Bellum Catilinae 4

The historian's task

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Cat. 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.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×5, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (87 words)

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

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.