Cat. 2.1Igitur initiō rēgēs— nam in terrīs nōmen imperī id prīmum fuit— dīvorsī pars ingenium, aliī corpus exercēbant: etiam tum vīta hominum sine cupiditāte agitābātur;Accordingly, in the beginning kings (for that was the first title of power on earth) went different ways: some trained the mind, others the body; even then men's lives were passed without greed;Note. Igitur in Sallust often begins a narrative or picks up a thought, rather than meaning a strict 'therefore'. dīvorsī = dīversī, old spelling. pars … aliī: 'some … others'. agitābātur: 'was spent, was led'. Cat. 2.1sua quoique satis placēbant.each was content with his own.Note. quoique = cuique, old spelling (from quisque). A proverbial line: everyone was satisfied with his own. Cat. 2.2Posteā vērō quam in Asiā Cyrus, in Graeciā Lacedaemoniī et Athēniēnsēs coepēre urbīs atque nātiōnēs subigere, lubīdinem dominandī causam bellī habēre, maxumam glōriam in maxumō imperiō putāre, tum dēmum perīculō atque negōtiīs compertum est in bellō plūrumum ingenium posse.But after Cyrus in Asia, and the Lacedaemonians and Athenians in Greece, began to subdue cities and nations, to treat lust for mastery as a reason for war, and to think the greatest glory lay in the greatest empire, then at last it was learned by danger and by deeds that in war the intellect counts for most.Note. Postea quam = postquam, split. coepēre = coepērunt: Sallust prefers the -ēre ending of the 3rd person plural perfect. The three infinitives (subigere, habēre, putāre) all depend on coepēre. dominandī: gerund, 'of ruling'. compertum est: impersonal, 'it was found out'. Cat. 2.3Quod sī rēgum atque imperātōrum animī virtūs in pāce ita ut in bellō valēret, aequābilius atque cōnstantius sēsē rēs hūmānae habērent, neque aliud aliō ferrī neque mūtārī ac miscērī omnia cernerēs.But if the mental excellence of kings and commanders were as strong in peace as in war, human affairs would hold a more even and steady course, and you would not see one thing carried this way and another that, and everything changed and thrown into confusion.Note. Quod sī: 'but if'. A present contrary-to-fact condition (imperfect subjunctive in both halves). cernerēs: 'you would see': generalizing second person.
Cat. 2.4Nam imperium facile iīs artibus retinētur, quibus initiō partum est.For power is easily kept by the same arts by which it was first won. Cat. 2.5Vērum ubi prō labōre dēsidia, prō continentiā et aequitāte lubīdō atque superbia invāsēre, fortūna simul cum mōribus inmūtātur.But when idleness has invaded in place of toil, and lust and arrogance in place of self-control and fairness, fortune changes along with character.Note. invāsēre = invāsērunt. Sallust's theme in a nutshell: when character (mōrēs) changes, fortune changes with it. Cat. 2.6Ita imperium semper ad optumum quemque ā minus bonō trānsfertur.So power is always passing from the less good to whoever is best.Note. optumum quemque: 'all the best men', literally 'each best man'. quisque with a superlative means 'every … -est'. Cat. 2.7Quae hominēs arant nāvigant aedificant, virtūtī omnia pārent.What men achieve by ploughing, sailing, building: all of it depends on virtue.Note. A compressed sentence: '(the things) which men … all depend on (pārent, obey) virtue'. Note the asyndeton (no 'and') in arant nāvigant aedificant, very common in Sallust. Cat. 2.8Sed multī mortālēs, dēditī ventrī atque somnō, indoctī incultīque vītam sīcutī peregrīnantēs trānsiēre;But many mortals, given over to belly and sleep, untaught and uncultivated, have passed through life like travellers in a foreign land;Note. trānsiēre = trānsiērunt. peregrīnantēs: 'like strangers travelling abroad', passing through without belonging. Cat. 2.8quibus profectō contrā nātūram corpus voluptātī, anima onerī fuit.for them, surely against nature, the body was a pleasure and the soul a burden.Note. Double dative: corpus voluptātī … fuit, 'the body served as a pleasure'; anima onerī, 'the soul as a burden'. Cat. 2.8Eōrum ego vītam mortemque iūxtā aestumō, quoniam dē utrāque silētur.Their life and their death I rate alike, since about both there is silence.Note. iūxtā aestumō: 'I value equally'. aestumō is the old spelling of aestimō. silētur: impersonal passive, 'there is silence'.
Cat. 2.9Vērum enim vērō is dēmum mihi vīvere atque fruī animā vidētur, quī aliquō negōtiō intentus praeclārī facinoris aut artis bonae fāmam quaerit.But truly, that man alone seems to me to live and to enjoy his soul who, intent on some undertaking, seeks the fame of a noble deed or of a worthy skill.Note. Vērum enim vērō: a strong 'but truly'. fruor takes the ablative (animā). Cat. 2.9Sed in magnā cōpiā rērum aliud aliī nātūra iter ostendit.But in the great abundance of things nature shows one road to one man, another to another.