Thus in the highest position there is the least liberty of action; and it becomes us to indulge neither partiality nor aversion, but least of all animosity; for what in others is called resentment, is in the powerful termed violence and cruelty. WebSALLUST was born at Amiternum, a town in the Sabine territory, on the first of October, 1 in the year six hundred and sixty-six 2 from the foundation of Rome, Rosalyn_Helps. There were many others, too, among the nobility, concerned in the plot, but less openly; men whom the hope of power, rather than poverty or any other exigence, prompted to join in the affair. Those speakers, as it seems to me, have considered only how to punish the traitors who have raised war against their country, their parents, their altars, and their homes; but the state of affairs warns us rather to secure ourselves against them, than to take counsel as to what sentence we should pass upon them. There were some, also, at that time, who believed that Marcus Licinius Crassus was not unacquainted with the conspiracy; because Cneius Pompey, whom he hated, was at the head of a large army, and he was willing that the power of anyone whomsoever should raise itself against Pompeys influence; trusting, at the same time, that if the plot should succeed, he would easily place himself at the head of the conspirators. Catiline and his wife pander to the weaknesses of each and skillfully manipulate them without allowing them to realize that they are puppets. And had not Catiline, who was in front of the senate-house, been too hasty to give the signal to his associates, there would that day have been perpetrated the most atrocious outrage since the city of Rome was founded. WebBellum Catilinae (War of Catiline), also called De coniuratione Catilinae (Conspiracy of Catiline), is the first history published by the Roman historian Sallust. 20 terms. WebHistory. But Quintus Metellus Celer, with a force of three legions, had, at that time, his station in Picenum, who suspected that Catiline, from the difficulties of his position, would adopt precisely the course which we have just described. Catiline himself was found, far in advance of his men, among the dead bodies of the enemy; he was not quite breathless, and still expressed in his countenance the fierceness of spirit which he had shown during his life. The senate, accordingly, as is usual in any perilous emergency, decreed that THE CONSULS SHOULD MAKE IT THEIR CARE THAT THE COMMONWEALTH SHOULD RECEIVE NO INJURY. [73] Among those who borrowed information from his works were Silius Italicus, Lucan, Plutarch, and Ammianus Marcellinus. These objects I hope to effect, in concert with you, in the character of consul; unless, indeed, my expectation deceives me, and you prefer to be slaves rather than masters. Similar caution, Conscript Fathers, is to be observed by yourselves, that the guilt of Lentulus, and the other conspirators, may not have greater weight with you than you own dignity, and that you may not regard your indignation more than your character. Of these I hold the life and death in equal estimations, for silence is maintained concerning both. Provoked by injuries and indignities, since, being robbed of the fruit of my labor and exertion, I did not obtain the post of honor due to me, I have undertaken, according to my custom, the public cause of the distressed. Look here. His historical works [12] The Sallustii were a provincial noble family of Sabine origin. Hence, all influence, power, honor, and wealth, are in their hands, or where they dispose of them; to us they have left only insults, dangers, prosecutions, and poverty. Catiline was supported by certain members of the upper classes who were prompted either by ambition or by the hope of solving their financial problems by Catilines accession to power. Hither also he ordered Valerius Flaccus, the praetor, to bring the box with the letters which he had taken from the deputies. Having then sent away the horses of all the cavalry, in order to increase the mens courage by making their danger equal, he himself on foot, drew up his troops suitably to their numbers and the nature of the ground. [81] During the French Wars of Religion, De coniuratione Catilinae became widely known as a tutorial on disclosing conspiracies. He also uses the less common endings -ere instead of common -erunt in the third person plural in the perfect indicative, and -is instead of -es in the accusative plural for third declension (masculine or feminine) adjectives and nouns. was such eloquence directed? In Sallusts eyes, not Cicero but Caesar and Cato represented civic virtue and were the significant speakers in the debate; he regarded the deaths of Caesar and Cato as marking the end of an epoch in the history of the republic. In battle, those who are most afraid are always in most danger; but courage is equivalent to a rampart. Within our own memory, too, when the victorious Sylla ordered Damasippus, and others of similar character, who had risen by distressing their country, to be put to death, who did not commend the proceeding? To prevent the numbers of the enemy from surrounding us, our confined situation is sufficient. The second WebHis "Catiline's War" tells of the conspiracy in 63 bc led by L. Sergius Catilina, who plotted to assassinate numerous senators and take control of the government, but was thwarted by Cicero. Among these was Aulus Fulvius, the son of a senator, whom, being arrested on his journey, his father ordered to be put to death. I am indeed of opinion, Conscript Fathers, that the utmost degree of torture is inadequate to punish their crime; but the generality of mankind dwell on that which happens last, and, in the case of malefactors, forget their guilt, and talk only of their punishment, should that punishment have been inordinately