In Catilinam 2.5

2.9Atque ut eius dīversa studia in dissimilī ratiōne perspicere possītis, nēmō est in lūdō gladiātōriō paulō ad facinus audācior quī sē nōn intimum Catilīnae esse fateātur, nēmō in scaenā levior et nēquior quī sē nōn eiusdem prope sodālem fuisse commemoret.

And so that you may see his varied interests in their different kinds, there is no one in the gladiator school a little more reckless for crime who does not admit that he is a close friend of Catiline, no one on the stage more fickle and worthless who does not tell how he was almost his comrade.

Note. paulō ... audācior: 'a little too reckless'; the comparative can mean 'rather' or 'too'. Gladiators and actors were social outcasts at Rome, so being their friend was a disgrace.

2.9Atque īdem tamen stuprōrum et scelerum exercitātiōne adsuēfactus frīgore et fame et sitī et vigiliīs perferendīs fortis ab istīs praedicābātur, cum industriae subsidia atque īnstrūmenta virtūtis in libīdine audāciāque cōnsūmeret.

Yet this same man, trained by the practice of debauchery and crime to endure cold and hunger and thirst and sleepless nights, was called brave by those men, though he squandered the resources of hard work and the tools of virtue on lust and recklessness.

Note. īdem: 'this same man', pointing a contradiction. Catiline's toughness, praised by his friends, is turned into a vice: he trained himself in endurance only for crime. frīgore ... perferendīs: the gerundive agrees with the nearest noun.

2.10Hunc vērō sī secūtī erunt suī comitēs, sī ex urbe exierint dēspērātōrum hominum flāgitiōsī gregēs, ō nōs beātōs, ō rem pūblicam fortūnātam, ō praeclāram laudem cōnsulātūs meī!

But if his companions follow him, if the disgraceful herds of desperate men leave the city, how happy we shall be, how fortunate the state, how glorious the praise of my consulship!

Note. secūtī erunt, exierint: future perfects in the 'if' clauses. The three exclamations with ō and the accusative build to the climax: the glory of Cicero's own consulship.

2.10Nōn enim iam sunt mediocrēs hominum libīdinēs, nōn hūmānae et tolerandae audāciae;

For these men's lusts are no longer ordinary, their reckless acts no longer human and bearable;

2.10nihil cōgitant nisi caedem, nisi incendia, nisi rapīnās.

they think of nothing but murder, arson and plunder.

Note. nisi caedem, nisi incendia, nisi rapīnās: anaphora with nisi, 'nothing except ...'.

2.10Patrimōnia sua profūdērunt, fortūnās suās obligāvērunt;

They have squandered their inheritances, they have mortgaged their fortunes;

2.10rēs eōs iam prīdem, fidēs nūper dēficere coepit: eadem tamen illa quae erat in abundantiā libīdō permanet.

their money began to fail them long ago, their credit recently; yet that same lust which they had in their plenty remains.

Note. rēs ... fidēs: rēs is their money, fidēs their credit; both have failed them, but their appetite remains.

2.10Quod sī in vīnō et āleā cōmissātiōnēs sōlum et scorta quaererent, essent illī quidem dēspērandī, sed tamen essent ferendī: hoc vērō quis ferre possit, inertīs hominēs fortissimīs virīs īnsidiārī, stultissimōs prūdentissimīs, ēbriōs sōbriīs, dormientīs vigilantibus?

If in their wine and dice they sought only revels and harlots, they would be past hope indeed, but they would still be bearable; but who could bear this: idle men plotting against the bravest, the stupidest against the wisest, the drunk against the sober, the sleepers against the wakeful?

Note. Quod sī: 'but if'. A series of contrasts in parallel pairs (inertēs ... fortissimīs, stultissimōs ... prūdentissimīs, ēbriōs ... sōbriīs, dormientēs ... vigilantibus) all depend on īnsidiārī with the dative. -īs is an old accusative plural ending (inertīs = inertēs).

2.10quī mihi accubantēs in convīviīs, complexī mulierēs impudīcās, vīnō languidī, cōnfertī cibō, sertīs redimītī, unguentīs oblitī, dēbilitātī stuprīs ērūctant sermōnibus suīs caedem bonōrum atque urbis incendia.

Lying at their banquets, embracing shameless women, sluggish with wine, stuffed with food, crowned with garlands, smeared with perfumes, worn out with debauchery, they belch out in their talk the murder of good men and the burning of the city.

Note. A string of participles and adjectives paints the conspirators at a Roman banquet, where diners reclined on couches. mihi is an 'ethical dative': 'I tell you, they belch out ...'.

2.11Quibus ego cōnfīdō impendēre fātum aliquod et poenam iam diū improbitātī, nēquitiae, scelerī, libīdinī dēbitam aut īnstāre iam plānē aut certē appropinquāre.

I am confident that some doom hangs over them, and that the punishment long due to their wickedness, worthlessness, crime and lust is either now upon them or certainly drawing near.

2.11Quōs sī meus cōnsulātus, quoniam sānāre nōn potest, sustulerit, nōn breve nesciō quod tempus sed multa saecula prōpāgārit reī pūblicae.

If my consulship removes these men, since it cannot cure them, it will have extended the life of the state not for some short time but for many ages.

Note. sustulerit, prōpāgārit: future perfects (prōpāgārit is short for prōpāgāverit). nesciō quod tempus: 'some time or other'; nesciō quis/quī works like an indefinite pronoun.

2.11Nūlla enim est nātiō quam pertimēscāmus, nūllus rēx quī bellum populō Rōmānō facere possit.

For there is no nation that we need fear, no king who can make war on the Roman people.

2.11Omnia sunt externa ūnīus virtūte terrā marīque pācāta: domesticum bellum manet, intus īnsidiae sunt, intus inclūsum perīculum est, intus est hostis.

Everything abroad has been made peaceful on land and sea by the courage of one man: a war at home remains; the plot is inside, the danger is shut up inside, the enemy is inside.

Note. ūnīus virtūte: the 'one man' is Pompey, who had just finished the wars in the East. Cicero contrasts peace abroad with war at home. The repeated intus is anaphora.

2.11Cum luxuriā nōbīs, cum āmentiā, cum scelere certandum est.

We have to fight against luxury, against madness, against crime.

Note. certandum est nōbīs: impersonal passive periphrastic, 'we must fight'.

2.11Huic ego mē bellō ducem profiteor, Quirītēs;

For this war, citizens, I offer myself as your leader;

2.11suscipiō inimīcitiās hominum perditōrum;

I take on the enmity of ruined men;

2.11quae sānārī poterunt quācumque ratiōne sānābō, quae resecanda erunt nōn patiar ad perniciem cīvitātis manēre.

what can be cured I shall cure by whatever means; what must be cut away I shall not allow to remain, to the ruin of the state.

Note. Cicero speaks like a doctor: what can be healed he will heal, what must be cut out he will cut out.

2.11Proinde aut exeant aut quiēscant aut, sī et in urbe et in eādem mente permanent, ea quae merentur exspectent.

So let them either leave or keep quiet, or, if they remain both in the city and in the same frame of mind, let them expect what they deserve.