Bellum Iugurthinum 30

Outrage at Rome; Memmius speaks

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Iug. 30.1Postquam rēs in Āfricā gestās quōque modō āctae forent fāma dīvolgāvit, Rōmae per omnīs locōs et conventūs dē factō cōnsulis agitārī.After rumour had spread abroad what had been done in Africa and in what manner, at Rome the consul's conduct was discussed in every place and gathering. Iug. 30.1Apud plēbem gravis invidia, patrēs sollicitī erant: probārentne tantum flāgitium an dēcrētum cōnsulis subvorterent, parum cōnstābat.Among the plebs there was deep indignation, and the senators were anxious: whether they should approve so great a scandal or overturn the consul's decision was far from clear. Iug. 30.1Ac māxumē eōs potentia Scaurī, quod is auctor et socius Bēstiae ferēbātur, ā vērō bonōque impediēbat.And above all the power of Scaurus, because he was said to be the instigator and partner of Bestia, kept them from the true and the good. Iug. 30.2At C. Memmius, quoius dē lībertāte ingenī et odiō potentiae nōbilitātis suprā dīximus, inter dubitātiōnem et morās senātūs contiōnibus populum ad vindicandum hortārī, monēre, nē rem pūblicam, nē lībertātem suam dēsererent, multa superba et crūdēlia facinora nōbilitātis ostendere;But Gaius Memmius, of whose independence of mind and hatred of the power of the nobility we have spoken above, amid the hesitation and delays of the senate urged the people in public meetings to take vengeance, warned them not to desert the state and their own liberty, and pointed out many arrogant and cruel deeds of the nobility; Iug. 30.3prōrsus intentus omnī modō plēbis animum incendēbat.in short, he was intent on inflaming the minds of the plebs in every way.

Iug. 30.4Sed quoniam eā tempestāte Rōmae Memmī fācundia clāra pollēnsque fuit, decēre existumāvī ūnam ex tam multīs ōrātiōnem eius perscrībere, ac potissumum ea dīcam, quae in contiōne post reditum Bēstiae huiusce modī verbīs disseruit:But since at that time Memmius' eloquence was famous and powerful at Rome, I thought it fitting to write out in full one of his many speeches, and I shall give in particular the one he delivered in a public meeting after Bestia's return, in words to this effect:

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

Latin vocabulary for this passage (96 words)

postquam, conj.	later than, after, when
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus	carry, wear; carry on, do
quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj.	what?
modus, -ī, m.	way, manner
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
fāma, -ae, f.	report, rumor
dīvulgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	make public, spread abroad
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
omnis, -e	all, every
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
conventus, -ūs m.	meeting, assembly
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
factum, -ī n.	deed, act
cōnsul, -ulis m.	consul (one of Rome's two chief magistrates)
agitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	drive about; discuss, debate
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
plēbs, plēbis f.	the common people
gravis, -e	heavy; severe, grievous, serious
invidia, -ae f.	envy, jealousy, ill will
pater, patris, m.	father
sollicitus, -a, -um	troubled, anxious
probō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	prove, show; approve
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
flāgitium, -ī n.	shameful act, disgrace, outrage
an, conj.	or (in questions)
dēcrētum, -ī n.	decision, decree
subvertō, -ere, -vertī, -versus	overturn, upset
parum (comp. minus, superl. minimē)	too little; minimē: least, not at all
cōnstō, -stāre, -stitī, -stātūrus	stand together, agree; consist;
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
maximē, adv.	very greatly, exceedingly, especially
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
potentia, -ae f.	power, influence
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
auctor, -ōris m.	originator, instigator
socius, -ī, m.	companion, comrade, ally
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
vērum (conj.)	but, but in fact; nōn modo ... vērum etiam: not only ... but also
bonum, -ī n.	a good thing, advantage; (pl.) goods
que, enclitic conj.	and
impediō, -pedīre, -pedīvī, -pedītus	hinder, prevent, impede
at, conj.	but
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
lībertās, -tātis, f.	freedom, liberty
ingenium, -ī n.	natural ability, talent, cleverness; character
odium, -ī, n.	hatred
nōbilitās, -tātis f.	the nobility
suprā, adv. and prep. with acc.	above, before
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
dubitātiō, -ōnis f.	doubt, hesitation
mora, -ae, f.	delay
senātus, -ūs m.	senate
cōntiō, -ōnis f.	assembly, meeting; speech to an assembly
populus, -ī m.	people, nation
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
vindicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	punish; claim
hortor, -ārī, -ātus	exhort, encourage, urge
moneō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	warn
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
pūblicus, -a, -um	public, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state)
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
dēserō, -serere, -seruī, -sertus	desert
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
superbus, -a, -um	proud, arrogant, haughty
crūdēlis, -e	cruel
facinus, facinoris, n.	deed, crime
ostendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus	stretch out before, show, explain
prōrsus (adv.)	in short, in a word; altogether
intendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus	stretch out; stretch, draw, aim
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
incendō, -ere, -cendī, -cēnsum	set on fire, burn
sed, conj.	but
quoniam, conj.	since now, since
tempestās, -tātis, f.	weather; storm, tempest
fācundia, -ae f.	eloquence, fluency of speech
clārus, -a, -um	clear, loud; famous
polleō, -ēre	be strong, be powerful
decet, decēre, decuit (impers.)	it is fitting, it is proper
exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	consider, believe, think
ūnus, -a, -um	one; only, alone
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
tam, adv.	so
ōrātiō, -ōnis, f.	speech; ōrātiōnem habēre, to deliver an oration, speak
perscrībō, -scrībere, -scrīpsī, scrīptus	write through or in full, describe fully, recount
potissimum (adv.)	above all, in preference to all others
post, adv.	after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
reditus, -ūs, m.	return
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
verbum, -ī, n.	word
disserō, -ere, -seruī, -sertus	discuss, explain, set out in words

Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum. Latin text: the Perseus digital text of Sallust's Jugurthine War, with chapter 79 onwards in part from A. W. Ahlberg (Teubner, 1919), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.