In Catilinam 4.11

4.23Quae cum ita sint, prō imperiō, prō exercitū, prō prōvinciā quam neglēxī, prō triumphō cēterīsque laudis īnsignibus quae sunt ā mē propter urbis vestraeque salūtis custōdiam repudiāta, prō clientēlīs hospitiīsque prōvinciālibus quae tamen urbānīs opibus nōn minōre labōre tueor quam comparō, prō hīs igitur omnibus rēbus, prō meīs in vōs singulāribus studiīs prōque hāc quam perspicitis ad cōnservandam rem pūblicam dīligentiā nihil ā vōbīs nisi huius temporis tōtīusque meī cōnsulātūs memoriam postulō: quae dum erit in vestrīs fīxa mentibus, tūtissimō mē mūrō saeptum esse arbitrābor.

Since this is so, in return for the military command, for the army, for the province which I gave up, for the triumph and the other marks of honour which I have refused in order to guard the city and your safety, for the client ties and friendships in the provinces, which I nevertheless maintain with my resources in the city with no less labour than I gain them, in return, then, for all these things, for my remarkable devotion to you, and for this diligence in preserving the state which you see, I ask nothing of you except the memory of this moment and of my whole consulship: as long as that is fixed in your minds, I shall consider myself protected by the safest of walls.

Note. A long list of the things Cicero gave up as consul: he refused the province of Macedonia that would have brought him an army and perhaps a triumph. clientēlīs hospitiīsque: networks of clients and guest-friends in the provinces, which governors usually built up. The main verb comes only at the end: nihil … nisi … memoriam postulō.

4.23Quod sī meam spem vīs improbōrum fefellerit atque superāverit, commendō vōbīs parvum meum fīlium, cui profectō satis erit praesidī nōn sōlum ad salūtem vērum etiam ad dignitātem, sī eius quī haec omnia suō sōlīus perīculō cōnservārit illum fīlium esse memineritis.

But if the violence of wicked men cheats and overcomes my hope, I entrust to you my little son, who will surely have protection enough, not only for his safety but also for his standing, if you remember that he is the son of the man who saved all this at his own sole risk.

Note. parvum meum fīlium: Cicero's son Marcus, then about two years old. suō sōlīus perīculō: 'at his own sole risk'; sōlīus is the genitive of sōlus, agreeing with the 'his' in suō. cōnservārit = cōnservāverit.

4.24Quāpropter dē summā salūte vestrā populīque Rōmānī, dē vestrīs coniugibus ac līberīs, dē ārīs ac focīs, dē fānīs atque templīs, dē tōtīus urbis tēctīs ac sēdibus, dē imperiō ac lībertāte, dē salūte Ītaliae, dē ūniversā rē pūblicā dēcernite dīligenter, ut īnstituistis, ac fortiter.

Therefore, concerning the supreme safety of yourselves and the Roman people, your wives and children, your altars and hearths, your shrines and temples, the houses and homes of the whole city, your empire and liberty, the safety of Italy, and the whole state, decide carefully, as you have begun, and bravely.

Note. dēcernite: the climax, the imperative asking for a decision. dē ārīs ac focīs: 'for altars and hearths', a proverbial phrase for all that is sacred and dear.

4.24Habētis eum cōnsulem quī et pārēre vestrīs dēcrētīs nōn dubitet et ea quae statueritis, quoad vīvet, dēfendere et per sē ipsum praestāre possit.

You have a consul who will not hesitate to obey your decrees and who can defend what you decide, as long as he lives, and carry it out on his own responsibility.

Note. Cicero closes by promising to carry out the senate's decision himself. That evening the five conspirators were strangled in the Tullianum prison.