Bellum Catilinae 42

Cat. 42.1Īsdem ferē temporibus in Galliā citeriōre atque ulteriōre, item in agrō Pīcēnō, Bruttiō, Āpūliā mōtus erat.

At about the same time there was unrest in Hither and Further Gaul, and likewise in the Picene and Bruttian country and in Apulia.

Note. Gallia citerior and ulterior: Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy) and Transalpine Gaul. The ager Pīcēnus lay on the Adriatic, the ager Bruttius in the toe of Italy.

Cat. 42.2Namque illī, quōs ante Catilīna dīmīserat, incōnsultē ac velutī per dēmentiam cūncta simul agēbant.

For the men whom Catiline had sent out earlier were doing everything at once, rashly and as if in madness.

Note. illī, quōs ante Catilīna dīmīserat: the agents Catiline had sent to raise trouble across Italy (chapter 27). ante is an adverb here, 'earlier'.

Cat. 42.2Nocturnīs cōnsiliīs, armōrum atque tēlōrum portātiōnibus, festīnandō, agitandō omnia plūs timōris quam perīculī effēcerant.

By meetings at night, by carrying arms and weapons about, by hurrying and stirring everything up, they had caused more fear than danger.

Note. festīnandō, agitandō: ablative gerunds, 'by hurrying, by stirring up'. plūs timōris quam perīculī: partitive genitives with plūs; their activity frightened people more than it endangered them.

Cat. 42.3Ex eō numerō complūrīs Q. Metellus Celer praetor ex senātūs cōnsultō causā cognitā in vincula coniēcerat, item in citeriōre Galliā C. Mūrēna, quī eī prōvinciae lēgātus praeerat.

Of that number Quintus Metellus Celer the praetor, by decree of the senate and after the case had been heard, had thrown several into chains, and so had Gaius Murena in Hither Gaul, who governed that province as legate.

Note. Q. Metellus Celer, praetor in 63 BC, raised troops in the Picene district; ex senātūs cōnsultō refers to the senate's emergency decree. causā cognitā 'after the case had been examined', an ablative absolute.