14.2. These men, I say, with Manlius for a leader, one of the men who had served with distinction under Sulla, associated themselves with Catiline and came to Rome to take part in the consular elections. For Catiline was again a candidate for the consulship, and had determined to kill Cicero in the very tumult of the elections.
14.2. οὗτοι γὰρ ἡγεμόνα Μάλλιον ἔχοντες, ἄνδρα τῶν ἐπιφανῶς ὑπὸ Σύλλᾳ στρατευσαμένων, συνίσταντο τῷ Κατιλίνᾳ καὶ παρῆσαν εἰς Ῥώμην συναρχαιρεσιάσοντες. ὑπατείαν γὰρ αὖθις μετῄει, βεβουλευμένος ἀνελεῖν τὸν Κικέρωνα περὶ αὐτόν τῶν ἀρχαιρεσιῶν τὸν θόρυβον.
14.3. Moreover, even the heavenly powers seemed, by earthquakes and thunderbolts and apparitions, to foreshow what was coming to pass. And there were also human testimonies which were true, indeed, but not sufficient for the conviction of a man of reputation and great power like Catiline. For this reason Cicero postponed the day of the elections, and summoning Catiline to the senate, examined him concerning what was reported.
14.3. ἐδόκει δὲ καὶ τὸ δαιμόνιον προσημαίνειν τὰ πρασσόμενα σεισμοῖς καὶ κεραυνοῖς καὶ φάσμασιν. αἱ δʼ ἀπʼ ἀνθρώπων μηνύσεις ἀληθεῖς μέν ἦσαν, οὔπω δʼ εἰς ἔλεγχον ἀποχρῶσαι κατʼ ἀνδρὸς ἐνδόξου καὶ δυναμένου μέγα τοῦ Κατιλίνᾳ. διὸ τὴν ἡμέραν τῶν ἀρχαιρεσιῶν ὑπερθέμενος ὁ Κικέρων ἐκάλει τὸν Κατιλίναν εἰς τὴν σύγκλητον καὶ περὶ τῶν λεγομένων ἀνέκρινεν.
14.4. But Catiline, thinking that there were many in the senate who were desirous of a revolution, and at the same time making a display of himself to the conspirators, gave Cicero the answer of a madman: “What dreadful thing, pray,” said he, “am I doing, if, when there are two bodies, one lean and wasted, but with a head, and the other headless, but strong and large, I myself become a head for this?”
14.4. ὁ δὲ πολλοὺς οἰόμενος εἶναι τοὺς πραγμάτων καινῶν ἐφιεμένους ἐν τῇ βουλῇ, καὶ ἅμα τοῖς συνωμόταις ἐνδεικνύμενος, ἀπεκρίνατο τῷ Κικέρωνι μανικὴν ἀπόκρισιν τί γὰρ, ἔφη, πράττω δεινόν, εἰ, δυεῖν σωμάτων ὄντων, τοῦ μέν ἰσχνοῦ καὶ κατεφθινηκότος, ἔχοντος δὲ κεφαλήν, τοῦ δʼ ἀκεφάλου μέν, ἰσχυροῦ δὲ καὶ μεγάλου, τούτῳ κεφαλὴν αὐτὸς ἐπιτίθημι;
14.5. Since this riddle of Catiline’s referred to the senate and the people, Cicero was all the more alarmed, and he wore a breastplate when all the nobles and many of the young men escorted him from his house to the Campus Martius. Moreover, he purposely allowed the spectators to get a glimpse of his breastplate by loosing his tunic from his shoulders, thus showing them his peril.
14.5. τούτων εἴς τε τὴν βουλὴν καὶ τὸν δῆμον ᾐνιγμένων ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ, μᾶλλον ὁ Κικέρων ἔδεισε, καὶ τεθωρακισμένον αὐτόν οἵ τε δυνατοὶ πάντες ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκίας καὶ τῶν νέων πολλοὶ κατήγαγον εἰς τὸ πεδίον, τοῦ δὲ θώρακος ἐπίτηδες ὑπέφαινέ τι παραλύσας ἐκ τῶν ὤμων τοῦ χιτῶνος, ἐνδεικνύμενος τοῖς ὁρῶσι τὸν κίνδυνον.
14.6. The people were incensed and rallied about him; and finally, when they voted, they rejected Catiline once more, and elected Silanus and Murena consuls.
14.6. οἱ δʼ ἠγανάκτουν καὶ συνεστρέφοντο περὶ αὐτόν καὶ τέλος ἐν ταῖς ψήφοις τὸν μέν Κατιλίναν αὖθις ἐξέβαλον, εἵλοντο δὲ Σιλανὸν ὕπατον καὶ Μουρήναν.
15.1. Not long after this, when Catiline’s soldiers in Etruria were already assembling and forming into companies, and when the day set for their attack was near, there came to the house of Cicero at midnight men who were the leading and most powerful Romans, Marcus Crassus, Marcus Marcellus, and Scipio Metellus; and knocking at the door and summoning the doorkeeper, they bade him wake Cicero and tell him they were there.
15.1. οὐ πολλῷ δʼ ὕστερον τούτων ἤδη τῷ Κατιλίνᾳ τῶν ἐν Τυρρηνίᾳ συνερχομένων καὶ καταλοχιζομένων, καὶ τῆς ὡρισμένης πρὸς τὴν ἐπίθεσιν ἡμέρας ἐγγὺς οὔσης, ἧκον ἐπὶ τὴν Κικέρωνος οἰκίαν περὶ μέσας νύκτας ἄνδρες οἱ πρῶτοι καὶ δυνατώτατοι Ῥωμαίων, Μᾶρκος τε Κράσσος καὶ Μᾶρκος Μάρκελλος καὶ Σκηπίων Μέτελλος· κόψαντες δὲ τὰς θύρας καὶ καλέσαντες τὸν θυρωρόν ἐκέλευον ἐπεγεῖραι καὶ φράσαι Κικέρωνι τὴν παρουσίαν αὐτῶν.
15.2. Their business was what I shall now relate. After Crassus had dined, his doorkeeper handed him some letters which an unknown man had brought; they were addressed to different persons, and one, which had no signature, was for Crassus himself. Crassus read this letter only, and since its contents told him that there was to be much bloodshed caused by Catiline, and advised him to escape secretly from the city, he did not open the rest, but came at once to Cicero, terrified by the danger, and seeking to free himself somewhat from charges that had been made against him on account of his friendship for Catiline.
15.2. ἦν δὲ τοιόνδε· τῷ Κράσσῳ μετὰ δεῖπνον ἐπιστολὰς ἀποδίδωσιν ὁ θυρωρός, ὑπὸ δή τινος ἀνθρώπου κομισθείσας ἀγνώστου, ἄλλας ἄλλοις ἐπιγεγραμμένας, αὐτῷ δὲ Κράσσῳ μίαν ἀδέσποτον. ἣν μόνην ἀναγνοὺς ὁ Κράσσος, ὡς ἔφραζε τὰ γράμματα φόνον γενησόμενον πολὺν διὰ Κατιλίνᾳ, καὶ παρῄνει τῆς πόλεως ὑπεξελθεῖν, τὰς ἄλλας οὐκ ἔλυσεν, ἀλλʼ ἧκεν εὐθὺς πρὸς τὸν Κικέρωνα, πληγεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ δεινοῦ, καί τι τῆς αἰτίας ἀπολυόμενος ἣν ἔσχε διὰ φιλίαν τοῦ Κατιλίνᾳ.
15.3. Cicero, accordingly, after deliberation, convened the senate at break of day, and carrying the letters thither gave them to the persons to whom they had been sent, with orders to read them aloud. All the letters alike were found to tell of a plot. And when also Quintus Arrius, a man of praetorian dignity, brought word of the soldiers who were being mustered into companies in Etruria, and Manlius was reported to be hovering about the cities there with a large force, in constant expectation of some news from Rome, the senate passed a decree that matters should be put in the hands of the consuls, who were to accept the charge and manage as best they knew how for the preservation of the city.
