Purpose of This Book
This book has been designed to provide students of Latin or history and possessing an Intermediate-high to Advanced-low proficiency in Latin with an accessible text of selections from Sallust’s account of the Catiline Conspiracy.
It is the hope of the author that this book would provide students with a better understanding of the events surrounding the conspiracy. It is highly encouraged to read this alongside the speeches Cicero delivered against Catiline.
Layout of This Book
This book is divided into two sections. The first section focuses on providing background information on Sallust, the text, and the conspiracy.
The second section contains selected chapters from Sallust’s Bellum Catilinae. Interspersed between the reader will find information which will, hopefully, aid them in understanding the text. These include sections for vocabulary words, background information, and grammar topics with practice.
Selected Chapters
The selected chapters of Sallust’s Bellum Catilinae are presented in a consistent format with four reoccurring elements. These are the Latin Text, Notes and Vocabulary, the Full Text, and Questions for Review.
Latin Text
The text of each chapter is split into 2-3 sentence portions. Each portion is presented in a box like the one seen here.
L. Catilīna, nōbilī genere nātus, fuit magnā vī et animī et corporis, sed ingeniō malō prāvōque. Huic ab adulēscentiā bella intestīna, caedēs, rapīnae, discordia cīvīlis grāta fuēre ibique iuventūtem suam exercuit. Corpus patiēns inediae, algōris, vigiliae suprā quam quoiquam crēdibile est.
Notes and Vocabulary
A section called “Notes and Vocabulary” immediately follows each box of Latin text. In this section, information is presented which might assist a person in reading the preceding Latin text.
Both the Latin Text and Notes and Vocabulary Sections are repeated until all the sentences of a chapter have been presented.
Full Text
Once each sentence of the chapter has been presented accompanied by the notes and vocabulary, the entire Latin text for the chapter is provided in a box like the one seen here. Some words in the box will appear in bold italic. This is used to indicate there will be questions about those specific words in the section which follows.
L. Catilīna, nōbilī genere nātus, fuit magnā vī et animī et corporis, sed ingeniō malō prāvōque. Huic ab adulēscentiā bella intestīna, caedēs, rapīnae, discordia cīvīlis grāta fuēre ibique iuventūtem suam exercuit. Corpus patiēns inediae, algōris, vigiliae suprā quam quoiquam crēdibile est. Animus audāx, subdolus, varius, cuius reī libet simulātor ac dissimulātor, aliēnī adpetēns, suī profūsus, ārdēns in cupiditātibus; satis ēloquentiae, sapientiae parvum. Vāstus animus immoderāta, incrēdibilia, nimis alta semper cupiēbat. Hunc post dominātiōnem L. Sullae libīdō māxima invāserat reī pūblicae capiundae; neque id quibus modīs adsequerētur, dum sibi rēgnum parāret, quicquam pēnsī habēbat. Agitābātur magis magisque in diēs animus ferōx inopiā reī familiāris et cōnscientiā scelerum, quae utraque iīs artibus auxerat, quās suprā memorāvī. Incitābant praetereā corruptī cīvitātis mōrēs, quōs pessima ac dīversa inter sē mala, luxuria atque avāritia, vexābant.
Questions for Review
The final section in each chapter contains two sets of review questions. The first set of review questions focuses on reading comprehension. The second set of questions covers grammar. Both sets of questions serves to assist students in checking their understanding of the text.