sallust bellum catilinae summary

To read with reasonable ease the passages assigned. The office, originally designed to represent the lower classes, by Sallusts time had developed into one of the most powerful magistracies. As a reward for his services, Sallust was appointed proconsular governor of Africa Nova, either from 4645 or for early 44BC. He rejoiced that, by the discovery of the conspiracy, the state was freed from danger; but he was doubtful how he ought to act, when citizens of such eminence were detected in treason so atrocious. To such men no toil was unusual, no place was difficult or inaccessible, no armed enemy was formidable; their valor had overcome everything. Several fragments of Sallust's works survived in papyri of the second to fourth centuriesAD. For whenever any one coveted the mansion or villa, or even the plate or apparel of another, he exerted his influence to have him numbered among the proscribed. See Bchner (n.l above), 246f. The army of the enemy followed his example; and when they approached so near that the action could be commenced by the light-armed troops, both sides, with a loud shout, rushed together in a furious charge. Conjuration de Catilina - French. [56] "The Conspiracy of Catiline" reflects many features of style that were developed in his later works. [66] Justus Lipsius marked Sallust as the second most notable Roman historian after Tacitus. 57 When it was reported in his camp, however, that the conspiracy had been discovered at Rome, and that Lentulus, Cethegus, and the rest whom I have named, had been put to death, most of those whom the hope of plunder, or the love of change, had led to join in the war, fell away. [43], It is Sallust's first published work, detailing the attempt by Lucius Sergius Catilina to overthrow the Roman Republic in 63BC. When Lentulus had been let down into this place, certain men, to whom orders had been given, strangled him with a cord. His moral and political values are traditional; they commemorate the past to castigate the present. Among many scholars and historians interested in Sallust, the most notable are Leonardo Bruni, Coluccio Salutati and Niccol Machiavelli. At first the love of money, and then that of power, began to prevail, and these became, as it were, the sources of every evil. Thus, gladness and sorrow, grief and joy, were variously felt throughout the whole army. [47] Sallust likely relied on a general annalistic history of the time, as well as the autobiographies of Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, Publius Rutilius Rufus, and Sulla. But he also had the backing of Italys dissatisfied veterans, impoverished peasants, and overburdened debtors. But as I have, on many remarkable occasions, experienced your bravery and attachment to me, I have ventured to engage in a most important and glorious enterprise. The entire text with [65] Among his admirers in England in the early modern period were Thomas More, Alexander Barclay and Thomas Elyot. John C. Rolfe (1921) (transcription project) This work was published before January 1, 1928, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. Catullus 1, 2, and 3 vocabulary edited. At that period, however, the life of man was passed without covetousness; every one was satisfied with his own. And this crime appears to me to have been the chief cause of hurrying forward the conspiracy. Ambition prompted many to become deceitful; to keep one thing concealed in the breast, and another ready on the tongue; to estimate friendships and enmities, not by their worth, but according to interest; and to carry rather a specious countenance than an honest heart. We have therefore only to make a beginning; the course of events will accomplish the rest. WebReexamines Sallust's description of the alleged massacre of Italians in Cirta in the Bellum Jugurthinum. On this occasion, Decimus Junius Silanus, who, as consul elect, was first asked his opinion, moved that capital punishment should be inflicted, not only on those who were in confinement, but also on Lucius Cassius, Publius Furius, Publius Umbrenus, and Quintus Annius, if they should be apprehended; but afterwards, being influenced by the speech of Caius Caesar, he said that he would go over to the opinion of Tiberius Nero, who had proposed that the guards should be increased, and that the senate should deliberate further on the matter. 49 Yet, at the same time, neither by interest, nor by solicitation, nor by bribes, could Quintus Catulus, and Caius Piso, prevail upon Cicero to have Caius Caesar falsely accused, either by means of the Allobroges, or any other evidence. You all know, soldiers, how severe a penalty the inactivity and cowardice of Lentulus has brought upon himself and us; and how, while waiting for reinforcements from the city, I was unable to march into Gaul. Sallust presents Catiline as a deliberate foe of law, order and morality, and does not give a comprehensive explanation of his views and intentions (Catiline had supported the party of Sulla, whom Sallust had opposed). But as soon as a prospect of change, in this dubious state of affairs, had presented itself, the old spirit of contention awakened their passions; and had Catiline, in his first battle, come off victorious, or left the struggle undecided, great distress and calamity must certainly have fallen upon the state, nor would those, who might at last have gained the ascendancy, have been allowed to enjoy it long, for some superior power would have wrested dominion and liberty from them when weary and exhausted. All humans who are keen to surpass other animals had best strive with all their might not to pass through life without notice, like cattle, Aeneid II. But when sloth has introduced itself in the place of industry, and covetousness and pride in that of moderation and equity, the