15.3. βουλευσάμενος οὖν ὁ Κικέρων ἅμʼ ἡμέρᾳ, βουλὴν συνήγαγε, καὶ τὰς ἐπιστολὰς κομίσας ἀπέδωκεν οἷς ἦσαν ἐπεσταλμέναι, κελεύσας φανερῶς ἀναγνῶναι. πᾶσαι δʼ ἦσαν ὁμοίως ἐπιβουλὴν φράζουσαι. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ Κόιντος Ἄρριος, ἀνὴρ στρατηγικός, ἀπσήγγελλε τοὺς ἐν Τυρρηνίᾳ καταλοχισμούς, καὶ Μάλλιος ἀπηγγέλλετο σὺν χειρὶ μεγάλῃ περὶ τὰς πόλεις ἐκείνας αἰωρούμενος ἀεί τι προσδοκᾶν καινὸν ἀπὸ τῆς Ῥώμης, γίνεται δόγμα τῆς βουλῆς παρακατατίθεσθαι τοῖς ὑπάτοις τὰ πράγματα, δεξαμένους δʼ ἐκείνους ὡς ἐπίστανται διοικεῖν καὶ σῴζειν τὴν πόλιν.
15.4. Now, the senate is not wont to do this often, but only when it fears some great danger.
15.4. τοῦτο δʼ οὐ πολλάκις, ἀλλʼ ὅταν τι μέγα δείσῃ, ποιεῖν εἴωθεν ἡ σύγκλητος.
16.1. On receiving this power Cicero entrusted matters outside to Quintus Metellus, while he himself kept the city in hand and daily went forth attended by so large a bodyguard that a great part of the forum was occupied when he entered it with his escort. Thereupon Catiline, no longer able to endure the delay, resolved to hasten forth to Manlius and his army, and ordered Marcius and Cethegus to take their swords and go early in the morning to the house of Cicero on pretence of paying him their respects, and there to fall upon him and dispatch him.
16.1. ἐπεὶ δὲ ταύτην λαβὼν τὴν ἐξουσίαν ὁ Κικέρωνι τὰ μὲν ἔξω πράγματα Κοΐντῳ Μετέλλῳ διεπίστευσε, τὴν δὲ πόλιν εἶχε διὰ χειρὸς καὶ καθʼ ἡμέραν προῄει δορυφορούμενος ὑπʼ ἀνδρῶν τοσούτων τὸ πλῆθος ὥστε τῆς ἀγορᾶς πολὺ μέρος κατέχειν ἐμβάλλοντος αὐτοῦ τοὺς παραπέμποντας, οὐκέτι καρτερῶν τὴν μέλλησιν ὁ Κατιλίνας αὐτὸς μὲν ἐκπηδᾶν ἔγνω πρὸς τὸν Μάλλιον ἐπὶ τὸ στράτευμα, Μάρκιον δὲ καὶ Κέθηγον ἐκέλευσε ξίφη λαβόντας ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὰς θύρας ἕωθεν ὡς ἀσπασομένους τὸν Κικέρωνα καὶ διαχρήσασθαι προσπεσόντας.
16.2. This scheme Fulvia, a woman of high rank, made known to Cicero, coming to him by night and urging him to be on his guard against Cethegus and his companion. The men came at break of day, and when they were prevented from entering, they were incensed and made an outcry at the door, which made them the more suspected.
16.2. τοῦτο Φουλβία, γυνὴ τῶν ἐπιφανῶν, ἐξαγγέλλει τῷ Κικέρωνι νυκτὸς ἐλθοῦσα καὶ διακελευσαμένη φυλάττεσθαι τοὺς περὶ τὸν Κέθηγον. οἱ δʼ ἧκον ἅμʼ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ κωλυθέντες εἰσελθεῖν ἠγανάκτουν καὶ κατεβόων ἐπὶ θύραις, ὥστε ὑποπτότεροι γενέσθαι.
16.3. Then Cicero went forth and summoned the senate to the temple of Jupiter Stesius (or Stator, as the Romans say), which was situated at the beginning of the Via Sacra, as you go up to the Palatine hill. Thither Catiline also came with the rest in order to make his defence; no senator, however, would sit with him, but all moved away from the bench where he was. And when he began to speak he was interrupted by outcries, and at last Cicero rose and ordered him to depart from the city, saying that, since one of them did his work with words and the other with arms, the city wall must needs lie between them.
16.3. προελθὼν δʼ ὁ Κικέρων ἐκάλει τὴν σύγκλητον εἰς τὸ τοῦ Στησίου Διὸς ἱερόν, ὃν Στάτορα Ῥωμαῖοι καλοῦσιν, ἱδρυμένον ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς ἱερᾶς ὁδοῦ, πρὸς τὸ Παλάτιον ἀνιόντων, ἐνταῦθα καὶ τοῦ Κατιλίνα μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἐλθόντος ὡς ἀπολογησομένου, συγκαθίσαι μὲν οὐδεὶς ὑπέμεινε τῶν συγκλητικῶν, ἀλλὰ πάντες ἀπὸ τοῦ βάθρου μετῆλθον. ἀρξάμενος δὲ λέγειν ἐθορυβεῖτο, καὶ τέλος ἀναστὰς ὁ Κικέρων προσέταξεν αὐτῷ τῆς πόλεως ἀπαλλάττεσθαι· δεῖν γὰρ αὐτοῦ μὲν λόγοις, ἐκείνου δʼ ὅπλοις πολιτευομένου μέσον εἶναι τὸ τεῖχος.
16.4. Catiline, accordingly, left the city at once with three hundred armed followers, assumed the fasces and axes as though he were a magistrate, raised standards, and marched to join Manlius; and since about twenty thousand men altogether had been collected, he marched round to the various cities endeavouring to persuade them to revolt, so that there was now open war, and Antonius was sent off to fight it out.
16.4. ὁ μὲν οὖν Κατιλίνας εὐθὺς ἐξελθὼν μετὰ τριακοσίων ὁπλοφόρων καὶ περιστησάμενος αὑτῷ ῥαβδουχίας ὡς ἄρχοντι καὶ πελέκεις καὶ σημαίας ἐπαράμενος, πρὸς τὸν Μάλλιον ἐχώρει· καὶ δισμυρίων ὁμοῦ τι συνηθροισμένων ἐπῄει τὰς πόλεις ἀναπείθων καὶ ἀφιστὰς, ὥστε τοῦ πολέμου φανεροῦ γεγονότος τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἀποσταλῆναι διαμαχούμενον.
17.1. The creatures of Catiline who had been left behind in the city were brought together and encouraged by Cornelius Lentulus, surnamed Sura, a man of illustrious birth, but one who had led a low life and for his licentiousness had formerly been expelled from the senate, though now he was serving as praetor for the second time, as is the custom with those who have recovered their senatorial dignity.
17.1. τοὺς δʼ ὑπολειφθέντας ἐν τῇ πόλει τῶν διεφθαρμένων ὑπὸ τοῦ Κατιλίνα συνῆγε καὶ παρεθάρρυνε Κορνήλιος Λέντλος Σούρας ἐπίκλησιν, ἀνὴρ γένους μὲν ἐνδόξου, βεβιωκὼς δὲ φαύλως καὶ διʼ ἀσέλγειαν ἐξεληλαμένος τῆς βουλῆς πρότερον, τότε δὲ στρατηγῶν τὸ δεύτερον, ὡς ἔθος ἐστὶ τοῖς ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς ἀνακτωμένοις τὸ βουλευτικὸν ἀξίωμα.
17.2. It is said too that he got his surname of Sura for the following reason. In Sulla’s time he was quaestor and lost and wasted large amounts of the public moneys. Sulla was angry at this and demanded an accounting from him in the senate, whereupon Lentulus came forward with a very careless and contemptuous air and said that he would not give an account, but would offer his leg, as boys were accustomed to do when they were playing ball and made a miss.
