M. TULLII CICERONIS

IN

L. CATILINA M

ORATIO QUARTA,

HABITA IN SENATU.

I. VIDEO, patres conscripti, in me omnium vestrum ora atque oculos esse conversos. Video vos non solum de vestro ac rei publicae, verum etiam si id depulsum sit de meo periculo esse sollicitos. Est mihi jucunda in malis et grata in dolore vestra erga me voluntas; sed eam, per deos immortales, quaeso, deponite atque obliti salutis meae de vobis ac de liberis vestris cogitate. Mihi si haec conditio consulatus data est ut omnes acerbitates, omnes dolores cruciatusque perferrem, feram non solum fortiter sed etiam libenter, dummodo meis laboribus vobis populoque Romano dignitas salusque pariatur. Ego sum ille consul, patres conscripti, cui non forum in quo omnis aequitas continetur, non campus consularibus auspiciis consecratus, non curia summum auxilium omnium gentium, non domus commune perfugium, non lectus ad quietem datus, non denique haec sedes honoris, umquam vacua mortis periculo atque insidiis fuit. Ego multa tacui, multa pertuli, multa concessi, multa meo quodam dolore in vestro timore sanavi. Nunc, si hunc exitum

the auspicia' which were taken there, before the election commenced. Accordingly it was locus Auspicatus.' (Cic. In C. Rabirium, c. 4. Vol. II.)—The words 'sella curulis,' which in many editions follow 'sedes honoris,' are properly considered to be a gloss.

in vestro timore] This is a Latin form of expression which does not agree with ours. We should say: "I found the remedy for many evils, and had all the trouble to bear, though the danger was yours."

consulatus mei dii immortales esse voluerunt, ut vos populumque Romanum ex caede miserrima, conjuges liberosque vestros virginesque Vestales ex acerbissima vexatione, templa atque delubra, hanc pulcherrimam patriam omnium nostrum ex foedissima flamma, totam Italiam ex bello et vastitate eriperem, quaecumque mihi uni proponetur fortuna, subeatur. Etenim, si P. Lentulus suum nomen, inductus a vatibus, fatale ad perniciem rei publicae fore putavit, cur ego non laeter meum consulatum ad salutem populi Romani prope fatalem exstitisse? II. Quare, patres conscripti, consulite vobis, prospicite patriae, conservate vos, conjuges, liberos fortunasque vestras, populi Romani nomen salutemque defendite; mihi parcere ac de me cogitare desinite. Nam primum debeo sperare omnes deos, qui huic urbi praesident, pro eo mihi ac mereor relaturos gratiam esse. Deinde, si quid obtigerit, aequo animo paratoque moriar. Nam neque turpis mors forti viro potest accidere, neque immatura consulari nec misera sapienti. Nec tamen ego sum ille ferreus qui fratris carissimi atque amantissimi praesentis maerore non movear horumque omnium lacrimis, a quibus me circumsessum videtis; neque meam mentem non domum saepe revocat exanimata uxor, et abjecta metu filia et parvulus filius, quem mihi videtur amplecti res publica tamquam obsidem consulatus mei, neque ille,

ad perniciem rei publicae] See In Cat. iii. c. 4. "Lentulum- esse tertium illum Cornelium ad quem regnum hujus urbis atque imperium pervenire esset necesse.' 'Fatalis' is fixed by the Fata.' Livy (v. 19) has the same expression: "Igitur fatalis dux ad exscidium illius urbis servandaeque patriae M. Furius Camillus dictator dictus."

2. pro eo ac mereor] "I ought to expect that all the gods will reward me according to my deserts." Servius Sulpicius in a letter to Cicero (Ad Fam. iv. 5) says 'pro eo ac debui ;' and Cicero (Vol. I. Verr. ii. 3. c. 54), "Tamen pro eo ut temporis difficultas aratorumque penuria tulit." The next thing was to omit the 'ut,' and so we have 'pro ut' or 'prout' (Verr. ii. 2. c. 34). Nam neque turpis] He refers to this passage in a speech which he made near twenty years afterwards (Phil. ii. c. 46): Etenim si abhinc annos prope viginti hoc ipso in templo negavi posse mortem immaturam esse consulari, quanto verius nunc negabo seni." Most people will find no difficulty either in the one passage or the other; and yet it has been said that it is a proof of this speech being a forgery, that Cicero, who was now consul, calls himself consularis.'

