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. 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.