17.2. λέγεται δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐπίκλησιν αὐτῷ γενέσθαι τὸν Σούραν ἐξ αἰτίας τοιαύτης. ἐν τοῖς κατὰ Σύλλαν χρόνοις ταμιεύων συχνὰ τῶν δημοσίων χρημάτων ἀπώλεσε καὶ διέφθειρεν. ἀγανακτοῦντος δὲ τοῦ Σύλλα καὶ λόγον ἀπαιτοῦντος ἐν τῇ συγκλήτῳ, προελθὼν ὀλιγώρως πάνυ καὶ καταφρονητικῶς λόγον μὲν οὐκ ἔφη διδόναι, παρέχειν δὲ τὴν κνήμην, ὥσπερ εἰώθεισαν οἱ παῖδες ὅταν ἐν τῷ σφαιρίζειν ἁμάρτωσιν.
17.3. On this account he was surnamed Sura, for “sura” is the Roman word for leg. At another time, too, he was under prosecution and had bribed some of the jurors, and when he was acquitted by only two votes, he said that what he had given to the second juror was wasted money, since it would have sufficed if he had been acquitted by one vote only.
17.3. ἐκ τούτου Σούρας παρωνομάσθη· σούραν γὰρ οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι τὴν κνήμην λέγουσι. πάλιν δὲ δίκην ἔχων καὶ διαφθείρας ἐνίους τῶν δικαστῶν, ἐπεὶ δυσὶ μόναις ἀπέφυγε ψήφοις, ἔφη παρανάλωμα γεγονέναι τὸ θατέρῳ κριτῇ δοθέν ἀρκεῖν γὰρ εἰ καὶ μιᾷ ψήφῳ μόνον ἀπελύθη.
17.4. Such was the nature of this man who had been stirred up by Catiline, and he was further corrupted by vain hopes held out to him by false prophets and jugglers. These recited forged oracles in verse purporting to come from the Sibylline books, which set forth that three Cornelii were fated to be monarchs in Rome, two of whom had already fulfilled their destiny, namely, Cinna and Sulla, and that now to him, the third and remaining Cornelius, the heavenly powers were come with a proffer of the monarchy, which he must by all means accept, and not ruin his opportunities by delay, like Catiline.
17.4. τοῦτον ὄντα τῇ φύσει τοιοῦτον κεκινημένον ὑπὸ τοῦ Κατιλίνα προσδιέφθειραν ἐλπίσι κεναῖς ψευδομάντεις καὶ γόητες ἔπη πεπλασμένα καὶ χρησμοὺς ᾄδοντες, ὡς ἐκ τῶν Σιβυλλείων, προδηλοῦντας εἱμαρμένους εἶναι τῇ Ῥώμῃ Κορνηλίους τρεῖς μονάρχους, ὧν δύο μὲν ἤδη πεπληρωκέναι τὸ χρεών, Κίνναν τε καὶ Σύλλαν, τρίτῳ δὲ λοιπῷ Κορνηλίῳ ἐκείνῳ φέροντα τὴν μοναρχίαν ἥκειν τὸν δαίμονα, καὶ δεῖν πάντως δέχεσθαι καὶ μὴ διαφθείρειν μέλλοντα τοὺς καιροὺς, ὥσπερ Κατιλίνας.
18.1. Accordingly, it was no trifling or insignificant plan which Lentulus was cherishing, nay, it was decided to kill all the senators and as many of the other citizens as they could, to burn down the city itself, and to spare no one except the children of Pompey; these they were to seize and hold in their own custody and keep as hostages for their reconciliation with Pompey; for already there was current a wide-spread and sure report of his coming back from his great expedition.
18.1. οὐδὲν οὖν ἐπενόει μικρὸν ὁ Λέντλος ἢ ἄσημον, ἀλλʼ ἐδέδοκτο τήν βουλὴν ἅπασαν ἀναιρεῖν τῶν τʼ ἄλλων πολιτῶν ὅσους δύναιτο, τήν πόλιν δʼ αὐτὴν καταπιμπράναι, φείδεσθαι τε μηδενὸς ἢ τῶν Πομπηΐου τέκνων ταῦτα δʼ ἐξαρπασαμένους ἔχειν ὑφʼ αὑτοῖς καὶ φυλάττειν ὅμηρα τῶν πρὸς Πομπήϊον διαλύσεων· ἤδη γὰρ ἐφοίτα πολὺς λόγος καὶ βέβαιος ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ κατιόντος ἀπὸ τῆς μεγάλης στρατείας.
18.2. A night had also been fixed for the attempt, a night of the Saturnalia, and swords, tow, and brimstone had been carried to the house of Cethegus and hidden there. Moreover, they had appointed a hundred men and assigned by lot as many quarters of Rome to each one severally, in order that within a short time many might play the incendiary and the city be everywhere in a blaze. Others, too, were to stop up the aqueducts and kill those who tried to bring water.
18.2. καὶ νὺξ μὲν ὥριστο πρὸς τήν ἐπίθεσιν μία τῶν Κρονιάδων, ξίφη δὲ καὶ στυππεῖα καὶ θεῖον εἰς τήν Κεθήγου φέροντες οἰκίαν ἀπέκρυψαν. ἄνδρας δὲ τάξαντες ἑκατὸν καὶ μέρη τοσαῦτα τῆς Ῥώμης ἕκαστον ἐφʼ ἑκάστῳ διεκλήρωσαν, ὡς διʼ ὀλίγου πολλῶν ἁψάντων φλέγοιτο πανταχόθεν ἡ πόλις. ἄλλοι δὲ τοὺς ὀχετοὺς ἔμελλον ἐμφράξαντες ἀποσφάττειν τοὺς ὑδρευομένους.
18.3. But while this was going on, there chanced to be staying at Rome two ambassadors of the Allobroges, a nation which at that time was in a particularly evil plight and felt oppressed by the Roman sway. These men Lentulus and his partisans thought would be useful in stirring up Gaul to revolt, and therefore took them into the conspiracy. They also gave them letters to their senate, and letters to Catiline, making the senate promises of freedom and urging Catiline to set the slaves free and march upon Rome.
18.3. πραττομένων δὲ τούτων ἔτυχον ἐπιδημοῦντες Ἀλλοβρίγων δύο πρέσβεις, ἔθνους μάλιστα δὴ τότε πονηρὰ πράττοντος καὶ βαρυνομένου τήν ἡγεμονίαν. τούτους οἱ περὶ Λέντλον ὠφελίμους ἡγούμενοι πρὸς τὸ κινῆσαι καὶ μεταβαλεῖν τήν Γαλατίαν ἐποιήσαντο συνωμότας. καὶ γράμματα μὲν αὐτοῖς πρὸς τήν ἐκεῖ βουλήν, γράμματα δὲ πρὸς Κατιλίναν ἔδοσαν, τῇ μὲν ὑπισχνούμενοι τήν ἐλευθερίαν, τὸν δὲ Κατιλίναν παρακαλοῦντες ἐλευθερώσαντα τοὺς δούλους ἐπὶ τήν Ῥώμην ἐλαύνειν.
18.4. They also sent with them to Catiline a certain Titus of Croton, who was to carry the letters. But the conspirators were unbalanced men who seldom met together without wine and women, while Cicero was following their schemes industriously, with sober judgement and surpassing sagacity; he also had many men outside of their conspiracy who kept watch upon their doings and helped him track them down, and he conferred secretly and confidentially with many who were supposed to belong to the conspiracy; he therefore came to know of their conference with the strangers, and, laying an ambush by night, he seized the man of Croton and his letters with the secret co-operation of the Allobroges.
18.4. συναπέστελλον δὲ μετʼ αὐτῶν πρὸς τὸν Κατιλίναν Τίτον τινὰ Κροτωνιάτην, κομίζοντα τὰς ἐπιστολάς. οἷα δʼ ἀνθρώπων ἀσταθμήτων καὶ μετʼ οἴνου τὰ πολλὰ καὶ γυναικῶν ἀλλήλοις ἐντυγχανόντων βουλεύματα πόνῳ καὶ λογισμῷ νήφοντι καὶ συνέσει περιττῇ διώκων ὁ Κικέρων, καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν ἔχων ἔξωθεν ἐπισκοποῦντας τὰ· πραττόμενα καὶ συνεξιχνεύοντας αὐτῷ, πολλοῖς δὲ τῶν μετέχειν δοκούντων τῆς συνωμοσίας διαλεγόμενος κρύφα καὶ πιστεύων, ἔγνω τήν πρὸς τοὺς ξένους κοινολογίαν· καὶ νυκτὸς ἐνεδρεύσας ἔλαβε τὸν Κροτωνιάτην καὶ τὰ γράμματα, συνεργούντων ἀδήλως τῶν Ἀλλοβρίγων.
