1And yet the whole power in this matter lies with you, judges; 1in this case you hold the whole state, you steer it. 1If Catiline, with his council of wicked men whom he led out with him, could judge this matter, he would condemn Murena; if he could kill him, he would put him to death. 1For his plans require that the state be deprived of help, that the supply of commanders against his frenzy be diminished, that the tribunes of the plebs be given greater opportunity, once their opponent has been driven out, of stirring up sedition and discord. 1Will the most honourable and wisest men, chosen from the most distinguished orders, then give the same judgement as that most ruthless gladiator, the enemy of the state, would give?
84Believe me, judges, in this case you will be passing sentence not only on Murena's safety but also on your own. 84We have come into the utmost peril; 84there is nothing now from which we can recover ourselves, or where, having slipped, we can make a stand. 84Not only must the forces we have not be diminished, but new ones must also be procured, if it can be done. 84For the enemy is not at the Anio, which seemed the gravest peril in the Punic war, but in the city, in the forum — immortal gods! 84this cannot be said without a groan — there is even someone in that sanctuary of the state, in the senate house itself, I say, there is someone who is an enemy.
84May the gods grant that my colleague, a most brave man, may crush this wicked brigandage of Catiline in arms! 84I, in my toga, with you and all good men as my helpers, will by my counsel dispel and suppress this danger which the state has conceived and is bringing to birth. 85But what, pray, will happen if these things slip from our hands and spill over into the following year? 85There will be one consul, and he occupied not in conducting the war but in getting a colleague elected. 85Those who will hinder him now … that monstrous and ruthless plague of Catiline will burst forth wherever it threatens the people; 85it will suddenly swoop on the lands around the city; 85frenzy will rage in the city, fear in the senate house, conspiracy in the forum, an army in the Campus, devastation in the countryside; 85and in every dwelling and place we shall fear sword and flame.
85All these very things that have long been in preparation will, if the state is equipped with its proper defences, easily be suppressed by the counsels of the magistrates and the diligence of private citizens.