 'unless they think …'. nūdī … saltāre: dancing naked at banquets was the height of disgrace for a Roman.