Chapter 2

[1] _Omnes_. Other editions have _omnis_ or _omneis_. The accusative plural of words of the third declension making their genitive plural in _ium_, varied in early Latin, sometimes ending in _is_, and sometimes in _eis_ or _es_. This fluctuation, however, afterwards ceased; and even in the best age of the Latin language it became generally customary to make the accusative plural like the nominative in _es_. The same was the case with some other obsolete forms, as _volt_ for _vult_, _divorsus_ for _diversus_, _quoique_ for _cuique_, _maxumus_ for _maximus_, _quom_ for _quum_, or _cum_, which are retained in many editions, but have been avoided in the present, in accordance with the orthography generally adopted during the best period of the Latin language. [2] _Studeo_, when the verb following has the same subject, may be construed in three ways--with the infinitive alone, as _studeo praestare_; with the accusative and infinitive, _studeo me praestare_, as in the present case; or with _ut_, as _studeo ut praestem_. [3] _Summa ope_, 'with the greatest exertion,' equivalent to _summa opere, summopere_; as _magno opere_, or _magnopere_, signifies 'with great exertion,' or 'greatly.' The nominative _ops_ is not in use, and the plural _opes_ generally signifies 'the means' or 'power of doing something.' [4] _Prona_, 'bent forward,' 'bent down to the ground,' in opposition to the erect gait of man. [5] _Dis_ for _diis_. See Zumpt, S 51, n. 5. [6] _Beluis_; another, but less correct mode of spelling, is _bellua, belluis_. [7] Instead of _memoriam nostri_, Sallust might have said _memoriam nostram_; but the genitive _nostri_ sets forth the object of remembrance with greater force. See Zumpt, S 423. [8] _Quam maxime longam_; that is, _quam longissimam_, 'lasting as long as possible.' Zumpt, S 108. [9] The author here makes a digression, to remove the objection that in war bodily strength is of greater importance than mental superiority. He admits that in the earlier times it may have been so, but maintains that in more recent times, when the art of war had become rather complicate, the superiority of mind has become manifest. _Vine corporis an_; that is, _utrum vi corporis an_. See Zumpt, S 554. [10] That is, 'before undertaking anything, reflect well; but when you have reflected, then carry your design into execution without delay.' The past participles _consulta_ and _facto_ here supply the place of verbal substantives.

2. Igitur[11] initio reges (nam in terris nomen imperii id primum fuit), diversi pars[12] ingenium, alii corpus exercebant; etiamtum vita hominum sine cupiditate agitabatur, sua cuique satis placebant. Postea vero quam[13] in Asia Cyrus, in Graecia Lacedaemonii et Athenienses coepere urbes atque nationes subigere; libidinem dominandi causam belli habere, maximam gloriam in maximo imperio putare, tum demum periculo atque negotiis compertum est in bello plurimum ingenium posse. Quodsi[14] regum atque imperatorum animi virtus[15] in pace ita ut in bello valeret, aequabilius atque constantius sese res humanae haberent, neque aliud alio[16] ferri, neque mutari ac misceri omnia cerneres. Nam imperium facile his artibus retinetur, quibus initio partum est. Verum ubi pro labore desidia, pro continentia et aequitate libido atque superbia invasere, fortuna simul cum moribus immutatur. Ita imperium semper ad optimum quemque[17] a minus bono transfertur. Quae homines arant, navigant, aedificant, virtuti omnia parent. Sed multi mortales dediti ventri atque somno, indocti incultique vitam sicuti peregrinantes transiere;[18] quibus profecto contra naturam corpus voluptati, anima oneri fuit. Eorum ego vitam mortemque juxta aestimo,[19] quoniam de utraque siletur. Verum enimvero[20] is demum mihi vivere atque frui anima videtur, qui aliquo negotio intentus[21] praeclari facinoris aut artis bonae famam quaerit. Sed in magna copia rerum aliud alii natura iter ostendit.

