§11Sed primo magis ambitio quam avaritia animos hominum exercebat, quod tamen vitium propius virtutem erat.
But at first, ambition rather than avarice exercised the minds of men, which vice, however, was closer to virtue.
nam gloriam honorem imperium bonus et ignavos aeque sibi exoptant; sed ille vera via nititur, huic quia bonae artes desunt, dolis atque fallaciis contendit.
For the good and the worthless alike desire glory, honor, and power for themselves; but the former strives by the true path, while the latter, because he lacks honorable arts, contends with tricks and deceits.
avaritia pecuniae studium habet, quam nemo sapiens concupivit: ea quasi venenis malis inbuta corpus animumque virilem effeminat, semper infinita et insatiabilis est, neque copia neque inopia minuitur.
Avarice involves a passion for money, which no wise man has coveted: as if imbued with deadly poisons, it makes the manly body and mind effeminate; it is always infinite and insatiable, and is diminished neither by abundance nor by want.
sed postquam L. Sulla armis recepta re publica bonis initiis malos eventus habuit, rapere omnes omnes trahere, domum alius alius agros cupere, neque modum neque modestiam victores habere, foeda crudeliaque in civis facinora facere.
But after Lucius Sulla, having recovered the republic by arms, brought a bad end to good beginnings, everyone began to rob and drag, one to covet a house, another fields, and the victors kept neither limit nor moderation, committing foul and cruel deeds against the citizens.
huc adcedebat quod L. Sulla exercitum, quem in Asia ductaverat, quo sibi fidum faceret, contra morem maiorum luxuriose nimisque liberaliter habuerat.
To this was added that Lucius Sulla, in order to make the army loyal to him, had kept it, which he had led in Asia, in luxury and too liberally, contrary to the custom of our ancestors.
loca amoena voluptaria facile in otio ferocis militum animos molliverant: ibi primum insuevit exercitus populi Romani amare potare, signa tabulas pictas vasa caelata mirari, ea privatim et publice rapere, delubra spoliare, sacra profanaque omnia polluere.
Pleasant and voluptuous places had easily softened the fierce minds of the soldiers in their leisure. There for the first time the army of the Roman people became accustomed to love, to drink, to admire statues, paintings, and engraved vessels, to rob them privately and publicly, to plunder shrines, and to pollute all things sacred and profane.
igitur ii milites, postquam victoriam adepti sunt, nihil reliqui victis fecere.
Therefore, these soldiers, after they obtained victory, left nothing to the vanquished.
quippe secundae res sapientium animos fatigant: ne illi corruptis moribus victoriae temperarent.
For indeed, prosperity tries the minds of wise men: much less would they, with their corrupt morals, show restraint in victory.
§12Postquam divitiae honori esse coepere et eas gloria imperium potentia sequebatur, hebescere virtus, paupertas probro haberi, innocentia pro malevolentia duci coepit.
After wealth began to be held in honor, and glory, power, and authority followed it, virtue began to grow dull, poverty to be held as a disgrace, and innocence to be taken for malevolence.
igitur ex divitiis iuventutem luxuria atque avaritia cum superbia invasere: rapere consumere, sua parvi pendere aliena cupere, pudorem pudicitiam, divina atque humana promiscua, nihil pensi neque moderati habere.
Therefore, from wealth, luxury and avarice, together with pride, invaded the youth: they robbed, they consumed, they valued their own things little, coveted those of others, and held modesty, chastity, things divine and human alike as promiscuous, having no care or moderation.
operae pretium est, quom domos atque villas cognoveris in urbium modum exaedificatas, visere templa deorum, quae nostri maiores religiosissumi mortales fecere.
It is worth the effort, when you have known houses and villas built up in the manner of cities, to visit the temples of the gods, which our ancestors, the most religious of mortals, made.
verum illi delubra deorum pietate, domos suas gloria decorabant, neque victis quicquam praeter iniuriae licentiam eripiebant.
But they decorated the shrines of the gods with piety, and their own houses with glory, nor did they take anything from the vanquished except the power to do injury.
at hi contra, ignavissumi homines, per summum scelus omnia ea sociis adimere, quae fortissumi viri victores reliquerant: proinde quasi iniuriam facere id demum esset imperio uti.
