Lectitō › Sallust › The War with Catiline
Bellum Catilinae 4
The historian's task
Sallust, Bellum Catilinae. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōCat. 4.1Igitur ubi animus ex multīs miseriīs atque perīculīs requiēvit et mihi reliquam aetātem ā rē pūblicā procul habendam dēcrēvī, nōn fuit cōnsilium sōcordiā atque dēsidiā bonum ōtium conterere, neque vērō agrum colundō aut vēnandō, servīlibus officiīs, intentum aetātem agere;
Therefore, when my mind found rest after many troubles and dangers, and I had decided that the rest of my life must be spent far from public affairs, it was not my plan to waste good leisure in sloth and idleness, nor yet to spend my life intent on farming or hunting, tasks fit for slaves;
Note. colundō = colendō, old gerund form. servīlibus officiīs: farming and hunting, 'slavish tasks', in apposition. This contempt for country life was unusual, and later readers noticed it.
Cat. 4.2sed ā quō inceptō studiōque mē ambitiō mala dētinuerat, eōdem regressus statuī rēs gestās populī Rōmānī carptim, ut quaeque memoriā digna vidēbantur, perscrībere, eō magis quod mihi ā spē metū partibus reī pūblicae animus līber erat.
but returning to the undertaking and pursuit from which bad ambition had held me back, I decided to write out the history of the Roman people in selected parts, as each episode seemed worth remembering, all the more because my mind was free from hope, from fear, and from political faction.
Note. carptim: 'in selected parts', i.e. monographs on chosen episodes rather than a continuous history. ā spē, metū, partibus: three ablatives without connectives. eō magis quod: 'all the more because'.
Cat. 4.3Igitur dē Catilīnae coniūrātiōne quam vērissumē poterō paucīs absolvam;
So I shall give a brief account of Catiline's conspiracy, as truthfully as I can;
Note. quam vērissumē: 'as truthfully as possible'. paucīs (verbīs) absolvam: 'I will finish in a few words'.
Cat. 4.4nam id facinus in prīmīs ego memorābile exīstumō sceleris atque perīculī novitāte.
for I consider that deed especially memorable for the novelty of the crime and of the danger.
Note. The conspiracy of 63 BC: Catiline, twice defeated for the consulship, plotted to seize power; Cicero, consul that year, exposed him.
Cat. 4.5Dē quoius hominis mōribus pauca prius explānanda sunt, quam initium narrandī faciam.
About the character of this man a few things must be explained before I make a beginning of the narrative.
Note. quoius = cuius. prius … quam: split priusquam. narrandī: gerund.
Vocabulary
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| animus, -ī, m. | mind; heart; spirit, courage |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| miseria, -ae f. | misery, distress, suffering |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| requiēscō, -ere, -quiēvī, -quiētum | rest, take a rest |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| aetās, -tātis, f. | age |
| 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 |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| dēcernō, -ere, dēcrēvī, dēcrētum | decide, decree |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| sōcordia, -ae f. | sluggishness, negligence |
| dēsidia, -ae f. | idleness, sloth |
| bonus, -a, -um | good |
| ōtium, -ī n. | leisure, rest; peace, quiet |
| conterō, -ere, -trīvī, -trītus | crush, grind, bruise |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| vērō, adv. | in truth, indeed; however |
| ager, agri, m. | field, land |
| colō, colere, coluī, cultus | till, cultivate; inhabit; worship |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| vēnor, -ārī, -ātus sum | hunt |
| servīlis, -e | of slaves (servīlis tumultus: slave revolt) |
| officium, -ī, n. | service; duty |
| intendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch out; stretch, draw, aim |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| sed, conj. | but |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| inceptum, -ī n. | beginning, attempt, undertaking |
| studium, -ī, n. | eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| ambitiō, -ōnis f. | canvassing for office; ambition, desire for honours |
| malus, -a, -um | bad |
| dētineō, -ēre, -tinuī, -tentum | hold back, detain |
| eōdem | to the same place |
| regredior, -gredī, -gressus | go back, return |
| statuō, statuere, statuī, statūtus | cause to stand; decide, resolve |
| gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus | carry, wear; carry on, do |
| populus, -ī m. | people, nation |
| Rōmānus, -a, -um | Roman |
| carptim (adv.) | piecemeal, in selected parts |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron. | each |
| memoria, -ae, f. | memory |
| dignus, -a, -um (+ abl.) | worthy (of), deserving |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| perscrībō, -scrībere, -scrīpsī, scrīptus | write through or in full, describe fully, recount |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| magis, comp. adv. | more, rather |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| spēs, speī, f. | hope |
| metus, -ūs m. | fear, dread |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| līber, lībera, līberum | free |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| coniūrātiō, -ōnis f. | conspiracy |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| vērē (adv.) | truly, really |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| absolvō, -ere, -solvī, -solūtus | release, set free; acquit (of: gen.) |
| nam, conj. | for |
| facinus, facinoris, n. | deed, crime |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| memorābilis, -e | worth telling, memorable |
| exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | consider, believe, think |
| scelus, sceleris, n. | wickedness, crime |
| novitās, -tātis, f. | newness, novelty |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| mōs, mōris, m. | way, manner, habit, custom |
| prius, adv. | before, first |
| explānō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | make plain, explain |
| initium, -ī, n. | beginning |
| narrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | tell, relate, narrate |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |