Catiline

“ Catiline was descended from one of the oldest families in Rome, and his loyalty to the cause of the aristocracy was proved by the ferocity with which he had served under Sulla and had assisted in carrying into execution his most bloodthirsty orders. Catiline did not fail to derive some profit from these terrible times, as he secured the proscription and murder of his brother and the grant to himself of his brother's forfeited estate. ”

“ I have not my purse with me," Catiline began. But Paullus interrupted him—
"I have, I have, my Sergius; permit me to accommodate you." And suiting the action to the word, he gave the conspirator several large gold coins, adding, "you can repay me when it suits you."
"That will be never," said Clodius with a sneer; "you don't know Lucius Catiline, I see, young man."
"Ay, but he does!" replied the other, with a sarcastic grin; "for Catiline never forgets a friend, or forgives a foe. Can Clodius say the same?" ”

“ I am aware that some have believed that the young men who frequented Catiline’s house set but little store by their chastity; but that report became current for other reasons than because anyone had evidence of its truth.
XV Even in youth Catiline had many shameful intrigues—with a maiden of noble rank, with a priestess of Vesta [13] —and other affairs equally unlawful and impious. At last he was seized with a passion for Aurelia Orestilla, in whom no good man ever commended anything save her beauty ”

“ A man can only die! and it were as well, in my mind, to die having killed a Roman in his own house, as a countryman on the arena."
"By all the Gods!" cried Catiline, "he is a philosopher! but, look you here, my German Solon, you were better regard me, and attend to what I tell you; so may you escape both gaol and amphitheatre. ”

“ He would never have manifested such an unconscionable impulse to destroy this empire had not the towering enormity of his many vices rested on a certain substratum of affability and endurance. Accordingly, gentlemen of the jury, let that consideration be rejected. The charge of familiarity with Catiline should not be allowed to stick. He has that in common with many others - including people of good character.
Once Catiline almost deceived me myself, me, I say: I took him for a loyal citizen, eager to associate with all the best men, a firm and faithful friend. ”

“ Catiline was found, far in advance of his men, among the dead bodies of the enemy; a most glorious death, had he thus fallen for his country. ”

“ CATILINE. These were but dreams! Gods do not conjure up The by-gone past into the light of day,— And parted spirits never leave the grave.
CATILINE. [Wildly.] Is now this hand unable to restore The ancient Rome, our Rome it shall destroy. Where marble colonnades now towering stand, Pillars of smoke through crackling flames shall whirl; Then shall the Capitol crumble from its heights, And palaces and temples sink to ruin!
CATILINE. Swear, comrades, that you dedicate your lives To this great purpose! I shall take the lead. ”

“ There were some, however, unconnected with the conspiracy, who set out to join Catiline at an early period of his proceedings. Among these was Aulus Fulvius, the son of a senator, whom, being arrested on his journey, his father ordered to be put to death. [199] In Rome, at the same time, Lentulus, in pursuance of Catiline's directions, was endeavoring to gain over, by his own agency or that of others, all whom he thought adapted, either by principles or circumstances, to promote an insurrection; and not citizens only, but every description of men who could be of any service in war. ”

“ Catiline drank delighted inspiration from the sound, and cried in triumphant tones:
"Enough! your shout is prophetic! Soldiers, already we have conquered!"
Then leaping from his charger to the ground, he turned to his body-guard, exclaiming,
"To fight, my friends, we have no need of horses; to fly we desire them not! On foot we must conquer, or on foot die! In all events, our peril as our hope must be equal. Dismount then, all of ye, and leading your chargers to the rear slay them; so shall we all run equal in this race of death or glory!" ”

“ That night Catiline left Rome for the camp of Manlius.
194 B35
THE CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE, 63 B.C. (2) The End of Catiline. Sed confecto proelio tum vero cerneres, 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 cohors praetoria disiecerat, 5 paulo divorsius, sed omnes tamen advorsis volneribus conciderant. Catilina vero longe a suis inter hostium cadavera repertus est, paululum etiam spirans ferociamque animi, quam habuerat vivus, in voltu retinens. ”

