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In Catilinam 3.3

The arrests

Cicero, In Catilinam III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.

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3.6Tum interventū Pomptīnī atque Flaccī pugna quae erat commissa sēdātur.

Then, by the intervention of Pomptinus and Flaccus, the fight that had begun is stopped.

3.6Litterae quaecumque erant in eō comitātū integrīs signīs praetōribus trāduntur;

All the letters that were in that party are handed over to the praetors with their seals unbroken;

Note. integrīs signīs: letters were written on wax tablets, tied with thread and sealed. An unbroken seal proved that nobody had tampered with them.

3.6ipsī comprehēnsī ad mē, cum iam dīlūcēsceret, dēdūcuntur.

the men themselves are arrested and brought to me as day was already dawning.

3.6Atque hōrum omnium scelerum improbissimum māchinātōrem, Cimbrum Gabīnium, statim ad mē nihil dum suspicantem vocāvī;

And I at once summoned the most wicked contriver of all these crimes, Cimber Gabinius, who as yet suspected nothing;

Note. nihil dum suspicantem: 'as yet suspecting nothing'. dum after a negative means 'yet'.

3.6deinde item arcessītus est L. Statilius et post eum Cethēgus;

then Lucius Statilius was sent for likewise, and after him Cethegus;

3.6tardissimē autem Lentulus vēnit, crēdō quod in litterīs dandīs praeter cōnsuētūdinem proximā nocte vigilārat.

but Lentulus came very slowly, I suppose because he had been up later than usual the night before, writing letters.

Note. A sarcastic touch: Lentulus came late, Cicero suggests, because he had stayed up late writing the very letters that now condemned him. vigilārat is a short form of vigilāverat.

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3.7Cum summīs et clārissimīs huius cīvitātis virīs quī audītā rē frequentēs ad mē māne convēnerant litterās ā mē prius aperīrī quam ad senātum dēferrī placēret, nē, sī nihil esset inventum, temerē ā mē tantus tumultus iniectus cīvitātī vidērētur, negāvī mē esse factūrum ut dē perīculō pūblicō nōn ad cōnsilium pūblicum rem integram dēferrem.

Though the highest and most distinguished men of this state, who had heard the news and gathered at my house in large numbers in the morning, wanted me to open the letters before bringing them to the senate, so that, if nothing were found in them, I should not seem to have thrown such alarm into the state rashly, I said I would not do it: I would not fail to bring a matter of public danger untouched before the public council.

Note. Cum … placēret: 'though it pleased …', a concessive cum clause. The leading men wanted the letters opened first, in case they turned out to be harmless. negāvī mē esse factūrum ut …: 'I said I would not act so as to …', i.e. he refused.

3.7Etenim, Quirītēs, sī ea quae erant ad mē dēlāta reperta nōn essent, tamen ego nōn arbitrābar in tantīs reī pūblicae perīculīs esse mihi nimiam dīligentiam pertimēscendam.

For, citizens, even if the information brought to me had not been confirmed, I still did not think that in such great dangers to the republic I need fear too much care.

Note. nimiam dīligentiam pertimēscendam: a passive periphrastic with mihi, 'that too much care was something I needed to fear'.

3.7Senātum frequentem celeriter, ut vīdistis, coēgī.

I quickly called a full meeting of the senate, as you saw.

3.8Atque intereā statim admonitū Allobrogum C. Sulpicium praetōrem, fortem virum, mīsī quī ex aedibus Cethēgī sī quid tēlōrum esset efferret;

And meanwhile, at once, on the advice of the Allobroges, I sent the praetor Gaius Sulpicius, a brave man, to carry out of Cethegus' house any weapons there might be;

Note. quī … efferret: a relative clause of purpose, 'to carry out'. sī quid tēlōrum: 'any weapons', partitive genitive after quid.

3.8ex quibus ille maximum sīcārum numerum et gladiōrum extulit.

from it he carried out a very large number of daggers and swords.

