Bellum Catilinae 36

Cat. 36.1Sed ipse paucōs diēs conmorātus apud C. Flāminium in agrō Arrētīnō, dum vīcīnitātem anteā sollicitātam armīs exōrnat, cum fascibus atque aliīs imperī īnsignibus in castra ad Mānlium contendit.

But he himself stayed a few days with Gaius Flaminius in the territory of Arretium, while he equipped with arms the neighbourhood he had earlier stirred up; then with the fasces and the other emblems of command he hurried to Manlius in the camp.

Note. fascibus: the fasces, bundles of rods carried before a magistrate with imperium. By taking them Catiline was claiming the powers of a consul. Arretium is modern Arezzo.

Cat. 36.2Haec ubi Rōmae comperta sunt, senātus Catilīnam et Mānlium hostīs iūdicat, cēterae multitūdinī diem statuit, ante quam sine fraude licēret ab armīs discēdere praeter rērum capitālium condemnātīs.

When this was learned at Rome, the senate declared Catiline and Manlius public enemies, and set the rest of their followers a day before which they might lay down their arms without penalty, except for those condemned for capital offences.

Note. hostis = hostes, accusative plural. Declaring a citizen a hostis (public enemy) stripped him of his rights as a citizen. ante quam ... liceret: 'a day before which they might ...'. rerum capitalium condemnatis: dative, 'those condemned on capital charges'.

Cat. 36.3Praetereā dēcernit, utī cōnsulēs dīlēctum habeant, Antōnius cum exercitū Catilīnam persequī mātūret, Cicerō urbī praesidiō sit.

It also decreed that the consuls should hold a levy, that Antonius should hurry with an army to pursue Catiline, and that Cicero should protect the city.

Note. uti ... habeant, ... maturet, ... sit: the senate's decree continues in subjunctives; the last two have no ut. dilectum habere: 'to hold a levy'. urbi praesidio: double dative, 'as a protection for the city'.

Cat. 36.4Eā tempestāte mihi imperium populī Rōmānī multō maxumē miserābile vīsum est.

At that time the empire of the Roman people seems to me to have been by far the most pitiable.

Note. Sallust steps into the narrative in the first person (mihi visum est). multo maxume: 'by far the most'; multo is an ablative of degree of difference.

Cat. 36.4Quoi quom ad occāsum ab ortū sōlis omnia domita armīs pārērent, domī ōtium atque dīvitiae, quae prīma mortālēs putant, adfluerent, fuēre tamen cīvēs, quī sēque remque pūblicam obstinātīs animīs perditum īrent.

Though everything from the rising to the setting of the sun, conquered by its arms, obeyed it, and at home there was an abundance of peace and riches, which men think the greatest things, there were nevertheless citizens bent with stubborn minds on going to ruin themselves and the state.

Note. Quoi = cui, a connecting relative (dative) referring to imperium. perditum irent: supine after a verb of motion, 'went to ruin'. -que ... -que: 'both themselves and the state'.

Cat. 36.5Namque duōbus senātī dēcrētīs ex tantā multitūdine neque praemiō inductus coniūrātiōnem patefēcerat neque ex castrīs Catilīnae quisquam omnium discesserat: tanta vīs morbī atque utī tābēs plērōsque cīvium animōs invāserat.

For in spite of two decrees of the senate, out of so great a multitude no one had been led by the reward to betray the conspiracy, and no one at all had left Catiline's camp: so great was the force of the disease that, like a plague, had invaded the minds of most citizens.

Note. duobus senati decretis: ablative, 'in spite of two decrees'; senati is an old genitive of senatus. The second decree offered rewards for information (ch. 30). uti tabes: 'like a plague'; uti = ut in a comparison.