Bellum Catilinae 19

Piso in Spain

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Cat. 19.1Posteā Pīsō in citeriōrem Hispāniam quaestor prō praetōre missus est adnītente Crassō, quod eum īnfestum inimīcum Cn. Pompēiō cognōverat.Afterwards Piso was sent to Nearer Spain as quaestor with the powers of a praetor, with Crassus supporting it, because he knew him to be a bitter enemy of Gnaeus Pompey.Note. quaestor prō praetōre: a quaestor sent with the powers of a praetor, an unusual appointment. adnītente Crassō: ablative absolute. Cat. 19.1Neque tamen senātus prōvinciam invītus dederat, quippe foedum hominem ā rē pūblicā procul esse volēbat, simul quia bonī complūrēs praesidium in eō putābant et iam tum potentia Pompēī formīdulōsa erat.Nor, however, had the senate given him the province unwillingly, since it wanted that foul man far from the state, and also because many loyal men saw a defence in him, and already then Pompey's power was alarming.Note. quippe … volēbat: 'since, of course, it wanted'. boni: 'the loyal men', the conservative senators (a political label). Cat. 19.3Sed is Pīsō in prōvinciā ab equitibus Hispānīs, quōs in exercitū ductābat, iter faciēns occīsus est.But this Piso, while on the march in his province, was killed by Spanish cavalrymen whom he was leading in his army. Cat. 19.4Sunt quī ita dīcant imperia eius iniūsta superba crūdēlia barbarōs nequīvisse patī;Some say that the barbarians could not bear his unjust, arrogant and cruel commands;Note. Sunt quī … dīcant: relative clause of characteristic. imperia iniūsta superba crūdēlia: three adjectives without 'and'. barbarōs nequīvisse patī: indirect statement. Cat. 19.4aliī autem, equitēs illōs, Cn. Pompēī veterēs fīdōsque clientīs, voluntāte eius Pīsōnem aggressōs: numquam Hispānōs praetereā tāle facinus fēcisse, sed imperia saeva multa anteā perpessōs.others that those horsemen, old and faithful clients of Gnaeus Pompey, attacked Piso at his wish: never before had the Spaniards done such a deed, but they had put up with many harsh commands in the past.

Cat. 19.5Nōs eam rem in mediō relinquēmus.We shall leave this matter undecided.Note. in mediō relinquēmus: 'we shall leave undecided', a historian's way of admitting uncertainty. Cat. 19.6Dē superiōre coniūrātiōne satis dictum.Enough has been said about the earlier conspiracy.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (81 words)

posteā, adv.	after this, afterwards
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
citerior, -ius, adj.	on this side, hither
quaestor, -ōris m.	quaestor, a Roman official in charge of an army's funds
prō, prep. with abl.	before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
praetor, -ōris m.	praetor (legātus prō praetōre: officer with a praetor's powers)
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
adnītor, -nītī, -nīsus sum	lean on; exert oneself, support (someone's cause)
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
īnfestus, -a, -um	unsafe, dangerous
inimīcus, -a, -um	unfriendly, hostile
cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus	find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
senātus, -ūs m.	senate
prōvincia, -ae f.	province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul
invītus, -a, -um	unwilling
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
quippe (adv.)	of course, indeed, for
foedus, -a, -um	foul, loathsome, hideous
homō, hominis, m.	man
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
pūblicus, -a, -um	public, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state)
procul, adv.	at or from a distance, far
volō, velle, voluī	wish
simul, adv.	at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
quia (conj.)	because
bonus, -a, -um	good
complūrēs, -plūra, plur. adj.	several, many
praesidium, -ī, n.	protection; guard, escort
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	think
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
iam, adv.	now, already
tum, adv.	then, at that time
potentia, -ae f.	power, influence
formīdulōsus, -a, -um	fearful; causing fear, dreadful
sed, conj.	but
eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
Hispānus, -a, -um	Spanish; as noun, a Spaniard
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
ductō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	lead (frequently); command
iter, itineris, n.	a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
occīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsus	cut down, kill
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
imperium, -ī, n.	command; sway, rule
iniūstus, -a, -um	unjust, unfair; harsh
superbus, -a, -um	proud, arrogant, haughty
crūdēlis, -e	cruel
barbarus, -a, -um	barbarian
nequeō, -īre, -īvī	be unable, cannot
patior, patī, passus, bear	suffer, allow
alius, -a, -ud	another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
vetus, veteris	old, former
fīdus, -a, -um	faithful, loyal, trustworthy
que, enclitic conj.	and
cliēns, -entis m.	client, dependent
voluntās, -tātis, f.	wish, will
aggredior, -ī, aggressus sum	attack
numquam, adv.	never
praetereā, adv.	besides this, besides, moreover
tālis, -e	such
facinus, facinoris, n.	deed, crime
saevus, -a, -um	fierce, savage
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
anteā, adv.	before
perpetior, -petī, -pessus sum	endure, bear to the end
nōs	plur. of ego
medius, -a, -um	mid, middle
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
superior, -ius, adj.	higher; former, previous, preceding
coniūrātiō, -ōnis f.	conspiracy
satis, adv.	enough, sufficiently

Sallust, Bellum Catilinae. Latin text: A. W. Ahlberg (Teubner, 1919), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. Vocabulary: F. Ritchie (1903, public domain) and entries written for this app. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.