[11] Respecting the frequent position of _igitur_ at the beginning of a sentence in Sallust, see Zumpt, S 357. [12] _Pars_, instead of _alii_, probably to avoid the repetition of _alii_, and to produce variety. [13] _Postea vero quam_, for _postquam vero_. The author means to say, that after the formation of great empires by extensive conquests, the truth became manifest that even in war mind was superior to mere bodily strength. He mentions Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lacedaemonians and Athenians, because the earlier empires of the Egyptians and Assyrians did not yet belong to accredited history. [14] Sallust here introduces, by _quodsi_ (and if, or yes, if), an illustration connected with the preceding remarks. Respecting this connecting power of _quodsi_, as distinguished from the simple _si_, see Zumpt, S 807. This illustration, which ends with the word _transfertur_, was suggested to Sallust especially by the consideration of the recent disturbances in the Roman republic under Pompey, Caesar, and Mark Antony, three men who, in times of peace, saw their glory, previously acquired in war, fade away. [15] _Animi virtus_; these two words are here united to express a single idea, 'mental greatness.' [16] _Aliud alio ferri_, 'that one thing is drawn in one direction, and the other in another.' For _aliud alio_, see Zumpt, S 714; and for _cerneres_, in which the second person singular of the subjunctive answers to the English 'you' when not referring to any definite person, S 381. [17] _Optimum quemque_, 'to every one in proportion as he is better than others.' Respecting this relative meaning of _quisque_, see Zumpt, S 710. 'Every one,' absolutely, is _unusqisque_, and adjectively _omnis_. [18] 'They have passed through life like strangers or travellers;' that is, as if they had no concern with their own life, although it is clear that human life is of value only when men are conscious of themselves, and exert themselves to cultivate their mental powers, and apply them to practical purposes. [19] 'I set an equal value upon their life and their death;' that is, an equally low value, _juxta_ being equivalent to _aeque_ or _pariter_. [20] _Verum enimvero;_ these conjunctions are intended strongly to draw the attention of the reader to the conclusion from a preceding argument. [21] 'Intent upon some occupation.' _Intentus_ is commonly construed with the dative, or the preposition _in_ or _ad_ with the accusative; but as a person may be intent _upon_ something, so he also may be intent _by_, or _in consequence of_, something, so that the ablative is perfectly consistent.

3. Pulcrum est bene facere rei publicae; etiam bene dicere haud absurdum est;[22] vel pace vel bello clarum fieri licet; et qui fecere et qui facta aliorum scripsere, multi laudantur. Ac mihi quidem,[23] tametsi haudquaquam par gloria sequitur scriptorem et actorem rerum, tamen in primis arduum videtur res gestas scribere; primum quod facta dictis exaequanda sunt, dehinc quia plerique, quae delicta reprehenderis, malivolentia et invidia dicta putant;[24] ubi de magna virtute atque gloria bonorum memores, quae sibi quisque facilia factu putat, aequo animo accipit, supra ea[25] veluti ficta pro falsis ducit.

Sed ego[26] adolescentulus initio sicuti plerique studio ad rem publicam latus sum, ibique mihi multa adversa fuere. Nam pro pudore, pro abstinentia, pro virtute, audacia, largitio, avaritia vigebant. Quae tametsi animus aspernabatur, insolens malarum artium,[27] tamen inter tanta vitia imbecilla aetas ambitione corrupta tenebatur[28]: ac me, quum ab reliquorum malis moribus dissentirem, nihilo minus honoris cupido eadem qua ceteros fama atque invidia vexabat.[29]

[22] _Haud absurdum est_, 'is not unbecoming;' that is, 'is worthy of man.' [23] _Quidem_ here, like the Greek [Greek: men] in [Greek: emoi men], without a [Greek: de] following, introduces one opinion in contradistinction from others, though the latter are not mentioned, but merely suggested by _quidem_. 'I for my part think so, but what others think I do not know, or care.' [24] 'If you censure any things as faults or delinquencies, your censure is considered to have arisen from malevolence or ill-will.' [25] _Supra ea_, 'whatever is beyond: that;' that is, whatever is beyond the capacity of the reader. [26] The author now passes over to his own experience, telling us that after having devoted himself at first to the career of a public man, and finding that he was not understood, and ill-used by his opponents, he formed the determination to give himself up to a literary life. [27] _Insolens malarum artium_, 'unacquainted with base artifices or intrigues;' for _artes_ may be _malae_ as well as _bonae_, according as they consist in the skill of doing bad or good things. [28] _Imbecilla aetas_, 'my weak age;' that is, my mind, which had not yet arrived at mature independence,'was corrupted by ambition, and was kept under the influence of such bad circumstances.' Sallust means to say that if his mind had arrived at manly independence, he would have immediately withdrawn from the vicious atmosphere of public life. [29] My ambition caused me to be equally ill spoken of and envied, and thus to be dragged down to a level with the rest, and to be equally harassed and persecuted as they were.