“ Catiline, as those who have written concerning him had means of knowing, was capable of enduring cold, thirst, hunger, and patient in fastings, cold, and watchings beyond what any one could believe, and thus he appeared, both to himself and to his followers, a man endowed with great courage. ”

“ Finally, Conscript Fathers, were there any room for a wrong step on this occasion, I should suffer you to be corrected by the consequences, since you disregard my reasonings. But we are surrounded on all sides: Catiline is hovering over our heads with an army; we have enemies within the walls, and in the very heart of the city. ”

“ Accordingly, having learned from his deserters what route he had taken, he immediately decamped, and posted himself at the foot of the mountains, just where Catiline was obliged to pass in his way to Gaul. Nor was Antonius far behind, who pursued the flying rebels through ways more level, at the head of a great army. When Catiline saw himself enclosed by the mountains and two hostile armies ”

“ For those, whom Catiline had previously sent to those parts, had begun, without consideration and seemingly with madness, to attempt everything at once, and, by nocturnal meetings, by removing armor and weapons from place to place, and by hurrying and confusing everything, had created more alarm than danger. Of these, Quintus Metellus Celer, the praetor, having brought several to trial, under the decree of the senate, had thrown them into prison, as had also Caius Muraena in Further Gaul, who governed that province in quality of legate. ”

“ Be assured, then, that when you decide on the fate of Lentulus and the other prisoners, you at the same time determine that of the army of Catiline, and of all the conspirators. The more spirit you display in your decision, the more will their confidence be diminished; but if they shall perceive you in the smallest degree irresolute, they will advance upon you with fury. Do not suppose that our ancestors, from so small a commencement, raised the republic to greatness merely by force of arms. ”

“ There was but one at that banquet, who, although he drank more deeply, rioted more sensually, laughed more loudly, sang more wildly, than any of the guests, was yet as cool amid that terrible scene of excitement, as in the council chamber, as on the battle field.
His sallow face flushed not; his hard clear eye swam not languidly, nor danced with intoxication; his voice quivered not; his pulse was as slow, as even as its wont. That man's frame, like his soul, was of trebly tempered steel.
Had Catiline not been the worst, he had been the greatest of Romans. ”

“ Catiline's conspiracy is an unhappy subject for a tragedy; it is too single, and gives no opportunity to the poet to excite any of the tender passions; the whole is one intended act of horror, Crebillon was sensible of this defect, and to create another interest, most absurdly made Catiline in love with Cicero's daughter, and her with him.
I am very glad that you went to Versailles, and dined with Monsieur de St. Contest. That is company to learn 'les bonnes manieres' in ”

“ According to this establishment, Catiline’s forces did not exceed twelve thousand six hundred men.↑ This was consistent with the policy of the Romans: they considered that the commonwealth could never be defended, except by men who felt some interest in its preservation. Slaves were therefore prohibited, under pain of death, from joining the army.↑ It would be difficult to select from any ancient historian an address from a general to his soldiers equal to the speech of Catiline. ”

“ Catiline will not pander to the pride of the insolent patricians, nor buy of them employments or honors with his gold."
"And is he free from this corruption?"
"No man on earth of more tried integrity! While all of Rome beside is venal, his hand alone is conscious of no bribe, his heart alone incorruptible!"
"Thou must be a true friend of his; all men speak not so highly of this Catiline." ”

“ Catiline's conspiracy is a story too well known to be insisted on. He was of a noble family, but by his extravagancies had reduced himself to great want, which engaged him in bad practices. The Roman armies were then pursuing conquests in remote provinces, which Catiline judged the most seasonable opportunity for undertaking some desperate design. ”