Vocabulary

tum, adv.then, at that time
interventus, -ūs m.coming on, intervention
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
pugna, -ae, f.fighting, battle, combat
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
committō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missussend together; commit, intrust; expose; proelium committere, to join battle
sēdō, -āre, -āvī, -ātussettle, calm, put down
litterae, -ārum f. pl.letters (of the alphabet); a letter, dispatch
quīcumque, quaecumque, quodcumquewhoever, whatever
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
comitātus, -ūs m.escort, retinue, company
integer, -gra, -grumuntouched, fresh, whole
signum, -ī, n.sign, signal
praetor, -ōris m.praetor (legātus prō praetōre: officer with a praetor's powers)
trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditusgive across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
comprehendō, -prehendere, -prehendī, -prehēnsusseize, catch
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
iam, adv.now, already
dīlūcēscō, -lūcēscere, -lūxīgrow light, dawn
dēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductuslead down or away, bring; nāvem dēdūcere, to draw down or launch a ship
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
omnis, -eall, every
scelus, sceleris, n.wickedness, crime
improbus, -a, -umwicked. in, prep, with acc., into, in, to, upon; with abl., in, on
māchinātor, -ōris m.contriver, schemer
statim, adv.on the spot, forthwith, at once, immediately
nihil, n., indecl.nothing
dum, conj.while, as; as long as; until
suspicor, -spicārī, -spicātussuspect
vocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuscall, summon
deinde, adv.then, next
itemlikewise, also
arcessō, -ere, -īvī, -ītuscall, summon, fetch
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
post, adv.after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
tardē (adv.)slowly; comp. tardius
autem, conj.moreover; but, however; now
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventuscome
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusbelieve
quod, conj.that, in that, because
dō, dare, dedī, datusgive
praeter, prep. with acc.before, past, by; besides, except
cōnsuētūdō, -inis f.custom, habit; way of life
proximus, -a, -umnearest, next
nox, noctis, f.night
vigilō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusstay awake, keep watch; be watchful
summus, -a, -umuppermost, highest, greatest
clārus, -a, -umclear, loud; famous
cīvitās, -tātis, f.state
vir, virī, m.man
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītushear; listen or attend to
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
frequēns, -entiscrowded, in great numbers; frequent
māne, adv.in the morning, early in the morning
conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventuscome together, assemble
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
prius, adv.before, first
aperiō, -īre, -uī, -tusopen
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
senātus, -ūs m.senate
dēferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātusbear or carry away or off
placeō, -ēre, placuī, placitum (+ dat.)please (placuit eī: he decided)
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
sī, conj.if
inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventuscome upon, find
temerē, adv.rashly
tantus, -a, -umso great or much
tumultus, -ūs m.uproar, uprising
iniciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectusthrow in or upon; cause, inspire
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
negō, -āre, -āvī, -ātussay no or not, deny, refuse
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
dē, prep, with abl.down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
perīculum, -ī, n.danger, peril, risk
pūblicus, -a, -umpublic, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state)
nōn, adv.not
cōnsilium, -ī, n.advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
etenim (conj.)for indeed, and in fact
Quirītēs, -ium m. pl.Quirites, the Roman citizens in their civil capacity (used in addressing the people)
reperiō, reperīre, repperī, repertusfind, discover
tamen, adv.however, yet, nevertheless
arbitror, -ārī, -ātusconsider, think, judge
nimius, -a, -umexcessive, too great
dīligentia, -ae, f.care, diligence, industry
pertimēscō, -ere, -timuībecome very afraid, dread
celeriter, adv.swiftly, quickly
cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctusdrive together, collect; compel
intereā, adv.in the meantime, meanwhile
admonitus, -ūs m.advice, suggestion (only in abl.: admonitū, at the suggestion of)
fortis, -ebrave
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missussend
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
aedis, -is, f., sing.temple, plur. house
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
tēlum, -ī, n.missile, spear, weapon
efferō, -ferre, extulī, ēlātumcarry out, bring out
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
sīca, -ae f.dagger
numerus, -ī, m.number
gladius, -ī, m.sword
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Cicero, In Catilinam III. Latin text: A. C. Clark, M. Tulli Ciceronis Orationes (Oxford, 1908), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. Vocabulary: F. Ritchie (1903, public domain) and entries written for this app. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.