2.5Itaque ego illum exercitum prae Gallicānīs legiōnibus et hōc dīlēctū quem in agrō Pīcēnō et Gallicō Q. Metellus habuit, et hīs cōpiīs quae ā nōbīs cōtīdiē comparantur, magnō opere contemnō, conlēctum ex senibus dēspērātīs, ex agrestī luxuriā, ex rūsticīs dēcoctōribus, ex eīs quī vadimōnia dēserere quam illum exercitum māluērunt;And so I utterly despise that army of his, compared with the Gallic legions and this levy which Quintus Metellus has held in the Picene and Gallic district, and these forces which we are raising every day, an army collected from desperate old men, from rustic profligates, from country bankrupts, from men who preferred to jump their bail rather than desert that army;Note. prae: 'in comparison with'. Q. Metellus Celer was raising troops in northern Italy against the rebels. vadimōnia dēserere: 'to forfeit their bail', i.e. to fail to turn up in court. Cicero mocks Catiline's army as old men, bankrupts and men dodging lawsuits. 2.5quibus ego nōn modo sī aciem exercitūs nostrī, vērum etiam sī ēdictum praetōris ostenderō, concident.they will collapse if I show them not only the battle line of our army but even a praetor's edict.Note. ostenderō, concīdent: future perfect in the 'if' clause, future in the main clause, the normal Latin pattern for a future condition. 2.5Hōs quōs videō volitāre in forō, quōs stāre ad cūriam, quōs etiam in senātum venīre, quī nitent unguentīs, quī fulgent purpurā, māllem sēcum suōs mīlitēs ēdūxisset: quī sī hīc permanent, mementōte nōn tam exercitum illum esse nōbīs quam hōs quī exercitum dēseruērunt pertimēscendōs.These men whom I see flitting about in the Forum, standing at the senate house, even coming into the senate, who glisten with perfume and shine in purple, I would rather he had led out with him as his soldiers; if they stay here, remember that it is not so much that army as these men who deserted the army that we must fear.Note. Hōs ... māllem sēcum ... ēdūxisset: 'I would rather he had led these men out with him'. The perfumed, purple-clad young men are Cicero's picture of the decadent rich. pertimēscendōs (esse): passive periphrastic, 'must be feared', with nōbīs as the dative of agent.
2.5Atque hōc etiam sunt timendī magis quod quid cōgitent mē scīre sentiunt neque tamen permoventur.And they are the more to be feared because they realize that I know what they are planning and yet they are not moved. 2.6Videō cui sit Āpūlia attribūta, quis habeat Etrūriam, quis agrum Pīcēnum, quis Gallicum, quis sibi hās urbānās īnsidiās caedis atque incendiōrum dēpoposcerit.I see to whom Apulia has been assigned, who has Etruria, who the Picene district, who the Gallic, who has demanded for himself these plots in the city of murder and arson.Note. Each quis begins an indirect question, so the verbs are subjunctive. Cicero claims to know the conspirators' assignment of Italy region by region. 2.6Omnia superiōris noctis cōnsilia ad mē perlāta esse sentiunt;They realize that all the plans of the night before last have been reported to me; 2.6patefēcī in senātū hesternō diē;I revealed them in the senate yesterday;Note. hesternō diē: the First Catilinarian had been delivered in the senate the day before, 8 November. 2.6Catilīna ipse pertimuit, profūgit: hī quid exspectant?Catiline himself took fright and fled: what are these men waiting for? 2.6Nē illī vehementer errant, sī illam meam prīstinam lēnitātem perpetuam spērant futūram.They are badly mistaken indeed if they hope that my former leniency will last for ever.Note. Nē here is the emphatic particle (also spelled nae), 'truly', not the negative. It always stands with a pronoun: nē illī ... errant, 'they really are mistaken'.