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This is the kind of argument in which the man delights, who supposes that he is wiser than his neighbour, who does not see the difficulty. But the acuteness of some people is simple stupidity.

fratris] His brother Quintus was 'praetor designatus' in this year. Cicero often mentions Quintus' services during his consulship. Cicero's son Marcus was born in B. C. 64, in the consulship of L. Julius Caesar and C. Marcius Figulus, as he informs Atticus in one of his earliest extant letters: "L. Julio Caesare C. Marcio Figulo consu libus filiolo me auctum scito salva Terentia." His son-in-law, the first husband of his daughter Tullia, was C. Calpurnius Piso, who was quaestor' in B. c. 58, and accordingly could not be in the senate house at this time, but he might have been standing at the door. A passage of Tacitus (Ann. ii. 37) has been compared with this: " Hortalus and his four sons stood before the door of the Curia and from that place addressed the Senate." A passage in Pliny's letters is also compared (viii. 14): "Inde honores petituri adsistebant curiae foribus, et consilii publici spectatores ante quam consortes erant."

qui exspectans hujus exitum diei stat in conspectu meo gener. Moveor his rebus omnibus, sed in eam partem ut salvi sint vobiscum omnes, etiamsi me vis aliqua oppresserit, potius quam et illi et nos una rei publicae peste pereamus. Quare, patres conscripti, incumbite ad salutem rei publicae circumspicite omnes procellas quae impendent, nisi providetis. Non Ti. Gracchus qui iterum tribunus plebis fieri voluit, non C. Gracchus qui agrarios concitare conatus est, non L. Saturninus qui C. Memmium occidit, in discrimen aliquod atque in vestrae severitatis judicium adducitur: tenentur ii qui ad urbis incendium, ad vestram omnium caedem, ad Catilinam accipiendum Romae restiterunt: tenentur litterae, signa, manus, denique unius cujusque confessio; sollicitantur Allobroges; servitia excitantur; Catilina arcessitur: id est initum consilium ut interfectis omnibus nemo ne ad deplorandum quidem populi Romani nomen atque ad lamentandam tanti imperii calamitatem relinquatur. III. Haec omnia indices detulerunt, rei confessi sunt, vos multis jam judiciis judicavistis; primum, quod mihi gratias egistis singularibus verbis, et mea virtute atque diligentia perditorum hominum patefactam esse conjurationem decrevistis; deinde, quod P. Lentulum se abdicare praetura coegistis; tum, quod eum et ceteros de quibus judicastis in custodiam dandos censuistis; maximeque, quod meo nomine supplicationem decrevistis, qui honos togato habitus ante me est nemini; postremo hesterno die praemia legatis Allo

una rei publicae] "In or by one common ruin with the state;" as Halm explains it.

iterum tribunus] In the early times tribunes were often re-elected, and even in the year after a first tribunate (Liv. ii. 56; iii. 14; v. 29). It appears from Livy (Epit. 59) that some limitation to the re-election of a tribune was established before the time of Ti. Gracchus: "Cum Carbo tr. pl. rogationem tulisset ut eundem tr. pl. quotiens vellet creare liceret, rogationem ejus P. Africanus gravissima oratione dissuasit, in qua dixit Ti. Gracchum jure caesum videri. C. Gracchus contra suasit rogationem, sed Scipio tenuit." (Compare Appian, B. C. i. 14; Cicero, Lael. c. 25.) A Senatus consultum was made B. c. 460 to this effect: "In reliquum magistratus continuari et eosdem tribunos refici judicare Senatum contra rem publicam esse" (Livy, iii. 21). But this Senatus consultum had not the force of a Lex, and it was not observed. We know of no Lex which fixed any limits to the re-election of Magistratus, except that mentioned by Livy (vii. 42): "Item

aliis plebiscitis cautum, ne quis eundem magistratum intra decem annos caperet neu duos magistratus uno anno gereret." The attempt of Ti. Gracchus to get himself elected tr. pl. a second time in the year after his first tribunate was illegal. His brother Caius succeeded in the same attempt; but he lost his life during his second tribunate when he was trying to secure his election for the third time in the following year. (Becker, Handbuch, &c. ii. 2. pp. 29. 261.)

