In Catilinam 2.13

2.28Atque haec omnia sīc agentur ut maximae rēs minimō mōtū, perīcula summa nūllō tumultū, bellum intestīnum ac domesticum post hominum memoriam crūdēlissimum et maximum mē ūnō togātō duce et imperātōre sēdētur.

And all this will be done in such a way that the greatest matters, the gravest dangers, and a civil and domestic war, the cruellest and greatest in human memory, will be settled with the least disturbance and no uproar, under myself alone as leader and general in civilian dress.

Note. togātō duce: 'with a leader in the toga', i.e. a civilian. Cicero is proud of putting down a war without taking up arms himself.

2.28Quod ego sīc administrābō, Quirītēs, ut, sī ūllō modō fierī poterit, nē improbus quidem quisquam in hāc urbe poenam suī sceleris sufferat.

I shall manage it so, citizens, that, if it can in any way be done, not even any criminal shall pay the penalty for his crime in this city.

Note. nē … quidem quisquam: 'not even anyone'. Cicero hopes to end the plot without executing anyone; within a month the arrested conspirators would in fact be put to death.

2.28Sed sī vīs manifestae audāciae, sī impendēns patriae perīculum mē necessāriō dē hāc animī lēnitāte dēdūxerit, illud profectō perficiam quod in tantō et tam īnsidiōsō bellō vix optandum vidētur, ut neque bonus quisquam intereat paucōrumque poenā vōs omnēs salvī esse possītis.

But if the violence of open recklessness, if danger hanging over the country forces me away from this mildness of mind, then I will certainly bring about what seems hardly to be hoped for in so great and so treacherous a war: that no loyal man perishes, and that by the punishment of a few you can all be saved.

Note. sī vīs … sī … perīculum: two subjects for dēdūxerit. paucōrum poenā: 'by the punishment of a few'.

2.29Quae quidem ego neque meā prūdentiā neque hūmānīs cōnsiliīs frētus polliceor vōbīs, Quirītēs, sed multīs et nōn dubiīs deōrum immortālium significātiōnibus, quibus ego ducibus in hanc spem sententiamque sum ingressus;

These things I promise you, citizens, relying not on my own wisdom nor on human plans, but on many clear signs from the immortal gods; with them as my guides I have come to this hope and this conviction.

Note. quibus ego ducibus: ablative absolute without a participle, 'with them as my guides'.

2.29quī iam nōn procul, ut quondam solēbant, ab externō hoste atque longinquō, sed hīc praesentēs suō nūmine atque auxiliō sua templa atque urbis tēcta dēfendunt.

They no longer defend their temples and the houses of the city from far off, as they once used to, against a foreign and distant enemy, but here, present, with their divine power and help.

Note. The gods now defend the city not from afar but in person (hīc praesentēs). In the Third Catilinarian Cicero will describe the omens that showed this.

2.29Quōs vōs, Quirītēs, precārī, venerārī, implōrāre dēbētis ut, quam urbem pulcherrimam flōrentissimam potentissimamque esse voluērunt, hanc omnibus hostium cōpiīs terrā marīque superātīs ā perditissimōrum cīvium nefāriō scelere dēfendant.

It is them, citizens, that you must pray to, worship and implore: that this city, which they wished to be the most beautiful, the most prosperous and the most powerful, now that all the forces of its enemies have been defeated on land and sea, they may defend from the wicked crime of utterly abandoned citizens.

Note. The speech ends with a prayer-like appeal. quam urbem … hanc: the relative clause comes first and hanc picks it up, 'this city, which they wished to be …'.