severe. We might, with the utmost ignominy, have passed the rest of our days in exile. History and Constitution of the Text References General Bibliography The War with Catiline Introduction: Sallusts Sources for the Catiline Chronology Outline of the Bellum Catilinae Text and Translation Far from it: for to no man does evil, directed against himself, appear a light matter; many, on the contrary, have felt it more seriously than was right. Other opinions were also present. [42] It may have been written as "a plea for common sense" during the proscriptions of the Second Triumvirate, with its depiction of Caesar opposing the death penalty contrasting with the then-current slaughter. [36] However, prominent scholars of Roman prosopography such as Ronald Syme believe this is a legend. They threw aside their missiles, and fought only with their swords. Founding Fathers in the 18th century. Was it because the Porcian law forbids it? These parts are said to have been thus distributed. 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. She had frequently, before this period, forfeited her word, forsworn debts, been privy to murder, and hurried into the utmost excesses by her extravagance and poverty. I knew that the Romans had frequently, with small bodies of men, encountered vast armies of the enemy; I was aware that they had carried on wars with limited forces against powerful sovereigns; that they had often sustained, too, the violence of adverse fortune; yet that, while the Greeks excelled them in eloquence, the Gauls surpassed them in military glory. Caesar acquired renown by giving, relieving, and pardoning; Cato by bestowing nothing. For example, Gaius Asinius Pollio criticized Sallust's addiction to archaic words and his unusual grammatical features. Sets found in the same folder. By the influence of these females, Catiline hoped to gain over the slaves in Rome, to get the city set on fire, and either to secure the support of their husbands or take away their lives. WebSallust Bellum Catilinae 5. [26][25], During the civil war from 49 to 45BC, Sallust was a Caesarian partisan, but his role was not significant; his name is not mentioned in the dictator's Commentarii de Bello Civili. But he left in charge Lentulus and Cethegus, and others of whose prompt determination he was assured, to strengthen the interests of their party in every possible way, to forward the plots against the consul, and to make arrangements for a massacre, for firing the city, and for other destructive operations of war; promising that he himself would shortly advance on the city with a large army. On the other side, Caius Antonius, who, being lame, was unable to be present in the engagement, gave the command of the army to Marcus Petreius, his lieutenant. 20 terms. So strong a spirit of disaffection had, like a pestilence, pervaded the minds of most of the citizens. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. And to me, assuredly, though by no means equal glory attends the narrator and the performer of illustrious deeds, it yet seems in the highest degree difficult to write the history of great transactions; first, because deeds must be adequately represented by words; and next, because most readers consider that whatever errors you mention with censure, are mentioned through malevolence and envy; while, when you speak of the great virtue and glory of eminent men, every one hears with acquiescence only that which he himself thinks easy to be performed; all beyond his own conception he regards as fictitious and incredible. The ardor of Catiline, however, was not at all diminished; he formed every day new schemes; he deposited arms, in convenient places, throughout Italy; he sent sums of money, borrowed on his own credit, or that of his friends, to a certain Manlius, at Faesulae, who was subsequently the first to engage in hostilities. Catullus 1, 2, and 3 vocabulary edited. Chosen men, whose bodies might be enfeebled by years, but whose minds were vigorous in understanding, formed the council of the state; and these, whether from their age, or from the similarity of their duty, were called fathers . We are not now debating on the revenues, or on injuries done to our allies, but our liberty and our life is at stake. The name of his father was Caius Sallustius; 3 that of his mother is unknown. [61] Quintilian called him the "Roman Thucydides". Nor was Antonius far distant, as he was pursuing, though with a large army, yet through plainer ground, and with fewer hindrances, the enemy in retreat. In the days of our forefathers, Titus Manlius Torquatus, during a war with the Gauls, ordered his own son to be put to death, because he had fought with an enemy contrary to orders. But there were other things which made them great, but which among us have no existence; such as industry at home, equitable government abroad, and minds impartial in council, uninfluenced by any immoral or improper feeling. Volturcius, at first, encouraging his companions, defended himself against numbers with his sword; but afterwards, being unsupported by the Allobroges, he began earnestly to beg Pomtinus, to whom he was known, to save his life, and at last, terrified and despairing of safety, he surrendered himself to the praetors as unconditionally as to foreign enemies. The two assigned excerpts are the most famous parts of the BC, the preface and the debate between Caesar and Cato on the punishment of the conspirators. In order, too, to give greater weight to his representations, he sent for Gabinius, and, in his presence, explained the objects of the conspiracy, and mentioned the names of the confederates, as well as those of many other persons, of every sort, who were guiltless of it, for the purpose of inspiring the embassadors with greater confidence. monograph, Bellum Catilinae (4342 bc; Catilines War), deals with corruption in Roman politics by tracing the conspiracy of Catiline, a ruthlessly ambitious patrician who had attempted to seize power in 63 bc after the suspicions of his fellow nobles and the growing mistrust of the people prevented him from attaining. Also importantly, much of Sallust's anti-corruption moralising is "blunted by his sanctimonious tone and by ancient accusations of corruption, which have made him out to be a remarkable hypocrite". 