4. Igitur ubi animus ex multis miseriis atque periculis requievit et mihi reliquam aetatem a re publica procul habendam decrevi, non fuit consilium socordia atque desidia bonum otium conterere;[30] neque vero agrum colendo aut venando, servilibus officiis,[31] intentum aetatem agere; sed a quo incepto studioque me ambitio mala detinuerat, eodem regressus statui res gestas populi Romani carptim,[32] ut quaeque memoria digna videbantur, perscribere; eo magis, quod mihi a spe, metu, partibus rei publicae animus liber erat. Igitur de Catilinae conjuratione quam verissime potero paucis absolvam:[33] nam id facinus in primis ego memorabile existimo sceleris atque periculi novitate. De cujus hominis moribus pauca prius explananda sunt, quam initium narrandi faciam.

[30] _Conterere_--that is, _consumere_, 'to waste my fair leisure.' [31] Sallust here calls agriculture and the chase occupations of men in a servile condition, although the majority of the ancients considered the former especially as the most honourable occupation of free citizens. But he seems to think that in comparison with the important business of writing the history of his country, agriculture and the chase are not suitable occupations for a man who has at one time taken an active part in political affairs. [32] _Carptim_, 'in detached parts.' [33] _Paucis absolvam_, 'I shall treat briefly,' or _paucis pertractabo conjurationem Catilinae_.

5. Lucius Catilina,[34] nobili genere natus, fuit magna vi et animi et corporis, sed ingenio malo pravoque. Huic abadolescentia bella intestina, caedes, rapinae, discordia civilis grata fuere, ibique juventutem suam exercuit. Corpus patiens[35] inediae, algoris, vigiliae, supra quam cuiquam credibile est. Animus audax, subdolus, varius, cujus rei libet[36] simulator ac dissimulator, alieni appetens, sui profusus, ardens in cupiditatibus; satis eloquentiae, sapientiae parum. Vastus animus immoderata, incredibilia, nimis alta semper cupiebat. Hunc post dominationem Lucii Sullae libido maxima invaserat rei publicae capiundae,[37] neque id quibus modis assequeretur, dum sibi regnum pararet, quidquam pensi habebat. Agitabatur magis magisque in dies animus ferox inopia rei familiaris et conscientia scelerum, quae utraque his artibus auxerat,[38] quas supra memoravi. Incitabant praeterea corrupti civitatis mores, quos pessima ac diversa inter se mala, luxuria atque avaritia, vexabant. Res ipsa hortari videtur, quoniam de moribus civitatis tempus admonuit, supra repetere[39] ac paucis instituta majorum domi militiaeque,[40] quomodo rem publicam habuerint quantamque reliquerint, ut paulatim immutata ex pulcherrima pessima ac flagitiosissima facta sit, disserere.

[34] Sallust begins with a general description of the character of Catiline. This talented person, though of a most wicked disposition, belonged to the patrician _gens Sergia_, which traced its descent to one of the companions of Aeneas. This is no doubt fabulous, but at any rate proves the high antiquity of the gens. The most renowned among the ancestors of Catiline was M. Sergius, a real model of bravery, who distinguished himself in the Gallic and second Punic wars, and after having lost his right hand in battle, wielded the sword with the left. As Catiline offered himself as a candidate for the consulship in B.C. 66, which no Roman was allowed to do by law before having attained the age of forty-three, we may fairly presume that he was born about B.C. 109, in the time of the Jugurthine war. Cicero was born in B.C. 106, and was consequently a few years younger than Catiline. [35] _Patiens inediae_. Respecting the genitive governed by this and similar participles--as soon after _alieni appetens_--see Zumpt, S 438. [36] _Cujus rei libet;_ it is more common to say _cujuslibet rei_. Sometimes the relative pronouns compounded with _cunque_ and _libet_ are separated by the insertion of some other word or words between them, which in grammatical language is called a tmesis--as _quod enim cunque judicium subierat, absolvebatur; quem sors dierum cunque tibi dederit, lucre appone,_ 'whatever day chance may give thee, consider it as a gain.' [37] _Capiundae_. Respecting the _e_ or _u_ in such gerunds and gerandives, see Zumpt, S 167. [38] _Auxerat_. He had increased both by the above-mentioned qualities--namely, his poverty by extravagance, and the consciousness of guilt by the crimes he committed. The neuter plural _quae_, referring to two feminine substantives denoting abstract ideas, is not very common, though quite justifiable. Zumpt, S 377. [39] Respecting the infinitive after _hortari_, instead of the more common use of the conjunction _ut_, see Zumpt, S 615. [40] _Domi militiaeque_, 'in times of peace and in war.'