“ Then there befell in Rome what was known as the conspiracy of Catiline, in which Cæsar had a narrow escape from the intrigue and malice of the noblemen who hated him because he was a foe of Sulla's and a champion of the people. Catiline was a nobleman of violent temper and bad reputation. With many companions he strove to win public office in Rome, and plotted, if unsuccessful, to raise an army, set fire to the city and place his party in power by rioting and violence. ”

“ At this period, too, he is said to have attached to his cause great numbers of men of all classes, and some women, who had, in their earlier days, supported an expensive life by the price of their beauty, but who, when age lessened their gains but not their extravagance, had contracted heavy debts. By the influence of these females, Catiline hoped to gain over the slaves in Rome, to get the city set on fire, and either to secure the support of their husbands or take away their lives. ”

“ XXXV. "Lucius Catiline to Quintus Catulus, wishing health. Your eminent integrity, known to me by experience, [172] gives a pleasing confidence, in the midst of great perils, to my present recommendation. [173] I have determined, therefore, to make no formal defense [174] with regard to my new course of conduct; yet I was resolved, though conscious of no guilt, [175] to offer you some explanation, [176] which, on my word of honor, [177] you may receive as true. ”

“ In order that the Allobroges, before they reached home, might confirm their agreement with Catiline, by giving and receiving pledges of faith, Lentulus sent with them one Titus Volturcius, a native of Crotona, he himself giving Volturcius a letter for Catiline, of which the following is a copy:
“Who I am, you will learn from the person whom I have sent to you. Reflect seriously in how desperate a situation you are placed, and remember that you are a man. Consider what your views demand, and seek aid from all, even the lowest. ”

“ The fierce fire in the Senate of the oration by Cicero against Catiline, however, proved sufficient to force Catiline to action; and the night after Cicero's first oration against him Catiline fled to Tuscany to join the forces which had been collected there under his lieutenant Manlius. Catiline, keeping up his deceit and duplicity to the end, even while en route to the army of the conspirators wrote letters to Rome declaring that he was the victim of a conspiracy and that his present purpose was to go into voluntary banishment at Marseilles. ”

“ As Antonius approached with his army, Catiline directed his march over the hills, encamping, at one time, in the direction of Rome, at another in that of Gaul. He gave the enemy no opportunity of fighting, yet hoped himself shortly to find one, [280] if his accomplices at Rome should succeed in their objects. Slaves, meanwhile, of whom vast numbers [281] had at first flocked to him, he continued to reject, not only as depending on the strength of the conspiracy, but as thinking it impolitic [282] to appear to share the cause of citizens with runagates. ”

“ And Catiline himself, savage and brutal as he was, full of ungoverned impulse and unbridled passion, felt, though he knew not wherefore, this difficulty at this moment.
Had she fallen at his feet, trembling, and tearful, and [pg 186] implored his mercy, he would have gloated on her terrors, laughed tears and prayers to scorn, yea! torn her from an altar's foot, to pour out upon her the vials of agony and foul pollution.
Had she defied, or braved his violence, his fury would have trampled her to the earth in an instant, and murder would have followed in the footsteps of worse violence. ”

“ In spite of the overwhelming character of the evidence against him, Catiline continued on his course with the utmost assurance and insolence. He even took his place in the Senate, and upon being attacked by Cicero replied, "There are two parties in the commonwealth; the nobles, weak in both head and body; the people, strong in body, but headless. I intend to supply this body with a head."
On the seventh of November Catiline attempted the assassination of Cicero by two of his adherents, C. Cornelius and L. Vargunteius. ”

“ The veterans, recalling their old-time prowess, advanced bravely to close quarters; the enemy, not lacking in courage, stood their ground, and there was a terrific struggle. Meanwhile Catiline, with his light-armed troops, was busy in the van, aided those who were hard pressed, summoned fresh troops to replace the wounded, had an eye to everything, and at the same time fought hard himself, often striking down the foe—thus performing at once the duties of a valiant soldiers and of a skilful leader. ”