quaestiones, 'law-courts' (quaestio from quaero, lit. 'an investigation'). Criminal jurisdiction belonged legally to the people assembled in the Comitia Centuriata. As it soon became impossible for the whole body of citizens to try every case, trials were delegated from time to time to commissions (quaestiones) specially appointed. Hence arose the idea of establishing standing commissions (quaestiones perpetuae) to try particular classes of offences. The earliest of these was the quaestio perpetua de repetundis (149 b.c.), which had cognizance of all cases of extortion. Catilina would have been indicted before it. Other quaestiones perpetuae were subsequently added, and the whole system was regulated and extended by Sulla.
tandem aliquando. See [on 1. 10].
si loquatur . . . debeat. Contrast this with the conditional sentence in [§17 above], 'si metuerent . . . putarem.' Both the imperf. and the pres. subj. make an imaginary supposition; but the imperfect, throwing it into the past, marks it as impossible; the present regards it as still conceivable. Thus 'si metuerent' (εἰ ἐφοβοῦντο) = 'if they feared' (which they do not); but 'si loquatur' (εἰ λέγοι) = 'if it were to speak' (now or at any future time).
custodiam. A citizen was not imprisoned pending his trial on a criminal charge. As a rule, he simply gave bail for his appearance; sometimes however he was placed in the charge of some citizen of reputation, who became responsible for his safe keeping (libera custodia). Catilina had offered to place himself under some such restraint on his indictment for inciting to riot (de vi) by L. Paullus. See [Introduction, page 11]. The trial never took place, owing to the subsequent events.
parietibus . . . moenibus. Paries is the wall of a house; moenia the walls of a town; murus the general term.
videlicet, ironical ('videre licet,' like 'scilicet' = 'scire licet').
aliquas, cf. 'aliquo,' [1. 17] and [note] there.
ad senatum referre, the technical term for bringing a matter before the senate for discussion. This could only be done by the consul (or other magistrate) who summoned and presided over the meeting.