fortune of a state is altered together with its morals; and thus authority is always transferred from the less to the more deserving. When the city is taken, no power is left to the vanquished. Because of electoral disturbances in 53, there were no regular government officials other than the tribunes, and the next year opened in violence that led to the murder of Clodius Pulcher, a notorious demagogue and candidate for the praetorship (a magistracy ranking below that of consul), by a gang led by Titus Annius Milo. As he grew to maturity, foreign war and political strife were commonplace; thus, it is not surprising that his writings are preoccupied with violence. General Introduction 1. Thus this patrician, who was of the illustrious family of the Cornelii, and who had filled the office of consul at Rome, met with an end suited to his character and conduct. The question, however, at present under discussion, is not whether we live in a good or bad state of morals; nor how great, or how splendid, the empire of the Roman people is; but whether these things around us, of whatever value they are, are to continue our own, or to fall, with ourselves, into the hands of the enemy. Corrections? If those who pass a life sunk in obscurity, commit any error, through excessive anger, few become aware of it, for their fame is as limited as their fortune; but of those who live invested with extensive power, and in an exalted station, the whole world knows the proceedings. Nor is he a deep thinker, being content to operate with philosophical commonplaces. To such indignities, bravest of men, how long will you submit? But our forefathers adorned the fanes of the deities with devotion, and their homes with their own glory, and took nothing from those whom they conquered but the power of doing harm; their descendants, on the contrary, the basest of mankind have even wrested from their allies, with the most flagrant injustice, whatever their brave and victorious ancestors had left to their vanquished enemies; as if the only use of power were to inflict injury. They encouraged one another, and hurried to meet the enemy. Sallusts Style 5. His complexion, in consequence, was pale, his eyes haggard, his walk sometimes quick and sometimes slow, and distraction was plainly apparent in every feature and look. 4 terms. [27] In 48BC, he was probably made quaestor by Caesar, automatically restoring his seat in the senate. The case is, assuredly, dangerous, but you do not fear it; yes, you fear it greatly, but you hesitate how to act, through weakness and want of spirit, waiting one for another, and trusting to the immortal gods, who have so often preserved your country in the greatest dangers. But in a large state there arise many men of various dispositions. [50] For Sallust, the defining moments of the late republic were the destruction of Rome's old foe, Carthage, in 146BC and the influx of wealth from the east after Sulla's First Mithridatic War. [60], This style itself called for "a 'return to values'" which was "made to recall the austere life of the idealised ancient Roman", with archaisms and abrupt writing contrasted against Cicero's "adornment" as present decadence was contrasted with ancient virtues. But because I saw unworthy men ennobled with honors, and myself proscribed on groundless suspicion, I have, for this very reason, adopted a course, amply justifiable in my present circumstances, for preserving what honor is left to me. The women, also, to whom, from the extent of the empire, the dread of war was new, gave way to lamentation, raised supplicating hands to heaven, mourned over their infants, made constant inquiries, trembled at everything, and, forgetting their pride and their pleasures, felt nothing but alarm for themselves and their country. Often, Conscript Fathers, have I spoken at great length in this assembly; often have I complained of the luxury and avarice of our citizens, and, by that very means, have incurred the displeasure of many. Omissions? Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. This they seemed to do in accordance with their general character; for, in every state, they that are poor envy those of a better class, and endeavor to exalt the factious; they dislike the established condition of things, and long for something new; they are discontented with their own circumstances, and desire a general alteration; they can support themselves amidst revolt and sedition, without anxiety, since poverty does not easily suffer loss. This course will investigate closely the assigned text, with only sporadic comments on the historical and social background. His brief style influenced, among others, Widukind of Corvey and Wipo of Burgundy. Other crimes you may punish after they have been committed; but as to this, unless you prevent its commission, you will, when it has once taken effect, in vain appeal to justice. But afterwards, when their lawless power gradually increased, they proceeded, at their pleasure, to kill the good and bad indiscriminately, and to strike terror into all; and thus the state, overpowered and enslaved, paid a heavy penalty for its imprudent exultation. Sallust was born in a time of civil war. Free postage. Yet it was long a subject of dispute among mankind, whether military efforts were more advanced by strength of body, or by force of intellect. At one time Marcus Porcius Latro was considered a candidate for the authorship of the pseudo-Sallustian corpus, but this view is no longer commonly held. WebBellum Catilinae (War of Catiline), also called De coniuratione Catilinae (Conspiracy of Catiline), is the first history published by the Roman historian Sallust. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became a partisan of Julius Caesar (100 to 44 BC), circa 50s BC. 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