[59]. Haec ubi dixit, paululum commoratus, signa canere jubet,[336] atque instructos ordines in locum aequum deducit. Dein, remotis omnium equis, quo militibus exaequato periculo animus amplior esset, ipse pedes exercitum pro loco atque copiis instruit. Nam, uti planities erat inter sinistros montes et ab dextera rupe aspera,[337] octo cohortes in fronte constituit, reliquarum signa[338] in subsidio artius collocat. Ab his centuriones omnes, lectos et evocatos, praeterea ex gregariis militibus optimum quemque armatum in primam aciem subducit.[339] G. Manlium in dextera, Faesulanum quendam in sinistra parte curare[340] jubet; ipse cum libertis et colonis propter aquilam assistit,[341] quam bello Cimbrico G. Marius in exercitu habuisse dicebatur. At ex altera parte G. Antonius, pedibus aeger,[342] quod proelio adesse nequibat, M. Petreio legato[343] exercitum permittit. Ille cohortes veteranas, quas tumulti[344] causa conscripserat, in fronte post eas ceterum exercitum in subsidiis locat. Ipse equo circumiens, unum quemque nominans appellat, hortatur, rogat, ut meminerint, se contra latrones inermes, pro patria, pro liberis, pro aris atque focis suis certare. Homo militaris, quod amplius annos triginta tribunus aut praefectus aut legatus aut praetor cum magna gloria in exercitu fuerat, plerosque ipsos factaque eorum fortia noverat; ea commemorando militum animos accendebat.
[60]. Sed ubi, omnibus rebus exploratis, Petreius tuba signum dat, cohortes paulatim incedere jubet, idem facit hostium exercitus. Postquam eo ventum est, unde a ferentariis[345] proelium committi posset, maximo clamore cum infestis signis[346] concurrunt; pila omittunt, gladiis res geritur. Veterani, pristinae virtutis memores, comminus acriter instare; illi haud timidi resistunt; maxima vi certatur. Interea Catilina cum expeditis in prima acie versari, laborantibus succurrere; integros pro sauciis accersere, omnia providere, multum ipse pugnare saepe, hostem ferire; strenui militis et boni imperatoris officia simul exequebatur. Petreius, ubi videt Catilinam, contra ac ratus erat, magna vi tendere, cohortem praetoriam[347] in medios hostes inducit, eosque perturbatos atque alios alibi resistentes interficit; deinde utrimque ex lateribus ceteros aggreditur. Manlius et Faesulanus in primis pugnantes cadunt. Postquam fusas copias seque cum paucis relictum videt Catilina, memor generis atque pristinae suae dignitatis, in confertissimos hostes incurrit ibique pugnans confoditur.
[61]. Sed confecto proelio, tum vero cerneres,[348] quanta audacia quantaque vis animi fuisset in exercitu Catilinae. Nam fere, quem quisque vivus pugnando locum ceperat, eum amissa anima corpore tegebat. Pauci autem, quos medios[349] cohors praetoria disjecerat, paulo diversius, sed omnes tamen adversis vulneribus[350] conciderant. Catilina vero longe a suis inter hostium cadavera repertus est, paululum etiam spirans ferociamque animi, quam habuerat vivus, in vultu retinens. Postremo ex omni copia neque in proelio neque in fuga quisquam[351] civis ingenuus captus est: ita cuncti suae hostiumque vitae juxta[352] pepercerant. Neque tamen exercitus populi Romani laetam aut incruentam victoriam adeptus erat; nam strenuissimus quisque aut occiderat in proelio aut graviter vulneratus discesserat. Multi autem, qui de castris visundi aut spoliandi gratia processerant, volventes hostilia cadavera, amicum alii, pars hospitem aut cognatum reperiebant; fuere item, qui inimicos suos cognoscerent. Ita varie per omnem exercitum laetitia, moeror, luctus atque gaudia[353] agitabantur.
Footnotes for Bellum Catilinarium
[1.]
