In Catilinam 4.1

4.1Videō, patrēs cōnscrīptī, in mē omnium vestrum ōra atque oculōs esse conversōs, videō vōs nōn sōlum dē vestrō ac reī pūblicae vērum etiam, sī id dēpulsum sit, dē meō perīculō esse sollicitōs.

I see, members of the senate, that the faces and eyes of all of you are turned towards me; I see that you are anxious not only about your own danger and the danger to the republic but also, even if that is driven off, about mine.

Note. The setting: 5 December 63 BC, in the temple of Concord. Five conspirators have been arrested, and the senate must decide what to do with them. patrēs cōnscrīptī: the formal address to the senate, 'enrolled fathers'. vestrum: genitive plural of vōs, 'of you'.

4.1Est mihi iūcunda in malīs et grāta in dolōre vestra ergā mē voluntās, sed eam per deōs immortālīs!

Your goodwill towards me is pleasant in my troubles and welcome in my grief, but, by the immortal gods,

Note. The edition punctuates with an exclamation after per deōs immortālīs, but the sentence runs on: eam (your goodwill) is the object of dēpōnite in the next line. immortālīs = immortālēs, an older accusative plural ending in -īs.

4.1dēpōnite atque oblītī salūtis meae dē vōbīs ac dē vestrīs līberīs cōgitāte.

put it aside, forget about my safety, and think about yourselves and your children.

Note. oblītī salūtis meae: oblīvīscor takes the genitive, 'forgetting my safety'. The perfect participle of a deponent verb has active meaning.

4.1Mihi sī haec condiciō cōnsulātūs data est ut omnīs acerbitātēs, omnīs dolōrēs cruciātūsque perferrem, feram nōn sōlum fortiter vērum etiam libenter, dum modo meīs labōribus vōbīs populōque Rōmānō dignitās salūsque pariātur.

If this condition has been laid on my consulship, that I should endure every bitterness, every pain and torture, I will bear it not only bravely but even gladly, provided that through my labours dignity and safety are won for you and for the Roman people.

Note. Mihi sī haec condiciō … data est ut … perferrem: 'if this condition has been given to me, that I should endure'. dum modo (often written dummodo) + subjunctive: 'provided that'.

4.2Ego sum ille cōnsul, patrēs cōnscrīptī, cui nōn forum in quō omnis aequitās continētur, nōn campus cōnsulāribus auspiciīs cōnsecrātus, nōn cūriā, summum auxilium omnium gentium, nōn domus, commūne perfugium, nōn lectus ad quiētem datus, nōn dēnique haec sēdēs honōris umquam vacua mortis perīculō atque īnsidiīs fuit.

I am that consul, members of the senate, for whom neither the forum, in which all justice is upheld, nor the Campus Martius, hallowed by the consular auspices, nor the senate house, the highest refuge of all nations, nor my home, the common shelter of all, nor the bed given for rest, nor finally this seat of honour, has ever been free from the danger of death and from plots.

Note. A long list of places, each introduced by nōn: the forum, the Campus Martius (where the consular elections were held, with the auspices taken), the senate house, his own home and bed. Catiline's men had tried to murder Cicero at his house on 7 November.

4.2Ego multa tacuī, multa pertulī, multa concessī, multa meō quōdam dolōre in vestrō timōre sānāvī.

I have kept silent about much, put up with much, given way on much, and healed much in your fear at the cost of some pain of my own.

4.2Nunc sī hunc exitum cōnsulātūs meī dī immortālēs esse voluērunt ut vōs populumque Rōmānum ex caede miserrimā, coniugēs līberōsque vestrōs virginēsque Vestālīs ex acerbissimā vexātiōne, templa atque dēlūbra, hanc pulcherrimam patriam omnium nostrum ex foedissimā flammā, tōtam Ītaliam ex bellō et vāstitāte ēriperem, quaecumque mihi ūnī prōpōnētur fortūna subeātur.

Now, if the immortal gods have willed this to be the outcome of my consulship, that I should rescue you and the Roman people from a most miserable slaughter, your wives and children and the Vestal Virgins from the most bitter abuse, the temples and shrines and this most beautiful homeland of us all from a most foul fire, and all Italy from war and devastation, then whatever fortune is set before me alone, let it be faced.

Note. The main clause comes only at the end: quaecumque … fortūna subeātur, 'whatever fortune is set before me, let it be faced' (a jussive subjunctive). The ut-clause explains hunc exitum.

4.2Etenim sī P. Lentulus suum nōmen inductus ā vātibus fātāle ad perniciem reī pūblicae fore putāvit, cūr ego nōn laeter meum cōnsulātum ad salūtem populī Rōmānī prope fātālem exstitisse?

For if Publius Lentulus, led on by soothsayers, believed that his name was fated to bring the ruin of the republic, why should I not rejoice that my consulship has turned out to be almost fated for the safety of the Roman people?

Note. Lentulus believed a Sibylline prophecy that three Cornelii would rule Rome: Cinna and Sulla had, and he would be the third. Cicero turns the 'fatal' name back on him. fore = futūrum esse. laeter: deliberative subjunctive, 'why should I not rejoice?'