19.1. At break of day, then, he assembled the senate in the temple of Concord, read the letters aloud, and examined the informers. Silanus Junius also said that certain ones had heard Cethegus declare that three consuls and four praetors were going to be taken off. Piso, too, a man of consular dignity, brought in other reports of a like nature.
19.1. ἅμα δʼ ἡμέρᾳ βουλὴν ἀθροίσας εἰς τὸ τῆς Ὁμονοίας ἱερόν ἐξανέγνω τὰ γράμματα καὶ τῶν μηνυτῶν διήκουσεν. ἔφη δὲ καὶ Σιλανὸς Ἰούνιος ἀκηκοέναι τινὰς Κεθήγου λέγοντος ὡς ὕπατοί τε τρεῖς καὶ στρατηγοί τέτταρες ἀναιρεῖσθαι μέλλουσι. τοιαῦτα δʼ ἕτερα καὶ Πείσων, ἀνὴρ ὑπατικός, εἰσήγγειλε.
19.2. Moreover, Caius Sulpicius, one of the praetors, on being sent to the house of Cethegus, found in it many missiles and weapons, and a huge quantity of swords and knives, all newly sharpened. And finally, after the senate had voted immunity to the man of Croton on condition that he gave information, Lentulus was convicted, resigned his office (he was then praetor), and laying aside his purple-bordered toga in the senate, assumed in its place a garment suitable to his predicament. He and his associates, therefore, were handed over to the praetors for custody without fetters.
19.2. Γάιος δὲ Σουλπίκιος, εἷς τῶν στρατηγῶν, ἐπὶ τήν οἰκίαν πεμφθεὶς τοῦ Κεθήγου πολλὰ μὲν ἐν αὐτῇ βέλη καὶ ὅπλα, πλεῖστα δὲ ξίφη καὶ μαχαίρας εὗρε νεοθήκτους ἁπάσας. τέλος δὲ τῷ Κροτωνιάτῃ ψηφισαμένης ἄδειαν ἐπὶ μηνύσει τῆς βουλῆς ἐξελεγχθεὶς ὁ Λέντλος ἀπωμόσατο τήν ἀρχήν στρατηγῶν γὰρ ἐτύγχανε, καὶ τήν περιπόρφυρον ἐν τῇ βουλῇ καταθέμενος διήλλαξεν ἐσθῆτα τῇ συμφορᾷ πρέπουσαν. οὗτος μὲν οὖν καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ παρεδόθησαν εἰς ἄδεσμον φυλακὴν τοῖς στρατηγοῖς.
19.3. It was now evening, and the people were waiting about the temple in throngs, when Cicero come forth and told his fellow-citizens what had been done. They then escorted him to the house of a friend and neighbour, since his own was occupied by the women, who were celebrating mysterious rites to a goddess whom the Romans call Bona Dea, and the Greeks, Gynaeceia.
19.3. ἤδη δʼ ἑσπέρας οὔσης καὶ τοῦ δήμου παριμένοντος ἀθρόου, προελθὼν ὁ Κικέρων, καὶ φράσας τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῖς πολίταις καὶ προπεμφθείς, παρῆλθεν εἰς οἰκίαν φίλου γειτνιῶντος, ἐπεὶ τήν ἐκείνου γυναῖκες κατεῖχον, ἱεροῖς ἀπορρήτοις ὀργιάζουσαι θεόν ἣν Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν Ἀγαθήν, Ἕλληνες δὲ Γυναικείαν ὀνομάζουσι.
19.4. Sacrifice is offered to her annually in the house of the consul by his wife or his mother, in the presence of the Vestal Virgins. Cicero, then, having gone into his friend’s house, began to deliberate with himself—and he had only very few companions—what he should do with the men. For he shrank from inflicting the extreme penalty, and the one befitting such great crimes, and he hesitated to do it because of the kindliness of his nature, and at the same time that he might not appear to make an excessive use of his power and to trample ruthlessly upon men who were of the highest birth and had powerful friends in the city; and if he treated them with less severity, he was afraid of the peril into which they would bring the state.
19.4. θύεται δʼ αὐτῇ κατʼ ἐνιαυτὸν ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ ὑπάτου διὰ γυναικὸς ἢ μητρὸς αὐτοῦ, τῶν Ἑστιάδων παρθένων παρουσῶν. εἰσελθὼν οὖν ὁ Κικέρων, καθʼ αὑτόν, ὀλίγων παντάπασιν αὐτῷ παρόντων, ἐφρόντιζεν ὅπως χρήσαιτο τοῖς ἀνδράσι. τήν τε γὰρ ἄκραν καὶ προσήκουσαν ἀδικήμασι τηλικούτοις τιμωρίαν ἐξηυλαβεῖτο καὶ κατώκνει διʼ ἐπιείκειαν ἤθους ἅμα καὶ ὡς μὴ δοκοίη τῆς ἐξουσίας ἄγαν ἐμφορεῖσθαι καὶ πικρῶς ἐπεμβαίνειν ἀνδράσι γένει τε πρώτοις καὶ φίλους δυνατοὺς ἐν τῇ πόλει κεκτημένοις· μαλακώτερόν τε χρησάμενος ὠρρώδει τὸν ἀπʼ αὐτῶν κίνδυνον.
19.5. For if they suffered any milder penalty than death, he was sure they would not be satisfied, but would break out into every extreme of boldness, having added fresh rage to their old villainy: and he himself would be thought unmanly and weak, especially as the multitude already thought him very far from courageous.
19.5. οὐ γὰρ ἀγαπήσειν μετριώτερόν τι θανάτου παθόντας, ἀλλʼ εἰς ἅπαν ἀναρραγήσεσθαι τόλμης, τῇ παλαιᾷ κακίᾳ, νέαν ὀργὴν προσλαβόντας· αὐτός τε δόξειν ἄνανδρος καὶ μαλακός, οὐδʼ ἄλλως δοκῶν εὐτολμότατος εἶναι τοῖς πολλοῖς.
20.1. While Cicero was in this perplexity, a sign was given to the women who were sacrificing. The altar, it seems, although the fire was already thought to have gone out, sent forth from the ashes and burnt bark upon it a great bright blaze. The rest of the women were terrified at this, but the sacred virgins bade Terentia the wife of Cicero go with all speed to her husband and tell him to carry out his resolutions in behalf of the country, since the goddess was giving him a great light on this path to safety and glory.
20.1. ταῦτα τοῦ Κικέρωνος διαποροῦντος γίνεταί τι ταῖς γυναιξὶ σημεῖον θυούσαις. ὁ γὰρ βωμός, ἤδη τοῦ πυρὸς κατακεκοιμῆσθαι δοκοῦντος, ἐκ τῆς τέφρας καὶ τῶν κεκαυμένων φλοιῶν φλόγα πολλὴν ἀνῆκε καὶ λαμπράν. ὑφʼ ἧς αἱ μὲν ἄλλαι διεπτοήθησαν, αἱ δʼ ἱεραὶ παρθένοι τὴν τοῦ Κικέρωνος γυναῖκα Τερεντίαν ἐκέλευσαν ᾗ τάχος χωρεῖν πρός τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ κελεύειν οἷς ἔγνωκεν ἐγχειρεῖν ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος, ὡς μέγα πρός τε σωτηρίαν καὶ δόξαν αὐτῷ τῆς θεοῦ φῶς διδούσης.
20.2. So Terentia, who was generally of no mild spirit nor without natural courage, but an ambitious woman, and, as Cicero himself tells us more inclined to make herself a partner in his political perplexities than to share with him her domestic concerns, gave him this message and incited him against the conspirators; so likewise did Quintus, his brother, and Publius Nigidius, one of his philosophical companions, to whom he made the most and greatest use in his political undertakings.