[[1]] Omnes. Other editions have omnis or omneis. The accusative plural of words of the third declension making their genitive plural in ium, varied in early Latin, sometimes ending in is, and sometimes in eis or es. This fluctuation, however, afterwards ceased; and even in the best age of the Latin language it became generally customary to make the accusative plural like the nominative in es. The same was the case with some other obsolete forms, as volt for vult, divorsus for diversus, quoique for cuique, maxumus for maximus, quom for quum, or cum, which are retained in many editions, but have been avoided in the present, in accordance with the orthography generally adopted during the best period of the Latin language.
[2] Studeo, when the verb following has the same subject, may be construed in three ways — with the infinitive alone, as studeo praestare; with the accusative and infinitive, studeo me praestare, as in the present case; or with ut, as studeo ut praestem.
[3] Summa ope, ‘with the greatest exertion,’ equivalent to summa opere, summopere; as magno opere, or magnopere, signifies ‘with great exertion,’ or ‘greatly.’ The nominative ops is not in use, and the plural opes generally signifies ‘the means’ or ‘power of doing something.’
[4] Prona, ‘bent forward,’ ‘bent down to the ground,’ in opposition to the erect gait of man.
[5] Dis for diis. See Zumpt, § 51, n. 5.
[6] Beluis; another, but less correct mode of spelling, is bellua, belluis.
[7] Instead of memoriam nostri, Sallust might have said memoriam nostram; but the genitive nostri sets forth the object of remembrance with greater force. See Zumpt, § 423.
[8] Quam maxime longam; that is, quam longissimam, ‘lasting as long as possible.’ Zumpt, § 108.
[9] The author here makes a digression, to remove the objection that in war bodily strength is of greater importance than mental superiority. He admits that in the earlier times it may have been so, but maintains that in more recent times, when the art of war had become rather complicate, the superiority of mind has become manifest. Vine corporis an; that is, utrum vi corporis an. See Zumpt, § 554.
[10] That is, ‘before undertaking anything, reflect well; but when you have reflected, then carry your design into execution without delay.’ The past participles consulta and facto here supply the place of verbal substantives.
[2.]
[11] Respecting the frequent position of igitur at the beginning of a sentence in Sallust, see Zumpt, § 357.
[12] Pars, instead of alii, probably to avoid the repetition of alii, and to produce variety.
[13] Postea vero quam, for postquam vero. The author means to say, that after the formation of great empires by extensive conquests, the truth became manifest that even in war mind was superior to mere bodily strength. He mentions Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lacedaemonians and Athenians, because the earlier empires of the Egyptians and Assyrians did not yet belong to accredited history.
[14] Sallust here introduces, by quodsi (and if, or yes, if), an illustration connected with the preceding remarks. Respecting this connecting power of quodsi, as distinguished from the simple si, see Zumpt, § 807. This illustration, which ends with the word transfertur, was suggested to Sallust especially by the consideration of the recent disturbances in the Roman republic under Pompey, Caesar, and Mark Antony, three men who, in times of peace, saw their glory, previously acquired in war, fade away.
[15] Animi virtus; these two words are here united to express a single idea, ‘mental greatness.’
[16] Aliud alio ferri, ‘that one thing is drawn in one direction, and the other in another.’ For aliud alio, see Zumpt, § 714; and for cerneres, in which the second person singular of the subjunctive answers to the English ‘you’ when not referring to any definite person, § 381.
[17] Optimum quemque, ‘to every one in proportion as he is better than others.’ Respecting this relative meaning of quisque, see Zumpt, § 710. ‘Every one,’ absolutely, is unusqisque, and adjectively omnis.
[18] ‘They have passed through life like strangers or travellers;’ that is, as if they had no concern with their own life, although it is clear that human life is of value only when men are conscious of themselves, and exert themselves to cultivate their mental powers, and apply them to practical purposes.
[19] ‘I set an equal value upon their life and their death;’ that is, an equally low value, juxta being equivalent to aeque or pariter.
[20] Verum enimvero; these conjunctions are intended strongly to draw the attention of the reader to the conclusion from a preceding argument.
[21] ‘Intent upon some occupation.’ Intentus is commonly construed with the dative, or the preposition in or ad with the accusative; but as a person may be intent upon something, so he also may be intent by, or in consequence of, something, so that the ablative is perfectly consistent.