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C. Sallusti Crispi Catilinae Coniuratio

1 Omnis homines, qui sese student praestare ceteris animalibus, summa ope niti decet, ne vitam silentio transeant veluti pecora, quae natura prona atque ventri oboedientia finxit. 2 sed nostra omnis vis in animo et corpore sita est: animi imperio, corporis servitio magis utimur; alterum nobis cum dis, alterum cum beluis commune est. 3 quo mihi rectius videtur ingeni quam virium opibus gloriam quaerere, et quoniam vita ipsa qua fruimur brevis est, memoriam nostri quam maxume longam efficere. 4 nam divitiarum et formae gloria fluxa atque fragilis est, virtus clara aeternaque habetur.

5 Sed diu magnum inter mortalis certamen fuit, vine corporis an virtute animi res militaris magis procederet. 6 nam et prius quam incipias consulto et ubi consulueris mature facto opus est. 7 ita utrumque per se indigens alterum alterius auxilio eget.

Catilinae Coniuratio. Sallust. ed. Axel W. Ahlberg. Leipzig. 1919.

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Current edition Perseus

Catilinae Coniuratio (Sallust. C. Sallusti Crispi Catilina, Iugurtha, orationes et epistulae excerptae de historiis. Ahlberg, Axel Wilhelm, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1919.)

Editions (1)

Catilinae Coniuratio Perseus (Sallust. Catilinae Coniuratio. (No bibliographic information found).) — 1 focus

Omnis homines, qui sese student praestare ceteris animalibus, summa ope niti decet, ne vitam silentio transeant veluti pecora, quae natura prona atque ventri oboedientia finxit. Sed nostra omnis vis in animo et corpore sita est: animi imperio, corporis servitio magis utimur; alterum nobis cum dis, alterum cum beluis commune est. Quo mihi rectius videtur ingeni quam virium opibus gloriam quaerere et, quoniam vita ipsa, qua fruimur, brevis est, memoriam nostri quam maxume longam efficere. Nam divitiarum et formae gloria fluxa atque fragilis est, virtus clara aeternaque habetur. Sed diu magnum inter mortalis certamen fuit, vine corporis an virtute animi res militaris magis procederet. Nam et, prius quam incipias, consulto et, ubi consulueris, mature facto opus est. Ita utrumque per se indigens alterum alterius auxilio eget.

Translations (1)

Conspiracy of Catiline Perseus (Sallust. Sallust, Florus, and Velleius Paterculus. Watson, J. S. (John Selby), translator. London: Harper & Brothers, 1899.) — 1 focus

IT 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 which nature has formed groveling⁵ and subservient to appetite.

All our power is situate in the mind and in the body.⁶ Of the mind we rather employ the government;⁷ of the body, the service.⁸ The one is common to us with the gods; the other with the brutes. It appears to me, therefore, more reasonable⁹ 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. For the glory of wealth and beauty is fleeting and perishable; that of intellectual power is illustrious and immortal.¹⁰

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. For, in affairs of war, it is necessary to plan before beginning to act,¹¹ and, after planning, to act with promptitude and vigor.'¹² Thus, each¹³ being insufficient of itself, the one requires the assistance of the other."¹⁴

Sallust Catilinae Coniuratio 1

ed. Axel W. Ahlberg

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C. Sallusti Crispi Catilinae Coniuratio

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