M. Tullius Cicero, In Catilinam, ed. Albert Curtis Clark, 1.30

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[30] quamquam non nulli sunt in hoc ordine qui aut ea quae imminent non videant aut ea quae vident¹ dissimulent; qui spem Catilinae mollibus sententiis aluerunt coniurationemque nascentem non credendo conroboraverunt; quorum auctoritate multi² non solum improbi verum etiam imperiti, si in hunc animadvertissem, crudeliter et regie factum esse dicerent. nunc intellego, si iste, quo intendit, in Manliana castra pervenerit, neminem tam stultum fore qui non³ videat coniurationem esse factam⁴, neminem tam improbum qui non fateatur. hoc autem uno interfecto intellego hanc rei publicae pestem paulisper reprimi, non in perpetuum comprimi posse. quod si sese⁵ eiecerit secumque suos eduxerit et eodem ceteros undique conlectos naufragos adgregarit, exstinguetur atque delebitur non modo haec tam adulta rei publicae pestis verum etiam stirps ac semen malorum omnium.

In Catilinam. M. Tullius Cicero. ed. Albert Curtis Clark. Oxford. 1908.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by National Endowment For The Humanities (NEH).

Current edition Perseus

In L. Catilinam (Latin) (Cicero. M. Tulli Ciceronis Orationes, Volume 1. Clark, Albert Curtis, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908.)

Translations (1)

Against L. Catiline Perseus (Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, Volume 2. Yonge, Charles Duke, translator. London: Bell, 1856.) — 1.30 focus

[30]
Though there are some men in this body who either do not see what threatens, or dissemble what they do see; who have fed the hope of Catiline by mild sentiments, and have strengthened the rising conspiracy by not believing it; influenced by whose authority many, and they not wicked, but only ignorant, if I punished him would say that I had acted cruelly and tyranically. But I know that if he arrives at the camp of Manlius to which he is going, there will be no one so stupid as not to see that there has been a conspiracy; no one so hardened as not to confess it. But if this man alone were put to death, I know that this disease of the republic would be only checked for awhile, not eradicated for ever. But if he banishes himself; and takes with him all his friends, and collects at one point all the ruined men from every quarter, then not only will this full-grown plague of the republic be extinguished and eradicated, but also the root and seed of all future evils

Notes on the current edition

In Catilinam

1. vident C1: fort. vident... dissimulant

2. auctoritate multi α: auctoritatem secuti multi (multi sec. h) cett.

3. qui non quin α h ( contra Priscian. K. iii. 246)

4. factam esse α ( contra Priscian.)

5. sese CAV: se cett.

Commentary

Commentary on First Oration against Catiline (Select Orations of Cicero (Allen and Greenough's Edition). Greenough, James Bradstreet; Kittredge, George Lyman, editors. Boston, London: Ginn & Company, 1897.) focus

non nulli , etc.: it should be remembered that there were many well-intentioned citizens who either doubted the existence of a conspiracy or thought Cicero's fears of it greatly exaggerated; and that' even among those who admitted the fact there was considerable variety of partisan feeling.

videant , dissimulent: subj. of charact. (not coord. with

dicerent ), expressing the character of the men referred to, while

aluerunt , etc. (l. 11), merely gives additional facts about them (hence indic.).

regie , despotically: the Roman idea of a king and kingly government was associated with Tarquinius Superbus. Here the word also implies the assumption of unlawful power (= tyrannice), as well as its abuse.

nunc , as it is

quo : § 308 , g (201,f 2); cf. G. 611, R.1; the antecedent is

in castra .

improbum , dishonest

hoc . . . interfecto , disguised fut. protasis; § 521 , a (310, a); B. 305, I; G. 600, I; H. 575, 9 (507, N.7); H-B. 578, 6; the apod.

posse is fut. in sense: § 516 , d, 584, b (307, d); G. 248, R.; H.-B. 472, d.

ejecerit : for tense, see § 516 , c (307, c); G. 244, 2; H. 574, 2 (508, 2); Cf. H.-B. 577, a.

eodem , to the same place.

adulta , full-grown, as opposed to stirps , the root (properly the stock from which new shoots may spring out), and semen, the seed. 13

M. Tullius Cicero In Catilinam 1.30

ed. Albert Curtis Clark

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