20.2. ἡ δὲ Τερεντία καὶ γὰρ οὐδʼ ἄλλως ἦν πρᾳεῖά τις οὐδʼ ἄτολμος τὴν φύσιν, ἀλλὰ φιλότιμος γυνὴ καὶ μᾶλλον, ὡς αὐτός φησιν ὁ Κικέρων, τῶν πολιτικῶν μεταλαμβάνουσα παρʼ ἐκείνου φροντίδων ἢ μεταδιδοῦσα τῶν οἰκιακῶν ἐκείνῳ ταῦτα τε πρός αὐτὸν ἔφρασε καὶ παρώξυνεν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Κόιντος ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ φιλοσοφίας ἑταίρων Πόπλιος Νιγίδιος, ᾧ τὰ πλεῖστα καὶ μέγιστα παρὰ τὰς πολιτικὰς ἐχρῆτο πράξεις.
20.3. On the following day the senate discussed the punishment of the conspirators, and Silanus, who was the first to be asked to give his opinion, said that they ought to be taken to prison and there suffer extremest punishment. All the senators acceded to his opinion one after the other, until it came to Caius Caesar, who afterwards became dictator. At this time, however, he was a young man still and at the very beginning of his rise to power, but in his public policy and his hopes he had already entered upon that road by which he changed the Roman state into a monarchy. His designs were still unnoticed by the rest, but to Cicero he had given many grounds for suspicion, and yet no hold which could lead to his conviction, although many were heard to say that he had come near being caught by Cicero, but had eluded him.
20.3. τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ γενομένων ἐν συγκλήτῳ λόγων περὶ τιμωρίας τῶν ἀνδρῶν, ὁ πρῶτος ἐρωτηθεὶς γνώμην Σιλανὸς εἶπε τὴν ἐσχάτην δίκην δοῦναι προσήκειν ἀχθέντας εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον. καὶ προσετίθεντο τούτῳ πάντες ἐφεξῆς μέχρι Γαΐου Καίσαρος τοῦ μετὰ ταῦτα δικτάτορος γενομένου. τότε δὲ νέος ὢν ἔτι καὶ τὰς πρώτας ἔχων τῆς αὐξήσεως ἀρχάς, ἤδη δὲ τῇ πολιτείᾳ καὶ ταῖς ἐλπίσιν εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν ὁδὸν ἐμβεβηκὼς ᾗ τὰ Ῥωμαίων εἰς μοναρχίαν μετέστησε πράγματα, τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἐλάνθανε, τῷ δὲ Κικέρωνι πολλὰς μὲν ὑποψίας, λαβὴν δʼ οὐδεμίαν εἰς ἔλεγχον παρέδωκεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ λεγόντων ἦν ἐνίων ἀκούειν ὡς ἐγγὺς ἐλθὼν ἁλῶναι διεκφύγοι τὸν ἄνδρα, τινὲς δέ φασι παριδεῖν ἑκόντα καὶ παραλιπεῖν τὴν κατʼ ἐκείνου μήνυσιν φόβῳ τῶν φίλων αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς δυνάμεως·
20.4. Some, however, say that Cicero purposely overlooked and neglected the information against him through fear of his friends and his power, since it was clear to every one that the other conspirators would be included in Caesar’s acquittal, rather than Caesar in their punishment.
20.4. παντὶ γὰρ εἶναι πρόδηλον ὅτι μᾶλλον ἂν ἐκεῖνοι γένοιντο προσθήκη Καίσαρι σωτηρίας ἢ Καῖσαρ ἐκείνοις κολάσεως.
21.1. When, then, it was Caesar’s turn to give his opinion, he rose and declared it to be against putting the conspirators to death, but in favour of confiscating their property and removing them to whatever cities of Italy Cicero might deem best, there to be put in fetters and closely guarded until Catiline should be defeated.
21.1. ἐπεὶ δʼ οὖν ἡ γνώμη περιῆλθεν εἰς αὐτόν, ἀναστὰς ἀπεφήνατο μὴ θανατοῦν τοὺς ἄνδρας, ἀλλὰ τὰς οὐσίας εἶναι δημοσίας, αὐτοὺς δʼ ἀπαχθέντας εἰς πόλεις τῆς Ἰταλίας ἃς ἂν δοκῇ Κικέρωνι, τηρεῖσθαι δεδεμένους ἄχρι ἂν οὗ καταπολεμηθῇ Κατιλίνας.
21.2. The proposal of Caesar was merciful and its author a very able speaker, and Cicero added no little weight to it. For when he rose to speak himself, he handled the subject in both ways, now favouring the first proposal and now that of Caesar. All his friends, too, thinking that Caesar’s proposal was an advantageous one for Cicero, who would be less subject to censure if he did not put the conspirators to death, chose the second proposal rather, so that Silanus also changed his position and excused himself by saying that even his proposal had not meant death: for “extremest punishment,” in the case of a Roman senator, meant the prison.
21.2. οὔσης δὲ τῆς γνώμης ἐπιεικοῦς καὶ τοῦ λέγοντος εἰπεῖν δυνατωτάτου, ῥοπὴν ὁ Κικέρων προσέθηκεν οὐ μικράν, αὐτός τε γὰρ ἀναστὰς ἐνεχείρησεν εἰς ἑκάτερον, τὰ μὲν τῇ προτέρᾳ, τὰ δὲ τῇ γνώμη Καίσαρος συνειπών, οἵ τε φίλοι πάντες οἰόμενοι τῷ Κικέρωνι συμφέρειν τὴν Καίσαρος γνώμην ἧττον γὰρ ἐν αἰτίαις ἔσεσθαι μὴ θανατώσαντα τοὺς ἄνδρας ᾑροῦντο τὴν δευτέραν μᾶλλον γνώμην, ὥστε καὶ τὸν Σιλανὸν αὖθις μεταβαλλόμενον παραιτεῖσθαι καὶ λέγειν ὡς οὐδʼ αὐτὸς εἴποι θανατικὴν γνώμην·
21.3. Lutatius Catulus was the first to oppose the opinion which Caesar had given; then Cato followed him, helping by the vehemence of his speech to fix suspicion upon Caesar, and filled the senate with angry resolution, so that a decree of death was passed upon the conspirators.
21.3. ἐσχάτην γὰρ ἀνδρὶ βουλευτῇ Ῥωμαίων εἶναι δίκην τὸ δεσμωτήριον. εἰρημένης δὲ τῆς γνώμης πρῶτος ἀντέκρουσεν αὐτῇ Κάτλος Λουτάτιος· εἶτα δεξάμενος Κάτων, καὶ τῷ λόγῳ σφοδρῶς συνεπερείσας ἐπὶ τὸν Καίσαρα τὴν ὑπόνοιαν, ἐνέπλησε θυμοῦ καὶ φρονήματος τὴν σύγκλητον, ὥστε θάνατον καταψηφίσασθαι τῶν ἀνδρῶν.
21.4. As regarded the confiscation of their property, however, Caesar made opposition, deeming it wrong that the merciful part of his own proposal should be rejected and the one part that was most severe adopted. And when many of the senators insisted upon it, he invoked the aid of the tribunes, but they would not listen to his appeal; Cicero himself, however, yielded the point, and remitted that part of the vote which called for confiscation.
21.4. περὶ δὲ δημεύσεως χρημάτων ἐνίστατο Καῖσαρ, οὐκ ἀξιῶν τὰ φιλάνθρωπα τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γνώμης ἐκβαλόντας ἑνὶ χρήσασθαι τῷ σκυθρωποτάτῳ, βιαζομένων δὲ πολλῶν ἐπεκαλεῖτο τοὺς δημάρχους, οἱ δʼ οὐχ ὑπήκουον, ἀλλὰ Κικέρων αὐτὸς ἐνδοὺς ἀνῆκε τὴν περὶ δημεύσεως γνώμην.
22.1. Then he went with the senate to fetch the conspirators. These were not all in the same place, but different praetors had different ones under guard. And first he took Lentulus from the Palatine hill and led him along the Via Sacra and through the middle of the forum, the men of highest authority surrounding him as a body-guard, and the people shuddering at what was being done and passing along in silence, and especially the young men, as though they thought they were being initiated with fear and trembling into some ancient mysteries of an aristocratic regime.
