Cael. 6.1Quis clāriōribus virīs quōdam tempore iūcundior, quis turpiōribus coniūnctior?Who was at one time more agreeable to the most distinguished men, who more closely bound to the basest? Cael. 6.1quis cīvis meliōrum partium aliquandō, quis taetrior hostis huic cīvitātī?who was once a citizen of the better party, who a fouler enemy to this state? Cael. 6.1quis in voluptātibus inquinātior, quis in labōribus patientior?who more defiled in pleasures, who more enduring in toils? Cael. 6.1quis in rapācitāte avārior, quis in largītiōne effūsior?who more greedy in plunder, who more lavish in largesse? Cael. 6.1Illa vērō, iūdicēs, in illō homine admīrābilia fuērunt, comprehendere multōs amīcitiā, tuērī obsequiō, cum omnibus commūnicāre quod habēbat, servīre temporibus suōrum omnium pecūniā, grātiā, labōre corporis, scelere etiam, sī opus esset, et audāciā, versāre suam nātūram et regere ad tempus atque hūc et illūc torquēre ac flectere, cum trīstibus sevērē, cum remissīs iūcundē, cum senibus graviter, cum iuventūte cōmiter, cum facinerōsīs audāciter, cum libīdinōsīs luxuriōsē vīvere.These, gentlemen, were truly remarkable qualities in that man: to embrace many in friendship, to keep them by compliance, to share whatever he had with everyone, to serve the needs of all his friends with money, influence, bodily exertion, even with crime and audacity if need be; to turn his nature and steer it to suit the moment, twisting and bending it this way and that; to live gravely with the serious, pleasantly with the easy-going, soberly with the old, affably with the young, recklessly with criminals, dissolutely with the profligate.
Cael. 6.14Hāc ille tam variā multiplicīque nātūrā cum omnīs omnibus ex terrīs hominēs improbōs audācīsque conlēgerat, tum etiam multōs fortīs virōs et bonōs speciē quādam virtūtis adsimulātae tenēbat.With this varied and many-sided nature, not only had he gathered wicked and reckless men from every land, but he also held many brave and good men by a kind of semblance of feigned virtue. Cael. 6.14Neque umquam ex illō dēlendī huius imperī tam cōnscelerātus impetus exstitisset, nisi tot vitiōrum tanta immānitās quibusdam facilitātis et patientiae rādīcibus nīterētur.Nor would so wicked an onslaught aimed at destroying this empire ever have sprung from him, had not the monstrous enormity of so many vices rested on certain roots of affability and endurance. Cael. 6.14Quā rē ista condiciō, iūdicēs, respuātur, nec Catilīnae familiāritātis crīmen haereat.Therefore, gentlemen, let that argument be rejected, and let not the charge of intimacy with Catiline stick. Cael. 6.14Est enim commūne cum multīs et cum quibusdam bonīs.For it is shared with many, and with some good men. Cael. 6.14Mē ipsum, mē, inquam, quondam paene ille dēcēpit, cum et cīvis mihi bonus et optimī cuiusque cupidus et firmus amīcus ac fidēlis vidērētur;Me myself, I say, me he once almost deceived, when he seemed to me a good citizen, eager for the friendship of all the best men, and a firm and faithful friend; Cael. 6.14cuius ego facinora oculīs prius quam opīniōne, manibus ante quam suspīciōne dēprendī.whose crimes I caught with my eyes before I had even surmised them, with my hands before I suspected them.
Cael. 6.14Cuius in magnīs catervīs amīcōrum sī fuit etiam Caelius, magis est ut ipse molestē ferat errāsse sē, sīcutī nōn numquam in eōdem homine mē quoque errōris meī paenitet, quam ut istīus amīcitiae crīmen refōrmīdet.If Caelius too was among the great throngs of his friends, he has more reason to be sorry that he was mistaken, as I too sometimes regret my mistake about the same man, than to dread a charge of friendship with him.