Bellum Catilinae 34

Catiline's letters

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Cat. 34.1Ad haec Q. Mārcius respondit, sī quid ab senātū petere vellent, ab armīs discēdant, Rōmam supplicēs proficīscantur: eā mānsuētūdine atque misericordiā senātum populī Rōmānī semper fuisse, ut nēmō umquam ab eō frūstrā auxilium petīverit.To this Quintus Marcius replied that if they wished to ask anything of the senate, they should lay down their arms and go to Rome as suppliants: the senate and people of Rome had always been so gentle and merciful that no one had ever asked it for help in vain.Note. si quid ... vellent, ... discedant, ... proficiscantur: the reply is in indirect speech; the commands keep the present subjunctive (repraesentatio). petiverit: perfect subjunctive in a result clause in secondary sequence, stressing a fact. Cat. 34.2At Catilīna ex itinere plērīsque cōnsulāribus, praetereā optumō quoique litterās mittit: sē falsīs crīminibus circumventum, quoniam factiōnī inimīcōrum resistere nequīverit, fortūnae cēdere, Massiliam in exilium proficīscī, nōn quō sibi tantī sceleris cōnscius esset, sed utī rēs pūblica quiēta foret nēve ex suā contentiōne sēditiō orerētur.But Catiline, while on the road, sent letters to most of the ex-consuls and also to all the best men: he said that, surrounded by false charges, since he had been unable to resist the faction of his enemies, he was yielding to fortune and going into exile at Massilia, not because he was conscious of so great a crime, but so that the state might be at peace and no civil strife might arise from his struggle.Note. optumo quoique: 'to all the best men', quisque with a superlative. quoniam ... nequiverit: subjunctive because it gives Catiline's own reason, in reported form. non quo ... esset: 'not because he was conscious', rejected reason in the subjunctive. Massilia (Marseille) was a common place of exile for Romans.

Cat. 34.3Ab hīs longē dīvorsās litterās Q. Catulus in senātū recitāvit, quās sibi nōmine Catilīnae redditās dīcēbat.Quintus Catulus read out in the senate a very different letter, which he said had been delivered to him in Catiline's name.Note. Q. Lutatius Catulus, consul in 78 BC, was a leader of the conservative nobles. divorsas = diversas. Cat. 34.3Eārum exemplum īnfrā scrīptum est.A copy of it is written below.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (75 words)

ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
quīntus, -a, -um	fifth
respondeō, -spondēre, -spondī, -spōnsus	reply, answer
sī, conj.	if
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.	any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
senātus, -ūs m.	senate
petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus	seek, ask; attack
volō, velle, voluī	wish
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.	arms, weapons
discēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	go apart, withdraw, depart
supplex, -icis	begging, as a suppliant
proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum	set out, depart, march
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
mānsuētūdō, -inis f.	gentleness, mercy
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
misericordia, -ae, f;	pity, compassion
populus, -ī m.	people, nation
Rōmānus, -a, -um	Roman
semper, adv.	always
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
nēmō, nēminis, m. and f.	no one, nobody
umquam, adv.	ever
frūstrā, adv.	in vain
auxilium, -ī, n.	help, aid
at, conj.	but
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
iter, itineris, n.	a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
plērīque, plēraeque, plēraque	most, very many
cōnsulāris, -e	of a consul, consular; as noun: ex-consul; comitia cōnsulāria: the consular elections
praetereā, adv.	besides this, besides, moreover
bonus, -a, -um	good
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.	each
litterae, -ārum f. pl.	letters (of the alphabet); a letter, dispatch
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
falsus, -a, -um	feigned, pretended, false
crīmen, -inis n.	charge, accusation; crime
circumveniō, -īre, -vēnī, -ventum	surround
quoniam, conj.	since now, since
factiō, -ōnis f.	party, faction
inimīcus, -a, -um	unfriendly, hostile
resistō, -sistere, -stitī	stand back, resist
nequeō, -īre, -īvī	be unable, cannot
fortūna, -ae, f.	fortune
cēdō, -ere, cessī, cessum	go, withdraw, give way
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
exsilium, -ī, n.	exile
nōn, adv.	not
quō, adv.	to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long?
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
scelus, sceleris, n.	wickedness, crime
cōnscius, -a, -um	aware, conscious (of)
sed, conj.	but
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)
quiētus, -a, -um	quiet, at peace, calm
nēve or neu, conj.	and that not, and not, nor
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
contentiō, -ōnis f.	struggle, dispute
sēditiō, -ōnis f.	riot, mutiny, discord
orior, -īrī, -tus	arise, come forth, spring up; ortā lūce, at dawn
longē, adv.	far
dīversus, -a, -um	turned different ways, opposite, contrary, different
catulus, -ī m.	young animal, cub, whelp
recitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	read aloud
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
nōmen, -minis, n.	name (that by which one is known)
reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	give back, return, restore; render
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
exemplum, -ī n.	example, precedent
īnfrā (adv. and prep. + acc.)	below, further down
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus	write

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.