Bellum Catilinae 37

Cat. 37.1Neque sōlum illīs aliēna mēns erat, quī cōnsciī coniūrātiōnis fuerant, sed omnīnō cūncta plēbēs novārum rērum studiō Catilīnae incepta probābat.

Nor was it only those who had been privy to the conspiracy who were disaffected, but the whole common people, out of desire for revolution, approved of Catiline's undertakings.

Note. aliena mens: a 'disaffected' mind. plebes: an old form of plebs. Catilinae incepta: incepta is the noun inceptum, 'undertakings'.

Cat. 37.2Id adeō mōre suō vidēbātur facere.

And in this it seemed to be acting just as it usually does.

Cat. 37.3Nam semper in cīvitāte, quibus opēs nūllae sunt, bonīs invident, malōs extollunt, vetera ōdēre, nova exoptant, odiō suārum rērum mūtārī omnia student, turbā atque sēditiōnibus sine cūrā aluntur, quoniam egestās facile habētur sine damnō.

For in a state those who have no means always envy the good, extol the bad, hate the old, long for the new; from dislike of their own situation they are eager for everything to be changed; they live on turmoil and civil strife without a care, since poverty is easily held without loss.

Note. A general reflection, typical of Sallust. Note the asyndeton (no connecting words) in invident, extollunt, odere, exoptant, and the paradox at the end: the poor have nothing to lose.

Cat. 37.4Sed urbāna plēbēs, ea vērō praeceps erat dē multīs causīs.

But the city populace in particular was reckless for many reasons.

Cat. 37.5Prīmum omnium quī ubīque probrō atque petulantiā maxumē praestābant, item aliī per dēdecora patrimōniīs āmissīs, postrēmō omnēs quōs flāgitium aut facinus domō expulerat, iī Rōmam sīcut in sentīnam cōnflūxerant.

First of all, those who anywhere stood out most for disgrace and insolence, likewise others who had lost their inheritances through shameful conduct, and finally all whom crime or misdeed had driven from home, had all flowed together into Rome as into a ship's bilge.

Note. Primum omnium ... item ... postremo: the first of Sallust's reasons, listing the kinds of men in the urban mob. sentina: the bilge of a ship, where all the dirty water collects; Cicero uses the same image for Catiline's followers.

Cat. 37.6Deinde multī memorēs Sullānae victōriae, quod ex gregāriīs mīlitibus aliōs senātōrēs vidēbant, aliōs ita dīvitēs, ut rēgiō vīctū atque cultū aetātem agerent, sibi quisque, sī in armīs foret, ex victōriā tālia spērābat.

Then many, remembering Sulla's victory, since they saw some men raised from common soldiers to senators, others so rich that they passed their lives in royal food and dress, each hoped for such rewards from victory for himself if he took up arms.

Note. Sulla's victory in the civil war (82 BC) had made rich men of some of his common soldiers, who were then enrolled in the senate. sibi quisque ... sperabat: the singular quisque takes a singular verb even after the plural multi.

Cat. 37.7Praetereā iuventūs, quae in agrīs manuum mercēde inopiam tolerāverat, prīvātīs atque pūblicīs largītiōnibus excita urbānum ōtium ingrātō labōrī praetulerat.

Besides, the young men who had endured poverty in the countryside by the wages of their hands, lured by private and public handouts, had come to prefer idleness in the city to thankless labour.

Cat. 37.7Eōs atque aliōs omnīs malum pūblicum alēbat.

These and all the others were fed by the public evil.

Note. omnis = omnes (accusative plural). malum publicum: the state's sickness, i.e. the general disorder.

Cat. 37.8Quō minus mīrandum est hominēs egentīs, malīs mōribus, maxumā spē reī pūblicae iūxtā ac sibi cōnsuluisse.

So it is less surprising that men in need, of bad character and with the highest hopes, should have taken thought for the state just as little as for themselves.

Note. Quo minus mirandum est: 'so it is less to be wondered at'; mirandum (est) is an impersonal gerundive of obligation. iuxta ac: 'just as', 'equally as'.

Cat. 37.9Praetereā, quōrum victōriā Sullae parentēs prōscrīptī, bona ērepta, iūs lībertātis inminūtum erat, haud sānē aliō animō bellī ēventum expectābant.

Besides, those whose parents had been proscribed in Sulla's victory, whose goods had been seized and whose rights as free men had been curtailed, were certainly waiting for the outcome of the war in no other spirit.

Note. Sulla's proscriptions (82-81 BC) outlawed his enemies; their property was confiscated and their sons were barred from holding office (ius libertatis inminutum).

Cat. 37.10Ad hoc quīcumque aliārum atque senātūs partium erant, conturbārī rem pūblicam quam minus valēre ipsī mālēbant.

In addition, all who belonged to parties other than the senate's preferred to see the state thrown into confusion rather than lose power themselves.

Cat. 37.11Id adeō malum multōs post annōs in cīvitātem revorterat.

That evil had returned to the community after many years.

Note. The edition prints ad eo as two words; it is the adverb adeo, 'indeed', emphasising Id ... malum. revorterat: archaic spelling of reverterat.