But these on the contrary, the most worthless of men, through the greatest wickedness took away from the allies all those things which the bravest men as victors had left, just as if to do injury were, in short, to exercise power.
§13nam quid ea memorem, quae nisi iis qui videre nemini credibilia sunt, a privatis compluribus subvorsos montis, maria constrata esse? quibus mihi videntur ludibrio fuisse divitiae: quippe quas honeste habere licebat, abuti per turpitudinem properabant.
For why should I mention those things which are credible to no one except those who saw them, that mountains were leveled and seas built over by several private individuals? To whom wealth seems to me to have been a plaything; since they were permitted to hold it honorably, they hastened to abuse it through baseness.
sed lubido stupri ganeae ceterique cultus non minor incesserat: viri muliebria pati, mulieres pudicitiam in propatulo habere; vescendi causa terra marique omnia exquirere; dormire prius quam somni cupido esset; non famem aut sitim, neque frigus neque lassitudinem opperiri, sed ea omnia luxu antecapere.
But a passion for lust, gluttony, and other refinements had invaded them no less: men endured the parts of women, women put their chastity on open display; for the sake of eating, they sought out all things by land and sea; they slept before there was a desire for sleep; they did not wait for hunger or thirst, nor cold or weariness, but anticipated all these things by luxury.
haec iuventutem, ubi familiares opes defecerant, ad facinora incendebant: animus inbutus malis artibus haud facile lubidinibus carebat; eo profusius omnibus modis quaestui atque sumptui deditus erat.
These things incited the youth, when their family wealth had failed, to deeds of wickedness. A mind imbued with bad practices did not easily lack passions; therefore, it was the more profusely devoted in every way to gain and expense.
§14In tanta tamque corrupta civitate Catilina, id quod factu facillumum erat, omnium flagitiorum atque facinorum circum se tamquam stipatorum catervas habebat.
In so great and so corrupt a state, Catiline—which was the easiest thing to do—had herds of all kinds of shameful and wicked men around him like a bodyguard.
nam quicumque inpudicus adulter ganeo manu ventre pene bona patria laceraverat, quique alienum aes grande conflaverat, quo flagitium aut facinus redimeret, praeterea omnes undique parricidae sacrilegi convicti iudiciis aut pro factis iudicium timentes, ad hoc quos manus atque lingua periurio aut sanguine civili alebat, postremo omnes quos flagitium egestas conscius animus exagitabat, ii Catilinae proxumi familiaresque erant.
For whoever, unchaste, adulterer, glutton, had squandered his paternal goods by hand, belly, or penis, and whoever had contracted a huge debt to buy off his shame or crime, moreover, all parricides, sacrilegious persons, convicted by judgments or fearing judgment for their deeds from all sides, in addition to this, those whom their hand and tongue maintained by perjury or civil blood, finally, all those whom shame, poverty, and a guilty conscience harassed—these were the closest associates and friends of Catiline.
quod si quis etiam a culpa vacuos in amicitiam eius inciderat, cottidiano usu atque illecebris facile par similisque ceteris efficiebatur.
But if any one free from blame had fallen into his friendship, by daily intercourse and allurements he was easily made equal and similar to the rest.
sed maxume adulescentium familiaritates adpetebat: eorum animi molles et aetate fluxi dolis haud difficulter capiebantur.
But he especially sought the friendships of young men: their minds, soft and unstable because of age, were caught by tricks without difficulty.
nam ut quoiusque studium ex aetate flagrabat, aliis scorta praebere, aliis canes atque equos mercari; postremo neque sumptui neque modestiae suae parcere, dum illos obnoxios fidosque sibi faceret.
For as each one’s passion burned according to his age, he provided harlots to some, bought dogs and horses for others; finally, he spared neither expense nor his own modesty, provided he made them submissive and faithful to himself.
scio fuisse nonnullos, qui ita existumarent iuventutem, quae domum Catilinae frequentabat, parum honeste pudicitiam habuisse; sed ex aliis rebus magis quam quod quoiquam id compertum foret haec fama valebat.
I know that there were some who thought that the youth who frequented Catiline’s house held their chastity too cheaply; but this rumor prevailed more from other things than because it was actually found to be true by anyone.