6. Urbem Romam,[41] sicuti ego accepi, condidere atque habuere initio Trojani, qui Aenea duce profugi sedibus incertis vagabantur, cumque his Aborigines,[42] genus hominum agreste, sine legibus, sine imperio, liberum atque solutum. Hi postquam in una[43] moenia convenere, dispari genere, dissimili lingua, alius alio more viventes, incredibile memoratu est quam facile coaluerint.[44] Sed postquam res eorum civibus, moribus, agris aucta, satia prospera satisque pollens videbatur, sicuti pleraque mortalium habentur, invidia ex opulentia orta est. Igitur reges populique finitimi bello temptare,[45] pauci ex amicis auxilio esse; nam ceteri metu perculsi a periculis aberant. At Romani domi militiaeque intenti festinare, parare, alius alium hortari, hostibus obviam ire, libertatem, patriam parentesque armis tegere. Post, ubi pericula virtute propulerant, sociis atque amicis auxilia portabant,[46] magisque dandis quam accipiundis beneficiis amicitias parabant. Imperium legitimum, nomen imperii regium habebant;[47] delecti, quibus corpus annis infirmum, ingenium sapientia validum erat, rei publicae consultabant;[48] hi vel aetate vel curae similitudine patres appellabantur. Post, ubi regium imperium, quod initio conservandae libertatis atque augendae rei publicae[49] fuerat, in superbiam dominationemque convertit[50] immutato more annua imperia binosque imperatores[51] sibi fecere; eo modo minime posse putabant per licentiam insolescere animum humanum.

[41] In the following eight chapters (6-13) Sallust describes the transition from the stern manners, the warlike energy, and domestic peace of the ancient Romans, to the corruption prevalent in the time of Catiline, and which consisted chiefly in extravagance, avarice, oppression, and the love of dominion. His description is a striking picture of the early virtuous character of the Romans, and their subsequent indulgence in vice. He traces all the corruption of his time to the immense wealth accumulated at Rome, after she had acquired the dominion over the world--that is, after the destruction of Carthage and Corinth; and he marks out in particular Sulla as the man who had fostered the very worst qualities in order to obtain supreme power for himself. [42] According to the current tradition, the people of the Latins had been formed by a union of the Trojan emigrants with the native Aborigines. Their capital was Alba Longa, and they lived about Alba, on and near the Alban Mount, in a great number of confederate townships. Four centuries after the arrival of Aeneas, the city of Rome was founded by Albans on the extreme frontier of the Latin territory, and near the hostile tribes by which it was surrounded. Sallust passes over the intermediate stages, either because he, like others, thought Rome much more ancient, or because, having to do only with the description of manners, he was unconcerned about historical developments. [43] _Una_ is the plural. See Zumpt, S 115, note. [44] It is indeed wonderful how quickly the Roman people, although consisting of a mixture of different tribes--whether, as Sallust briefly intimates, they were Trojans and Aborigines, or, as the more minute historians relate, Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans--united into one nationality. The language spoken by the Roman people, however, was not a mixture of those of the last-mentioned tribes, but Latin, which, in conformity with Sallust's notion, appears to be a combination of Greek with some early Italian idiom. [45] _Temptare_, the historical infinitive, about the meaning and construction of which see Zumpt, S 599, note. [46] _Auxilia portare_ is a less common expression than _auxilium ferre_; for _portare_ is generally used only to denote the actual physical carrying of something, while _ferre_ has a wider meaning. The plural _auxilia_, however, here alludes to the repeated assistance given to friends. [47] 'Their government was a legitimate one'--that is, the powers of the government were limited by law; 'and bore the name of a kingly government'--that is, a king stood at the head of it. [48] Chosen men had the care of public affairs, and deliberated about the good of the state; they stood by the side of the kings as a _consilium publicum_, and were addressed by the term _patres_. [49] Respecting the meaning of these genitives, for which datives also might have been used, see Zumpt, S 662. [50] _Ubi--convertit_, 'when it had changed (itself).' For _ubi_ with the perfect in the sense of a pluperfect, see Zumpt, S 506; and for the use of _vertere_ in an intransitive or reflective sense, S 145. [51] In the earliest times they were called _praetores_ or leaders, _qui praeeunt exercitui_; afterwards _consules_. As two were elected every year, Sallust uses _bini_, and not _duo_.

