Walls secure it on every side, and over it is a vaulted roof connected with stone arches; but its appearance is disgusting and horrible, by reason of the filth, darkness, and stench. 54 Their birth, age, and eloquence, were nearly on an equality; their greatness of mind similar, as was also their reputation, though attained by different means. 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. [82], Nietzsche credits Sallust in Twilight of the Idols for his epigrammatic style: "My sense of style, for the epigram as a style, was awakened almost instantly when I came into contact with Sallust" and praises him for being "condensed, severe, with as much substance as possible in the background, and with cold but roguish hostility towards all 'beautiful words' and 'beautiful feelings'". These barbarians, as some say, had been unable to endure his unjust, haughty, and cruel orders; but others assert that this body of cavalry, being old and trusty adherents of Pompey, attacked Piso at his instigation, since the Spaniards, they observe, had never before committed such an outrage, but had patiently submitted to many severe commands. 46 The affair being thus concluded, a full account of it was immediately transmitted to the consul by messengers. [37] According to Procopius, when Alaric's invading army entered Rome they burned Sallust's house. In consequence of these rumors, Quintus Marcius Rex was dispatched, by a decree of the senate, to Faesulae, and Quintus Metellus Creticus into Apulia and the parts adjacent, both which officers, with the title of commanders, were waiting near the city, having been prevented from entering in triumph, by the malice of a cabal, whose custom was to ask a price for everything, whether honorable or infamous. Yet his proposal appears to me, I will not say cruel (for what can be cruel that is directed against such characters? Catiline, when he saw that he was surrounded by mountains and by hostile forces, that his schemes m the city had been unsuccessful, and that there was no hope either of escape or of succor, thinking it best, in such circumstances, to try the fortune of a battle, resolved upon engaging, as speedily as possible, with Antonius. The senate also decreed, that if any one should give information of the conspiracy which had been formed against the state, his reward should be, if a slave, his freedom and a hundred sestertia, if a freeman, a complete pardon and two hundred sestertia. [citation needed] He presents a narrative condemning the conspirators without doubt, likely relying Cicero's De consulatu suo (lit. But the love of irregular gratification, open debauchery, and all kinds of luxury, had spread abroad with no less force. [5], There is no information about Sallust's parents or family,[11] except for Tacitus' mention of his sister. 5 Lucius Catiline was a man of noble birth, and of eminent mental and personal endowments, but of a vicious and depraved disposition. Among these was Aulus Fulvius, the son of a senator, whom, being arrested on his journey, his father ordered to be put to death. Citizens contended with citizens in nothing but honor. He added that Piso was in Hither Spain, and Publius Sittius Nucerinus with an army in Mauritania, both of whom were privy to his plans; that Caius Antonius, whom he hoped to have for a colleague, was canvassing for the consulship, a man with whom he was intimate, and who was involved in all manner of embarrassments; and that, in conjunction with him, he himself, when consul, would commence operations. Great anxiety, and great joy, affected him at the same moment. In conclusion, Conscript Fathers, if there were time to amend an error, I might easily suffer you, since you disregard words, to be corrected by experience of consequences. [28] In 49 BC, Sallust was moved to Illyricum and probably commanded at least one legion there after the failure of Publius Cornelius Dolabella and Gaius Antonius. 42 Much about the same time there were commotions in Hither and Further Gaul, in the Picenian and Bruttian territories, and in Apulia. But to what end, in the name of the eternal gods! On the following day, a certain Lucius Tarquinius was brought before the senate, who was said to have been arrested as he was setting out to join Catiline. But we are beset by dangers on all sides; Catiline, with his army, is ready to devour us; while there are other enemies within the walls, and in the heart of the city; nor can any measures be taken, or any plans arranged, without their knowledge. [10][29] In late summer 47BC, a group of soldiers rebelled near Rome, demanding their discharge and payment for service. [citation needed], Two letters (Duae epistolae de republica ordinanda), letters of political counsel and advice addressed to Caesar, and an attack upon Cicero (Invectiva or Declamatio in Ciceronem), frequently attributed to Sallust, are thought by modern scholars to have come from the pen of a rhetorician of the first century AD, along with a counter-invective attributed to Cicero. 