Lectitō › Cicero › Against Catiline III
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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Read in Lectitō3.6Tum 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.
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, futūrus | be |
| committō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send together; commit, intrust; expose; proelium committere, to join battle |
| sēdō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | settle, calm, put down |
| litterae, -ārum f. pl. | letters (of the alphabet); a letter, dispatch |
| quīcumque, quaecumque, quodcumque | whoever, 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, -grum | untouched, fresh, whole |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| praetor, -ōris m. | praetor (legātus prō praetōre: officer with a praetor's powers) |
| trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give 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, -prehēnsus | seize, 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, -lūxī | grow light, dawn |
| dēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead 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, -e | all, every |
| scelus, sceleris, n. | wickedness, crime |
| improbus, -a, -um | wicked. 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, -spicātus | suspect |
| vocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | call, summon |
| deinde, adv. | then, next |
| item | likewise, also |
| arcessō, -ere, -īvī, -ītus | call, 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, ventus | come |
| crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | believe |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| praeter, prep. with acc. | before, past, by; besides, except |
| cōnsuētūdō, -inis f. | custom, habit; way of life |
| proximus, -a, -um | nearest, next |
| nox, noctis, f. | night |
| vigilō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | stay awake, keep watch; be watchful |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| clārus, -a, -um | clear, loud; famous |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| vir, virī, m. | man |
| audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | hear; listen or attend to |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| frequēns, -entis | crowded, in great numbers; frequent |
| māne, adv. | in the morning, early in the morning |
| conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come together, assemble |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| prius, adv. | before, first |
| aperiō, -īre, -uī, -tus | open |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| senātus, -ūs m. | senate |
| dēferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātus | bear 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, -ventus | come upon, find |
| temerē, adv. | rashly |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| tumultus, -ūs m. | uproar, uprising |
| iniciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw in or upon; cause, inspire |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| negō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | say no or not, deny, refuse |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, 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, -um | public, 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, repertus | find, discover |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| arbitror, -ārī, -ātus | consider, think, judge |
| nimius, -a, -um | excessive, too great |
| dīligentia, -ae, f. | care, diligence, industry |
| pertimēscō, -ere, -timuī | become very afraid, dread |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus | drive together, collect; compel |
| intereā, adv. | in the meantime, meanwhile |
| admonitus, -ūs m. | advice, suggestion (only in abl.: admonitū, at the suggestion of) |
| fortis, -e | brave |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| 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, ēlātum | carry out, bring out |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| sīca, -ae f. | dagger |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| gladius, -ī, m. | sword |