Bellum Catilinae 54

Cat. 54.1Igitur iīs genus aetās ēloquentia prope aequālia fuēre, magnitūdō animī pār, item glōria, sed alia aliī.

Well then, their birth, age and eloquence were nearly equal, their greatness of spirit matched, and so was their glory, but each had a different kind.

Note. The famous comparison (synkrisis) of Caesar and Cato is built on balanced pairs and contrasts. iīs … aequālia fuēre: dative of possession: 'they had equal …'. alia aliī: 'each a different kind (of glory)'.

Cat. 54.2Caesar beneficiīs ac mūnificentiā magnus habēbātur, integritāte vītae Catō.

Caesar was held great for his kindnesses and generosity, Cato for the integrity of his life.

Cat. 54.2Ille mānsuētūdine et misericordiā clārus factus, huic sevēritās dignitātem addiderat.

The one had become famous for mildness and compassion; to the other, strictness had added dignity.

Note. ille … huic: 'the former' (Caesar) … 'the latter' (Cato), a pattern the next sentences keep up.

Cat. 54.3Caesar dandō sublevandō ignōscundō, Catō nihil largiundō glōriam adeptus est.

Caesar won glory by giving, helping, pardoning; Cato by giving no favours.

Note. dandō, sublevandō, ignōscundō, largiundō: gerunds in the ablative, 'by giving …'. -undō for -endō is an old form Sallust keeps. Asyndeton (no 'and') makes the list brisk.

Cat. 54.3In alterō miserīs perfugium erat, in alterō malīs perniciēs.

In the one there was a refuge for the unfortunate, in the other destruction for the wicked.

Note. miserīs, malīs: datives, 'for the wretched', 'for the wicked'.

Cat. 54.3Illīus facilitās, huius cōnstantia laudābātur.

The good nature of the one was praised, the firmness of the other.

Cat. 54.4Postrēmō Caesar in animum indūxerat labōrāre, vigilāre;

Finally, Caesar had set his mind on working hard and staying awake;

Note. Historic infinitives start here: labōrāre, vigilāre, neglegere, dēnegāre take the place of imperfects ('he was working, staying awake').

Cat. 54.4negōtiīs amīcōrum intentus sua neglegere, nihil dēnegāre quod dōnō dignum esset;

intent on his friends' business, he neglected his own and refused nothing that was worth giving;

Cat. 54.4sibi magnum imperium, exercitum, bellum novom exoptābat, ubi virtūs ēnitēscere posset.

for himself he longed for a great command, an army, a new war where his ability could shine out.

Note. novom: older spelling of novum. ubi: 'where' (relative of place). Sallust hints at the ambition that would lead Caesar to Gaul and civil war.

Cat. 54.5At Catōnī studium modestiae, decoris, sed maxumē sevēritātis erat;

But Cato's passion was for self-control, for propriety, and most of all for strictness;

Cat. 54.6nōn dīvitiīs cum dīvite neque factiōne cum factiōsō, sed cum strēnuō virtūte, cum modestō pudōre, cum innocente abstinentiā certābat;

he did not compete in wealth with the rich or in intrigue with the intriguer, but in courage with the energetic, in restraint with the modest, in integrity with the honest;

Note. Three pairs of contests set out in strict parallel: dīvitiīs cum dīvite … virtūte cum strēnuō … The ablatives (dīvitiīs, factiōne, virtūte, pudōre, abstinentiā) tell in what he competed.

Cat. 54.6esse quam vidērī bonus mālēbat: ita, quō minus petēbat glōriam, eō magis illum sequēbātur.

he preferred to be good rather than to seem good: and so, the less he sought glory, the more it followed him.

Note. esse quam vidērī bonus: one of Sallust's most quoted lines. quō minus … eō magis: 'the less … the more'; quō and eō are ablatives of degree of difference. sequēbātur: the edition prints adsequēbātur with ad- deleted.