22.1. ἐχώρει δὲ μετὰ τῆς βουλῆς ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας, οὐκ ἐν ταὐτῷ δὲ πάντες ἦσαν, ἄλλος δʼ ἄλλον ἐφύλαττε τῶν στρατηγῶν, καὶ πρῶτον ἐκ Παλατίου παραλαβὼν τὸν Λέντλον ἦγε διὰ τῆς ἱερᾶς ὁδοῦ καὶ τῆ;ς ἀγορᾶς μέσης, τῶν μὲν ἡγεμονικωτάτων ἀνδρῶν κύκλῳ περιεσπειραμένων καὶ δορυφορούντων, τοῦ δὲ δήμου φρίττοντος τὰ δρώμενα καὶ παριόντος σιωπῇ, μάλιστα δὲ τῶν νέων, ὥσπερ ἱεροῖς τισι πατρίοις ἀριστοκρατικῆς τινος ἐξουσίας τελεῖσθαι μετὰ φόβου καὶ θάμβους δοκούντων.
22.2. When Cicero had passed through the forum and reached the prison, he delivered Lentulus to the public executioner with the order to put him to death. Then Cethegus in his turn, and so each one of the others, he brought down to the prison and had him executed. And seeing that many members of the conspiracy were still assembled in the forum in ignorance of what had been done and waiting for night to come, with the idea that the men were still living and might be rescued, he cried out to them with a loud voice and said: “They have lived.” For thus the Romans who wish to avoid words of ill omen indicate death.
22.2. διελθὼν δὲ τὴν ἀγορὰν καὶ γενόμενος πρὸς τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ παρέδωκε τὸν Λέντλον τῷ δημίῳ καὶ προσέταξεν ἀνελεῖν εἶθʼ ἑξῆς τὸν Κέθηγον, καὶ οὕτω τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστον καταγαγὼν ἀπέκτεινεν. ὁρῶν δὲ πολλοὺς ἔτι τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς συνωμοσίας ἐν ἀγορᾷ συνεστῶτας ἀθρόους καὶ τὴν μὲν πρᾶξιν ἀγνοοῦντας, τὴν δὲ νύκτα προσμένοντας, ὡς ἔτι ζώντων τῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ δυναμένων ἐξαρπασθῆναι, φθεγξάμενος μέγα πρὸς αὐτοὺς, ἔζησαν, εἶπεν. οὕτω δὲ Ῥωμαίων οἱ δυσφημεῖν μὴ βουλόμενοι τὸ τεθνάναι σημαίνουσιν.
22.3. It was now evening, and Cicero went up through the forum to his house, the citizens no longer escorting him on his way with silent decorum, but receiving him with cries and clapping of hands as he passed along, calling him the saviour and founder of his country. And many lights illuminated the streets, since people placed lamps and torches at their doors.
22.3. ἤδη δʼ ἦν ἑσπέρα, καὶ διʼ ἀγορᾶς ἀνέβαινεν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν, οὐκέτι σιωπῇ τῶν πολιτῶν οὐδὲ τάξει προπεμπόντων αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ φωναῖς καὶ κρότοις δεχομένων καθʼ οὓς γένοιτο, σωτῆρα καὶ κτίστην ἀνακαλούντων τῆς πατρίδος. τὰ δὲ φῶτα πολλὰ κατέλαμπε τοὺς στενωπούς, λαμπάδια καὶ δᾷδας ἱστώντων ἐπὶ ταῖς θύραις.
22.4. The women, too, displayed lights upon the housetops in honour of the man, and that they might see him going up to his home in great state under escort of the noblest citizens. Most of these had brought to an end great wars and entered the city in triumph, and had added to the Roman dominion no small extent of land and sea; but they now walked along confessing to one another that to many of the commanders and generals of the time the Roman people were indebted for wealth and spoils and power, but for preservation and safety to Cicero alone, who had freed them from so peculiar and so great a peril.
22.4. αἱ δὲ γυναῖκες ἐκ τῶν τεγῶν προὔφαινον ἐπὶ τιμῇ καὶ θέᾳ τοῦ ἀνδρός, ὑπὸ πομπῇ τῶν ἀρίστων μάλα σεμνῶς ἀνιόντος· ὧν οἱ πλεῖστοι πολέμους τε κατειργασμένοι μεγάλους καὶ διὰ θριάμβων εἰσεληλακότες καὶ προσκεκτημένοι γῆν καὶ θάλατταν οὐκ ὀλίγην ἐβάδιζον ἀνομολογούμενοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους πολλοῖς μὲν τῶν τότε ἡγεμόνων καὶ στρατηγῶν πλούτου καὶ λαφύρων καὶ δυνάμεως χάριν ὀφείλειν τὸν Ῥωμαίων δῆμον, ἀσφαλείας δὲ καὶ σωτηρίας ἑνὶ μόνῳ Κικέρωνι, τηλικοῦτον ἀφελόντι καὶ τοσοῦτον αὐτοῦ κίνδυνον.
22.5. For it was not his preventing their schemes and punishing the schemers which seemed so wonderful, but his quenching the greatest of all revolutions with the fewest possible evils, without sedition and commotion. For most of those who had flocked to the standard or Catiline, as soon as they learned the fate of Lentulus and Cethegus, deserted him and went away; and Catiline, after a conflict with his remaining forces against Antonius, perished himself and his army with him.
22.5. οὐ γὰρ τὸ κωλῦσαι τὰ πραττόμενα καὶ κολάσαι τοὺς πράττοντας ἐδόκει θαυμαστόν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι μέγιστον τῶν πώποτε νεωτερισμῶν οὗτος ἐλαχίστοις κακοῖς ἄνευ στάσεως καὶ ταραχῆς κατέσβεσε. καὶ γὰρ τὸν Κατιλίναν οἱ πλεῖστοι τῶν συνερρυηκότων πρὸς αὐτὸν ἅμα τῷ πυθέσθαι τὰ περὶ Λέντλον καὶ Κέθηγον ἐγκαταλιπόντες ᾤχοντο· καὶ μετὰ τῶν συμμεμενηκότων αὐτῷ διαγωνισάμενος πρὸς Ἀντώνιον αὐτός τε διεφθάρη καὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον.
23.1. However, there were those who were ready to abuse Cicero for what he had done, and to work him harm, and they had as leaders, among the magistrates-elect, Caesar as praetor, and Metellus and Bestia as tribunes. When these assumed office, Cicero having still a few days of consular authority, they would not permit him to harangue the people, but placing their benches so as to command the rostra, would not suffer or allow him to speak; instead, they ordered him, if he wished, merely to pronounce the oath usual on giving up office, and then come down.
23.1. οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἦσαν οἱ τὸν Κικέρωνα παρεσκευασμένοι καὶ λέγειν ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ ποιεῖν κακῶς, ἔχοντες ἡγεμόνας τῶν εἰς τὸ μέλλον ἀρχόντων Καίσαρα μὲν στρατηγοῦντα, Μέτελλον δὲ καὶ Βηστίαν δημαρχοῦντας. οἳ τὴν ἀρχὴν παραλαβόντες, ἔτι τοῦ Κικέρωνος ἡμέρας ὀλίγας ἄρχοντος, οὐκ εἴων δημηγορεῖν αὐτόν, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐμβόλων βάθρα θέντες οὐ παρίεσαν οὐδʼ ἐπέτρεπον λέγειν, ἀλλʼ ἐκέλευον, εἰ βούλοιτο, μόνον περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀπομόσαντα καταβαίνειν.
23.2. Cicero accepted these terms and came forward to pronounce his oath; and when he had obtained silence, he pronounced, not the usual oath, but one of his own and a new one, swearing that in very truth he had saved his country and maintained her supremacy. And all the people confirmed his oath for him. At this Caesar and the tribunes were still more vexed and contrived fresh troubles for Cicero. Among other things, a law was introduced by them for calling Pompey home with his army, in order, forsooth, that he might put down the arbitrary power of Cicero.