84, 89: Sallust paints a picture that is unsatisfactory in a number of ways. [80], Petrarch also praised Sallust highly, though he primarily appreciated his style and moralization. And to the delight of moralists he revealed that Roman politics were not all that official rhetoric depicted them to be. jack_26_12 PLUS. Thus, gladness and sorrow, grief and joy, were variously felt throughout the whole army. Sallust is famous for brevity, archaisms, novelties of vocabulary, and oddities of syntax and grammar. [53], He employed archaic words: according to Suetonius, Lucius Ateius Praetextatus (Philologus) helped Sallust to collect them. If you wish to quit it, you must exert all your re. Men forgot their sex; women threw off all the restraints of modesty. 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 . In such contests there was neither moderation nor limit; each party made a merciless use of its successes. 7) was cited and interpreted by theologian Thomas Aquinas and scholar Brunetto Latini. There is a place in the prison, which is called the Tullian dungeon, and which, after a slight ascent to the left, is sunk about twelve feet under ground. [12] The Sallustii were a provincial noble family of Sabine origin. 21 When these men, surrounded with numberless evils but without any resources or hopes of good, had heard this address, though they thought it much for their advantage to disturb the public tranquillity, yet most of them called on Catiline to state on what terms they were to engage in the contest; what benefits they were to expect from taking up arms; and what support or encouragement they had, and in what quarters. This was an evil, which, after many years, had returned upon the community to the extent to which it now prevailed. A separate page lists some of these for aid in reading. But who, it may be asked, will blame any severity that shall be decreed against these parricides of their country? 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. Now, for the first time, the youth, as soon as they were able to bear the toils of war, acquired military skill by actual service in the camp, and took pleasure rather in splendid arms and military steeds than in the society of mistresses and convivial indulgence. Sallust himself was influenced by Thucydides more than by any other Greek writer. (Mart. Sallusts influence pervades later Roman historiography, whether men reacted against him, as Livy did, or exploited and refined his manner and views, as Tacitus did. [7] However, Sallust's birth is widely dated at 86 BC,[4][8][9] and the Kleine Pauly Encyclopedia takes 1 October 86 BC as the birthdate. That, in the city, everything which he had directed was arranged and that he should not delay to make nearer approaches to it. They are also available in on-line editions, but are not formatted for ease of use. Thus, he embarked on a political career as a novus homo (new man); that is, he was not born into the ruling class, which was an accident that influenced both the content and tone of his historical judgments. All those, too, who were of any party opposed to that of the senate, were desirous rather that the state should be embroiled, than that they themselves should be out of power. The entire text with commentary is available on-line in pdf format: Bellum Catilinae Grammatical Commentary. Of the mind we rather employ the government; of the body, the service. 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. Life of Sallust 2. Attack them, therefore, with so much the greater confidence, and call to mind your achievements of old. 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. [63], In the thirteenth century Sallust's passage on the expansion of the Roman Republic (Cat. 60 When he had made a complete survey, he gave the signal with the trumpet, and ordered the cohorts to advance slowly. Epigrams, XIV, 191: Hic erit, ut perhibent doctorum corda virorum, // Primus Romana Crispus in historia. His principal works are the Bellum Catilinae, on the conspiracy of Catiline and his account of the Jugurthine War, Bellum Jugurthinum.. A. J. Woodman is Basil L. Gildersleeve Professor of Classics at the University of Virginia. 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. As for the populace of the city, they had become disaffected from various causes. [86] The probability that all these scrolls came from one or more ancient manuscripts is debated.[87]. Nor were the senate, indeed, unwilling to grant him the province; for they wished so infamous a character to be removed from the seat of government; and many worthy men, at the same time, thought that there was some security in him against the power of Pompey, which was then becoming formidable. [73] In the Middle Ages, Sallust's works were often used in schools to teach Latin. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. magistermcwills. The opportunity, too, seemed favorable for such an accusation; for Caesar, by extraordinary generosity in private, and by magnificent exhibitions in public, had fallen greatly into debt. WebColumbus, 1990. . [20], Syme suggests that Sallust, because of his position in Milo's trial, did not originally support Caesar. Shortly after Catiline, being brought to trial for extortion, had been prevented from standing for the consulship, because he had been unable to declare himself a candidate within the legitimate number of days. 