7. Sed ea tempestate coepere se quisque magis extollere magisque ingenium in promptu habere.[52] Nam regibus boni quam mali suspectiores sunt, semperque his aliena virtus formidolosa est. Sed civitas incredibile memoratu est adepta[53] libertate quantum brevi[54] creverit; tanta cupido gloriae incesserat.[55] Jam primum juventus, simul ac belli patiens erat, in castris per laborem usu militiam discebat, magisque in decoris armis et militaribus equis quam in scortis atque conviviis libidinem habebant.[56] Igitur talibus viris non labos[57] insolitus, non locus ullus asper aut arduus erat, non armatus hostis formidolosus; virtus omnia domuerat. Sed gloriae maximum certamen inter ipsos erat: sic se quisque hostem ferire, murum ascendere, conspici, dum tale facinus faceret, properabat; eas[58] divitias, eam bonam famam magnamque nobilitatem putabant; laudis avidi, pecuniae liberales erant; gloriam ingentem, divitias honestas volebant. Memorare possem, quibus in locis maximas hostium copias populus Romanus parva manu fuderit, quas urbes natura munitas pugnando ceperit, ni ea res longius nos ab incepto traheret.

[52] _In promptu habere_, 'to have in readiness,' and also 'to bring into action,' or 'to make use of.' Sallust means to say, that in consequence of the introduction of annual magistrates, every one increased his efforts to distinguish himself, and to make his talents shine. [53] _Adepta_ is here used in a passive sense, contrary to the usage of the best authors, in accordance with which he might have said _adepta libertatem_. [54] _Brevi_, 'in a short time.' [55] _Incesserat_; supply _in eos_ or _iis_, referring to _cives_, implied in the preceding _civitas_. [56] _Habebant_ should have been _habebat_, since _discebat_ precedes. But see Zumpt, S 366. [57] _Labos_, a rarer form for _labor_, as _honos_ and _lepos_, which are even more frequently found than _honor_ and _lepor_. [58] _Eas_ agrees with _divitias_, though in English we say, in such cases, 'This,' or 'these things they considered as riches.' See Zumpt, S 372.

8. Sed profecto fortuna in omni re dominatur; ea res cunctas ex libidine magis quam ex vero celebrat obscuratque. Atheniensium res gestae, sicuti ego aestimo, satis amplae magnificaeque fuere, verum aliquanto[59] minores tamen quam fama feruntur. Sed quia provenere ibi scriptorum magna ingenia, per terrarum orbem Atheniensium facta pro maximis[60] celebrantur. Ita eorum, qui ea fecere, virtus tanta habetur, quantum ea verbis potuere extollere praeclara ingenia. At populo Romano nunquam ea copia fuit, quia prudentissimus quisque maxime negotiosus erat;[61] ingenium nemo sine corpore exercebat; optimus quisque facere quam dicere, sua ab aliis bene facta laudari quam ipse aliorum narrare malebat.

[59] _Aliquanto_, 'by a considerable amount,' or simply 'considerably,' is the ablative, expressing the amount of difference between two things compared. Sallust here considers it to be a mere matter of chance that the wars of the early Romans, as those against the Volscians, Aequians, Etruscans, and Samnites, do not stand forth in history as glorious as the wars of the Greek nations among themselves, and against the Persians. To us it appears that this was not a matter of chance; but it undoubtedly arose from the fact, that the Greeks even then had already attained a higher degree of civilisation. The interest which history takes in wars does not depend upon the vastness of the armies or the extent of countries, but upon the lower or higher degree of civilisation of those engaged in the wars. [60] _Pro maximis_, 'they are celebrated _as if they were_ the greatest.' Respecting this meaning of _pro_, see Zumpt, S 394, note 3. [61] 'The more intelligent any one was, the more business was intrusted to him,' so that he had no leisure (_otium_) to devote to literary composition. This at least is Sallust's opinion; but when a man feels it to be his vocation to write history, he can find time for it, however much he may be otherwise engaged--witness J. Caesar and Frederick II. of Prussia. For the construction, see Zumpt, S 710. C.