23.2. κἀκεῖνος ἐπὶ τούτοις ὡς ὀμόσων προῆλθε· καὶ γενομένης αὐτῷ σιωπῆς ὤμνυεν, οὐ τὸν πάτριον, ἀλλʼ ἴδιόν τινα καὶ καινὸν ὅρκον, ἦ μὴν σεσωκέναι τὴν πατρίδα καὶ διατετηρηκέναι τὴν ἡγεμονίαν. ἐπώμνυε δὲ τὸν ὅρκον αὐτῷ σύμπας ὁ δῆμος, ἐφʼ οἷς ἔτι μᾶλλον ὅ τε Καῖσαρ οἵ τε δήμαρχοι χαλεπαίνοντες ἄλλας τε τῷ Κικέρωνι ταραχὰς ἐμηχανῶντο, καὶ νόμος ὑπʼ αὐτῶν εἰσήγετο καλεῖν Πομπήϊον μετὰ τῆς στρατιᾶς, ὡς δὴ καταλύσοντα τὴν Κικέρωνος δυναστείαν.
23.3. But Cato, who was tribune at this time, was a great help to Cicero and to the whole state, and opposed the measures of the other tribunes with an authority equal to theirs and a greater good repute. For he easily put a stop to their other projects, and so highly extolled the “arbitrary power” of Cicero in a speech to the people, that they voted him the greatest honours ever conferred and called him the father of his country. For he was the first, as it seems, to receive this title, after Cato had given it to him before the people.
23.3. ἀλλʼ ἦν ὄφελος μέγα τῷ Κικέρωνι καὶ πάσῃ τῇ πόλει δημαρχῶν τότε Κάτων καὶ τοῖς ἐκείνων πολιτεύμασιν ἀπʼ ἴσης μὲν ἐξουσίας, μείζονος δὲ δόξης ἀντιτασσόμενος, τά τε γὰρ ἄλλα ῥᾳδίως ἔλυσε, καὶ τὴν Κικέρωνος ὑπατείαν οὕτως ἦρε τῷ λόγῳ μεγάλην δημηγορήσας ὥστε τιμὰς αὐτῷ τῶν πώποτε μεγίστας ψηφίσασθαι καὶ προσαγορεῦσαι πατέρα πατρίδος, πρώτῳ γὰρ ἐκείνῳ δοκεῖ τοῦτο καθυπάρξαι, Κάτωνος αὐτὸν οὕτως ἐν τῷ δήμῳ προσαγορεύσαντος.
24.1. So at this time Cicero had the greatest power in the state, but he made himself generally odious, not by any base action, but by continually praising and magnifying himself, which made him hateful to many. For there could be no session either of senate or assembly or court of justice in which one was not obliged to hear Catiline and Lentulus endlessly talked about.
24.1. καὶ μέγιστον μὲν ἴσχυσεν ἐν τῇ πόλει τότε, πολλοῖς δʼ ἐπίφθονον ἑαυτὸν ἐποίησεν ἀπʼ οὐδενὸς ἔργου πονηροῦ, τῷ δʼ ἐπαινεῖν ἀεὶ καὶ μεγαλύνειν αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν ὑπὸ πολλῶν δυσχεραινόμενος. οὔτε γὰρ βουλὴν οὔτε δῆμον οὔτε δικαστήριον ἦν συνελθεῖν ἐν ᾧ μὴ Κατιλίναν ἔδει θρυλούμενον ἀκοῦσαι καὶ Λέντλον.
24.2. Nay, he even went so far as to fill his books and writings with these praises of himself; and he made his oratory, which was naturally very pleasant and had the greatest charm, irksome and tedious to his hearers, since this unpleasant practice clung to him like a fatality. But nevertheless, although he cherished so strong an ambition, he was free from envying others, since he was most ungrudging in his encomiums upon his predecessors and contemporaries, as may be gathered from his writings.
24.2. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ βιβλία τελευτῶν κατέπλησε καὶ τὰ συγγράμματα τῶν ἐγκωμίων καὶ τὸν λόγον ἥδιστον ὄντα καὶ χάριν ἔχοντα πλείστην ἐπαχθῆ καὶ φορτικὸν ἐποίησε τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις, ὥσπερ τινὸς ἀεὶ κηρὸς αὐτῷ τῆς ἀηδίας ταύτης προσούσης. ὅμως δέ, καίπερ οὕτως ἀκράτῳ φιλοτιμίᾳ συνών, ἀπήλλακτο τοῦ φθονεῖν ἑτέροις, ἀφθονώτατος ὢν ἐν τῷ τοὺς πρὸ αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς καθʼ αὑτὸν ἄνδρας ἐγκωμιάζειν, ὡς ἐκ τῶν συγγραμμάτων λαβεῖν ἔστι.
24.3. There are also many sayings of his on record which prove this; for instance, he said of Aristotle that he was a river of liquid gold, and of the dialogues of Plato that Jupiter, were it his nature to use human speech, would thus discourse, Theophrastus, too, he used to call his own special delight. And when he was asked which of the speeches of Demosthenes he thought the best, he replied, “the longest.”
24.3. πολλὰ δʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπομνημονεύουσιν οἷον περὶ Ἀριστοτέλους, ὅτι χρυσίου ποταμὸς εἴη ῥέοντος, καὶ περὶ τῶν Πλάτωνος διαλόγων, ὡς τοῦ Διός, εἰ λόγῳ χρῆσθαι πέφυκεν, οὕτω διαλεγομένου. τὸν δὲ Θεόφραστον εἰώθει τρυφὴν ἰδίαν ἀποκαλεῖν. περὶ δὲ τῶν Δημοσθένους λόγων ἐρωτηθείς τίνα δοκοίη κάλλιστον εἶναι, τὸν μέγιστον εἶπε.
24.4. And yet some of those who pretend to be imitators of Demosthenes dwell much upon an expression which Cicero used in a letter to one of his friends, to the effect that in some parts of his speeches Demosthenes nods; but of the great and admirable praises which he often bestows upon him, and of the fact that those speeches of his own to which he devoted most labour, namely, the speeches against Antony, were entitled by him Philippics, they say nothing.
24.4. καίτοι τινὲς τῶν προσποιουμένων δημοσθενίζειν ἐπιφύονται φωνῇ τοῦ Κικέρωνος, ἣν πρός τινα τῶν ἑταίρων ἔθηκεν ἐν ἐπιστολῇ γράψας, ἐνιαχοῦ τῶν λόγων ἀπονυστάζειν τὸν Δημοσθένη· τῶν δὲ μεγάλων καὶ θαυμαστῶν ἐπαίνων οἷς πολλαχοῦ χρῆται περὶ τοῦ ἀνδρός, καὶ ὅτι περὶ οὓς μάλιστα τῶν ἰδίων ἐσπούδασε λόγων, τοὺς κατʼ Ἀντωνίου, Φιλιππικοὺς ἐπέγραψεν, ἀμνημονοῦσι.
24.5. Moreover, of the men of his own time who were famous for eloquence or learning, there is not one whom he did not make more famous by what he said or wrote in favour of him. For Cratippus the Peripatetic he obtained the Roman citizenship from Caesar, now in power, and he also induced the council of the Areiopagus to pass a decree requesting him to remain at Athens and discourse with the young men, and thus be an ornament to the city.
24.5. τῶν δὲ κατʼ αὑτὸν ἐνδόξων ἀπὸ λόγου καὶ σοφίας οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεὶς ὃν οὐκ ἐποίησεν ἐνδοξότερον ἢ λέγων ἢ γράφων εὐμενῶς περὶ ἑκάστου. Κρατίππῳ δὲ τῷ Περιπατητικῷ διεπράξατο μὲν Ῥωμαίῳ γενέσθαι παρὰ Καίσαρος ἄρχοντος ἤδη, διεπράξατο δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου βουλὴν ψηφίσασθαι δεηθῆναι μένειν αὑτὸν ἐν Ἀθήναις καὶ διαλέγεσθαι τοῖς νέοις ὡς κοσμοῦντα τὴν πόλιν.