13 For why should I mention those displays of extravagance, which can be believed by none but those who have seen them; as that mountains have been leveled, and seas covered with edifices, by many private citizens; men whom I consider to have made a sport of their wealth, since they were impatient to squander disreputably what they might have enjoyed with honor. Two Letters to Caesar and an Invective Against Cicero, Sallustian in style, have often been credited, although probably incorrectly, to Sallust; the former title was attributed to him by the 1st-century-ad Roman educator Quintilian. [49] In this, he felt a "pervasive pessimism" with decline that was "both dreadful and inevitable", a consequence of political and moral corruption itself caused by Rome's immense power:[46] he traced the civil war to the influx of wealth from conquest and the absence of serious foreign threats to hone and exercise Roman virtue at arms. [64] During the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, Sallust's works began to influence political thought in Italy. We must therefore avoid even the famous terseness of Sallust (though in his case of course it is a merit), and shun all abruptness of speech, since a style which presents no difficulty to a leisurely reader, flies past a hearer and will not stay to be looked at again. At length, when they had promised their assistance, he let them depart. His delight, from his youth, had been in civil commotions, bloodshed, robbery, and sedition; and in such scenes he had spent his early years. WebSummary The history begins with a brief preface on the nature of man, history, and a brief autobiography of Sallust himself. 38 For after the powers of the tribunes, in the consulate of Cneius Pompey and Marcus Crassus, had been fully restored, certain young men, of an ardent age and temper, having obtained that high office, began to stir up the populace by inveighing against the senate, and proceeded, in course of time, by means of largesses and promises, to inflame them more and more; by which methods they became popular and powerful. 3. magistermcwills. At that period, however, the life of man was passed without covetousness; every one was satisfied with his own. Since the occasion has thus brought public morals under my notice, the subject itself seems to call upon me to look back, and briefly to describe the conduct of our ancestors in peace and war; how they managed the state, and how powerful they left it; and how, by gradual alteration, it became, from being the most virtuous, the most vicious and depraved. 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. Men forgot their sex; women threw off all the restraints of modesty. 22 There were some, at that time, who said that Catiline, having ended his speech, and wishing to bind his accomplices in guilt by an oath, handed round among them in goblets, the blood of a human body mixed with wine; and that when all, after an imprecation, had tasted of it, as is usual in sacred rites, he disclosed his design; and they asserted that he did this, in order that they might be the more closely attached to one another, by being mutually conscious of such an atrocity. By these two virtues, intrepidity in war, and equity in peace, they maintained themselves and their state. Pardon the youth of Cethegus, unless this be the second time that he has made war upon his country. Nor did he, in the mean time, remain inactive, but devised schemes, in every possible way, against Cicero, who, however, did not want skill or policy to guard against them. [40], The monograph on was probably written c.42 BC. WebHis first monograph, Bellum Catilinae (4342 bc; Catilines War), deals with corruption in Roman politics by tracing the conspiracy of Catiline, a ruthlessly ambitious patrician who But after Cyrus in Asia, and the Lacedaemonians and Athenians in Greece, began to subjugate cities and nations, to deem the lust of dominion a reason for war, and to imagine the greatest glory to be in the most extensive empire, it was then at length discovered, by proof and experience, that mental power has the greatest effect in military operations. Many ancient authors cited Sallust, and sometimes their citations of Histories are the only source for reconstruction of this work. 5 Lucius Catiline was a man of noble birth, and of eminent mental and personal endowments, but of a vicious and depraved disposition. WebGaius Sallustius Crispus (86 BC-34 BC), better known as 'Sallust' was a Roman politician and historian who supported Populares party of Julius Caesar. WebIT becomes all men, who desire to excel other animals, 1 to strive, to the utmost of their power, 2 not to pass through life in obscurity, 3 like the beasts of the field, 4 recounts the dramatic events of 63 B.C., when a disgruntled and impoverished nobleman, If we conquer, all will be safe, we shall have provisions in abundance; and the colonies and corporate towns will open their gates to us. 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. [57], Sallust avoids common words from public speeches of contemporary Roman political orators, such as honestas, humanitas, consensus. 31 By such proceedings as these the citizens were struck with alarm, and the appearance of the city was changed. sallust 3.1-5. 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