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. [25] Some historians, however, give it an earlier date of composition, perhaps as early at 50BC as an unpublished pamphlet which was reworked and published after the civil wars. The Lacedaemonians, when they had conquered the Athenians, appointed thirty men to govern their state. A few, indeed, whom the praetorian cohort had dispersed, had fallen somewhat differently, but all with wounds in front. But my ardor for action is daily more and more excited when I consider what our future condition of life must be, unless we ourselves assert our claims to liberty. [47] Historians regret the loss of the work, as it must have thrown much light on a very eventful period, embracing the war against Sertorius (died 72 BC), the campaigns of Lucullus against Mithradates VI of Pontus (75-66 BC), and the victories of Pompey in the East (6662 BC). WebSallust, Bellum Catilinae. WebReexamines Sallust's description of the alleged massacre of Italians in Cirta in the Bellum Jugurthinum. Sallust's Bellum Catilinae Second Edition Edited by J. T. Ramsey Society for Classical Studies Texts & Commentaries Provides a fitting introduction to the richness of Latin literature Includes two maps and two city plans, an updated and now annotated bibliography Also of Interest Cicero's De Provinciis Consularibus Oratio Luca Grillo Sallust had something to say about Cicero. And, indeed, if the intellectual ability of kings and magistrates were exerted to the same degree in peace as in war, human affairs would be more orderly and settled, and you would not see governments shifted from hand to hand, and things universally changed and confused. Reflect seriously in how desperate a situation you are placed, and remember that you are a man. Of the first conspiracy enough has been said. WebSallust, Bellum Catilinae. A digression in this work indicates that he considered party strife as the principal factor in the republics disintegration. [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. Being naturally bold, sanguine, and prompt to act, he thought that success depended on rapidity of execution. Web2. 14 In so populous and so corrupt a city, Catiline, as it was very easy to do, kept about him, like a body-guard, crowds of the unprincipled and desperate. His delight, from his youth, had been in civil commotions, bloodshed, robbery, and sedition; and in such scenes he had spent his early years. [40], The monograph on was probably written c.42 BC. 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. Then the armies of the Roman people first became habituated to licentiousness and intemperance, and began to admire statues, pictures, and sculptured vases; to seize such objects alike in public edifices and private dwellings; to spoil temples; and to cast off respect for everything, sacred and profane. 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. Both in peace and in war it is possible to obtain celebrity; many who have acted, and many who have recorded the actions of others, receive their tribute of praise. To prevent the numbers of the enemy from surrounding us, our confined situation is sufficient. WebHistory. Yet the unrelenting spirit of Catiline persisted in the same purposes, notwithstanding the precautions that were adopted against him, and though he himself was accused by Lucius Paullus under the Plautian law. 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. But to different persons, Conscript Fathers, different degrees of license are allowed. Nor did the army of the Roman people obtain a joyful or bloodless victory; for all their bravest men were either killed in the battle, or left the field severely wounded. The Bellum Catilinae presents Sallust's account of events in the year 63 b.c. 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. Sallust may have begun to write even before the Triumvirate was formed late in 43. From among them he furnished false witnesses, and forgers of signatures; and he taught them all to regard, with equal unconcern, honor, property, and danger. Catiline's conspiracy was the "single armed insurrection" that afflicted Rome between Sulla's civil war and Caesar's civil war. WebSummary The history begins with a brief preface on the nature of man, history, and a brief autobiography of Sallust himself. The anonymous Invective Against Sallust alleges immorality as the cause, but the real reason may have been politics. To these and all others of similar character, public disorders would furnish subsistence. 2 In early times, accordingly, kings (for that was the first title of sovereignty in the world) applied themselves in different ways; some exercised the mind, others the body. 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, I myself, however, when a young man, was at first led by inclination, like most others, to engage in political affairs; but in that pursuit many circumstances were unfavorable to me; for, instead of modesty, temperance, and integrity, there prevailed shamelessness, corruption, and rapacity. For avarice subverted honesty, integrity, and other honorable principles, and, in their stead, inculcated pride, inhumanity, contempt of religion, and general venality. For another part of this debate, look at Cicero, In Catilinam 4. 