24.6. Furthermore, there are letters from Cicero to Herodes, and others to his son, in which he urges them to study philosophy with Cratippus. But Gorgias the rhetorician he censured for leading the young man into pleasures and drinking parties, and banished him from his son’s society.
24.6. ἐπιστολαὶ δὲ παρὰ τοῦ Κικέρωνος εἰσὶ πρός Ἡρώδην, ἕτεραι δὲ πρός τὸν υἱόν, ἐγκελευομένου συμφιλοσοφεῖν Κρατίππῳ. Γοργίαν δὲ τὸν ῥήτορα αἰτιώμενος εἰς ἡδονὰς καὶ πότους προάγειν τὸ μειράκιον ἀπελαύνει τῆς συνουσίας αὐτοῦ.
24.7. This is almost the only one of his Greek letters (there is also a second, addressed to Pelops of Byzantium) which was written in a spirit of anger; and Gorgias he properly rebukes, if, as he was thought to be, he was worthless and intemperate; but towards Pelops he shows a mean and querulous spirit for having neglected to obtain for him certain honorary decrees from the Byzantians.
24.7. καὶ σχεδὸν αὕτη τε τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν μία καὶ δευτέρα πρός Πέλοπα τὸν Βυζάντιον ἐν ὀργῇ τινι γέγραπται, τὸν μὲν Γοργίαν αὐτοῦ προσηκόντως ἐπικόπτοντος, εἴπερ ἦν φαῦλος καὶ ἀκόλαστος, ᾗπερ ἐδόκει, πρός δὲ τὸν Πέλοπα μικρολογουμένου καὶ μεμψιμοιροῦντος ὥσπερ ἀμελήσαντα τιμάς τινας αὐτῷ καὶ ψηφίσματα παρὰ Βυζαντίων γενέσθαι.
25.1. These complaints were characteristic of ambition, as well as the fact that he was often led on by the cleverness of his speech to disregard propriety. For instance, he once served as advocate for Munatius, who was no sooner acquitted than he prosecuted a friend of Cicero’s, Sabinus, whereupon, it is said, Cicero was so transported with anger as to say: “Was it, pray, on your own merits, Munatius, that you were acquitted, and not because I spread much darkness about the court when before there was light?”
25.1. ταῦτά τε δὴ φιλότιμα, καὶ τὸ πολλάκις ἐπαιρόμενον τοῦ λόγου τῇ δεινότητι τὸ πρέπον προΐεσθαι. Μουνατίῳ μὲν γάρ ποτε συνηγορήσας, ὡς ἀποφυγὼν τὴν δίκην ἐκεῖνος ἐδίωκεν ἑταῖρον αὐτοῦ Σαβῖνον, οὕτω λέγεται προπεσεῖν ὑπʼ ὀργῆς ὁ Κικέρων ὥστʼ εἰπεῖν· σὺ γὰρ ἐκείνην, ὦ Μουνάτιε, τὴν δίκην ἀπέφυγες διὰ σαυτόν, οὐκ ἐμοῦ πολὺ σκότος ἐν φωτὶ τῷ δικαστηρίῳ περιχέαντος;
25.2. And again, he gained great applause by an encomium on Marcus Crassus from the rostra, and then a few days afterwards as publicly reviled him, whereupon Crassus said: “What, did you not stand there yourself a day or two ago and praise me?” “Yea,” said Cicero, “exercising my eloquence by way of practice on a bad subject.”
25.2. Μᾶρκον δὲ Κράσσον ἐγκωμιάζων ἀπὸ τοῦ βήματος εὐημέρησε, καὶ μεθʼ ἡμέρας αὖθις ὀλίγας λοιδορῶν αὐτόν, ὡς ἐκεῖνος εἶπεν οὐ γὰρ ἐνταῦθα πρώην αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς ἐπῄνεις; ναί, φησι, μελέτης ἕνεκεν γυμνάζων τὸν λόγον εἰς φαύλην ὑπόθεσιν.
25.3. Again, Crassus once said that no Crassus had lived in Rome to be older than sixty years, and then tried to deny it, exclaiming, “What could have led me to say this?” “You knew,” said Cicero, “that the Romans would be delighted to hear it, and by that means you tried to court their favour.” And when Crassus expressed his satisfaction with the Stoics because they represented the good man as rich, “Consider,” said Cicero, “whether your satisfaction is not rather due to their declaration that all things belong to the wise.”
25.3. εἰπόντος δέ ποτε τοῦ Κράσσου μηδένα Κράσσον ἐν Ῥώμῃ βεβιωκέναι μακρότερον ἑξηκονταετίας, εἶθʼ ὕστερον ἀρνουμένου καὶ λέγοντος, τί δʼ ἂν ἐγὼ παθὼν τοῦτʼ εἶπον; ἤιδεις, ἔφη, Ῥωμαίους ἡδέως ἀκουσομένους καὶ διὰ τοῦτʼ ἐδημαγώγεις. ἀρέσκεσθαι δὲ τοῦ Κράσσου τοῖς Στωικοῖς φήσαντος, ὅτι πλούσιον εἶναι τὸν ἀγαθὸν ἀποφαίνουσιν, ὅρα μὴ μᾶλλον εἶπεν, ὅτι πάντα τοῦ σοφοῦ λέγουσιν εἶναι.
25.4. Now, Crassus was accused of covetousness. Again, one of the sons of Crassus who was thought to resemble a certain Axius, and on this account had brought his mother’s name into scandalous connection with that of Axius, once made a successful speech in the senate, and when Cicero was asked what he thought of him, he answered with the Greek words “Axios Krassou.”
25.4. διεβάλλετο δʼ εἰς φιλαργυρίαν ὁ Κράσσος. ἐπεὶ δὲ τοῦ Κράσσου τῶν παίδων ὁ ἕτερος Ἀξίῳ τινὶ δοκῶν ὅμοιος εἶναι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τῇ μητρὶ προστριβόμενος αἰσχρὰν ἐπὶ τῷ Ἀξίῳ διαβολήν εὐδοκίμησε λόγον ἐν βουλῇ διελθών, ἐρωτηθεὶς ὁ Κικέρων τί φαίνεται αὐτῷ, ἄξιος, εἶπε, Κράσσου.
26.1. When Crassus was about to set out for Syria, wishing that Cicero should be a friend rather than an enemy, he said to him in a friendly manner that he wished to dine with him; and Cicero readily received him into his house. But a few days afterwards, when some friends interceded with him for Vatinius, saying that the man sought reconciliation and friendship (for he was an enemy), “It surely cannot be,” said Cicero, “that Vatinius also wishes to dine with me.” Such, then, was his treatment of Crassus.
26.1. μέλλων δὲ Κράσσος εἰς Συρίαν ἀπαίρειν ἐβούλετο τὸν Κικέρωνα μᾶλλον αὐτῷ φίλον ἢ ἐχθρὸν εἶναι· καί φιλοφρονούμενος ἔφη βούλεσθαι δειπνῆσαι παρʼ αὐτῷ· κἀκεῖνος ὑπεδέξατο προθύμως. ὀλίγαις δʼ ὕστερον ἡμέραις περὶ Βατινίου φίλων τινῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ὡς μνωμένου διαλύσεις καί φιλίαν ἦν γὰρ ἐχθρός, οὐ δήπου καί Βατίνιος, εἶπε, δειπνῆσαι παρʼ ἐμοὶ βούλεται; πρὸς μὲν οὖν Κράσσον τοιοῦτος.
26.2. Now, Vatinius himself had swellings on his neck, and once when he was pleading a case Cicero called him a tumid orator. Again, after hearing that Vatinius was dead, and then after a little learning for a surety that he was alive, “Wretchedly perish, then,” said Cicero, “the wretch who lied!”
26.2. αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν Βατίνιον ἔχοντα χοιράδας ἐν τῷ τραχήλῳ καί λέγοντα δίκην οἰδοῦντα ῥήτορα προσεῖπεν. ἀκούσας δʼ ὅτι τέθνηκεν, εἶτα μετὰ μικρὸν πυθόμενος σαφῶς ὅτι ζῇ, κακὸς τοίνυν ἀπόλοιτο κακῶς ὁ ψευσάμενος.