L. Saturninus] See In Cat. i. c. 2.

brogum Titoque Vulturcio dedistis amplissima. Quae sunt omnia ejusmodi ut ii qui in custodiam nominatim dati sunt sine ulla dubitatione a vobis damnati esse videantur.

Sed ego institui referre ad vos, patres conscripti, tamquam integrum, et de facto quid judicetis, et de poena quid censeatis. Illa praedicam quae sunt consulis. Ego magnum in re publica versari furorem et nova quaedam misceri et concitari mala jampridem videbam; sed hanc tantam, tam exitiosam haberi conjurationem a civibus numquam putavi. Nunc quidquid est, quocumque vestrae mentes inclinant atque sententiae, statuendum vobis ante noctem est. Quantum facinus ad vos delatum sit videtis. Huic si paucos putatis affines esse vehementer erratis. Latius opinione disseminatum est hoc malum: manavit non solum per Italiam, verum etiam transcendit Alpes et obscure serpens multas jam provincias occupavit. Id opprimi sustentando ac prolatando nullo pacto potest. Quacumque ratione placet, celeriter vobis vindicandum est. IV. Video adhuc duas esse sententias: unam D. Silani, qui censet eos qui haec delere conati sunt morte esse mulctandos: alteram C. Caesaris, qui mortis poenam removet, ceterorum suppliciorum omnes acerbitates amplectitur. Uterque et pro sua dignitate et pro rerum magnitudine in summa severitate versatur. Alter eos, qui nos omnes, [qui populum Romanum] vita privare conati sunt, qui delere imperium, qui populi Romani nomen exstinguere, punctum temporis frui vita et hoc communi spiritu non putat oportere, atque hoc genus poenae saepe in improbos cives in hac re publica esse usurpatum recordatur. Alter intelligit mortem a diis immor

the senate promised (In Sallust, Cat. c. 30), a paltry sum of money. It was not unusual to reward witnesses or informers (Pro P. Sulla, c. 18).

referre-integrum,] See In Cat. iii. 3, and the note.ante noctem :' no Senatus consultum could be made after nightfall. The rule is stated by Gellius (xiv. 7) on the authority of Varro: "Post haec deinceps dicit senatus consultum ante exortum aut post occasum solem factum ratum non fuisse opus etiam censorium fecisse existimatos per quos eo tempore senatus consultum factum esset." This was done sometimes, but it was quite irregular (Cic. Ad Fam. i. 2; Phil. iii. c. 10).-'huic-affines:' see Vol. I. Verr. ii. 2. c. 38, 'rei capitalis affinem;' Ter. Haut. i. 3, 3, has it with a genitive; Pro Sext. Rosc. Amerino, c. 7, hunc affinem culpae;' Pro Cluentio, c. 45, affines ei turpitudini.' Halm asks, as

I suppose, what is the difference between the genitive and the dative? There is none at all, if the texts are right.

provincias] We do not know whether this is an oratorical exaggeration or whether Catilina had partizans in any of the Provinciae.

4. D. Silani,] His opinion was asked first on the punishment of the conspirators (Sallust, Cat. c. 50): "Primus sententiam rogatus est quod eo tempore consul designatus erat." Appian (B. C. ii. 5) says the same. But Silanus, who had proposed that the conspirators should be put to death, changed his mind after Caesar had spoken, and was in favour of Ti. Nero's proposal, "quod de ea re praesidiis additis referundum censuerat." (Sallust.)

recordatur.] Halm observes that 'recordatur' is not equivalent to commemorat,' in which sense recordatur' does not occur

talibus non esse supplicii caussa constitutam, sed aut necessitatem naturae aut laborum ac miseriarum quietem [esse]. Itaque eam