51 It becomes all men, Conscript Fathers, who deliberate on dubious matters, to be influenced neither by hatred, affection, anger, nor pity. Sallusts moralizing and brilliant style made him popular in the Middle Ages, and he was an important influence on the English Classical republicans of the 17th century (who, during a period of revolution and turmoil, advocated for a government modeled on the Roman Republic) and the U.S. To this the others consented without suspicion; but Cassius promised them soon to visit their country, and, indeed, left the city a little before the deputies. In particular, Sallust shows Catiline as deeply courageous in his final battle. At some other period, and under another consul, who, like the present, may have an army at his command, some false accusation may be credited as true; and when, with our example for a precedent, the consul shall have drawn the sword on the authority of the senate, who shall stay its progress, or moderate its fury? When, therefore, he had learned his route from some deserters, he immediately broke up his camp, and took his post at the very foot of the hills, at the point where Catilines descent would be, in his hurried march into Gaul. The Gauls made a similar confession, and charged Lentulus, who began to affect ignorance, not only with the letter to Catiline, but with remarks which he was in the habit of making, that the sovereignty of Rome, by the Sibylline books, was predestined to three Cornelii, that Cinna and Sylla had ruled already; and that he himself was the third, whose fate it would be to govern the city; and that this, too, was the twentieth year since the Capitol was burnt; a year which the augurs, from certain omens, had often said would be stained with the blood of civil war. It appears to me, therefore, more reasonable to pursue glory by means of the intellect than of bodily strength, and, since the life which we enjoy is short, to make the remembrance of us as lasting as possible. This intelligence it w-as that incited the feelings of the citizens to give the consulship to Marcus Tullius Cicero. These thirty began their administration by putting to death, even without a trial, all who were notoriously wicked, or publicly detestable; acts at which the people rejoiced, and extolled their justice. - 34 B.C. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. But, of his whole army, only about a fourth part had the proper weapons of soldiers; the rest, as chance had equipped them, carried darts, spears, or sharpened stakes. [35] He also further developed his gardens, upon which he spent much of his accumulated wealth. Among many scholars and historians interested in Sallust, the most notable are Leonardo Bruni, Coluccio Salutati and Niccol Machiavelli. 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. The War With Catiline, in Sallust (Loeb Classics), trans. In the mean time, Manlius was in Etruria, stirring up the populace, who, both from poverty, and from resentment for their injuries (for, under the tyranny of Sylla, they had lost their lands and other property), were eager for a revolution. Catiline, on his march, sent letters to most men of consular dignity, and to all the most respectable citizens, stating, that as he was beset by false accusations, and unable to resist the combination of his enemies, he was submitting to the will of fortune, and going into exile at Marseilles; not that he was guilty of the great wickedness laid to his charge, but that the state might be undisturbed, and that no insurrection might arise from his defense of himself. 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. 201 - 231. Sallust is somewhat limited as a historian; his work shows many instances of anachronisms, inaccuracies, and prejudice; the geography of the Bellum Jugurthinum scarcely reveals personal acquaintance with North Africa; he treats the destruction of Carthage in 146 bc as the beginning of the Roman crisis, whereas symptoms were clearly visible before that date. The evidence draws moralizing contrasts between Sallusts behaviour and his censorious writings and suggests a source for the ill-gotten wealth that created the splendid Sallustian Gardens (Horti Sallustiani). How easily these two tribes, though of different origin, dissimilar language, and opposite habits of life, formed a union when they met within the same walls, is almost incredible. Several manuscripts of his works survived due to his popularity in antiquity and the Middle Ages. Caesar grew eminent by generosity and munificence; Cato by the integrity of his life. For all those shameless, libertine, and profligate characters, who had dissipated their patrimonies by gaming, luxury, and sensuality; all who had contracted heavy debts, to purchase immunity for their crimes or offences; all assassins or sacrilegious persons from every quarter, convicted or dreading conviction for their evil deeds; all, besides, whom their tongue or their hand maintained by perjury or civil bloodshed; all, in fine, whom wickedness, poverty, or a guilty conscience disquieted, were the associates and intimate friends of Catiline.