The 'Catiline Orations' or 'Catilinarian Orations' were speeches given in
63 BC by Marcus Tullius
Cicero, the
consul of
Rome, exposing to the
Roman Senate the
plot of
Lucius Sergius Catilina and his friends to overthrow the Roman government.
The plot(s), the orations by Cicero
Catiline, who was running for the
consulship a second time after having lost the first time around, tried to ensure his victory by resorting to blatant and excessive
bribery. Cicero in self-righteous indignation issued a law prohibiting machinations of this kind.
[1] It was obvious to all that the law was directed specifically at Catiline. Catiline, in turn, conspired with some of his
cronies to murder Cicero and the key men of the Senate on the day of the election. Cicero discovered the plan and postponed the election to give the Senate time to discuss the attempted
coup d'état.
The day after the election was supposed to be held, Cicero addressed the Senate on the matter and Catiline's reaction was immediate and violent. In response to Catiline's behavior, the Senate issued a ''senatus consultum ultimum'', a kind of declaration of
martial law invoked whenever the Senate and the
Roman Republic were in imminent danger from treason or sedition. Ordinary law was suspended and Cicero, as consul, was invested with absolute power.
When the election was finally held, Catiline lost again. Anticipating the bad news, the
conspirators had already begun to assemble an army, made up mostly of
Sulla's veteran soldiers. The nucleus of conspirators was also joined by senators whose profligate tastes left them perennially without funds. The plan was to initiate an
insurrection in all of
Italy, put Rome to the torch and to kill as many senators as they could.
Through some crafty moves of his own, Cicero knew exactly what was being planned. On November 8, Cicero called for a meeting of the Senate in the
Temple of
Jupiter in the
Capitol, which was used for this purpose only when great danger threatened. Catiline had the temerity to attend as well. It was then that Cicero delivered directly to Catiline his famous:
Oratio in Catilinam Prima in Senatu Habita
As political orations go, this was relatively short - roughly 317 lines of Latin - and to the point. The opening remarks are still widely remembered and used after 2,000 years:
''Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? Quam diu etiam furor iste tuus nos eludet?''
How long, O Catiline, will you abuse our patience? How long is that madness of yours still to mock us?
Catiline was present when this speech was delivered. When he arrived at the
Temple of Jupiter Stator and took his seat, however, the other senators moved away from him leaving him alone in his bench. Catiline tried to reply after the speech, but senators repeatedly interrupted him, calling him a traitor. He ran from the temple, hurling threats at the Senate. Later he left the city and went to the camp of Manlius, who was in charge of the army of rebels. The next morning Cicero assembled the
people, and delivered to them his:
Oratio in Catilinam Secunda in Senatu Habita ad Populum
Here he informed the citizens of Rome that Catiline had left the city, not in exile (as it was rumored), but to join up with his illegal army. He described the conspirators as rich men who were in debt, men eager for power and wealth, Sulla's veterans, ruined men who hoped for any change,
criminals,
profligates, and other men of Catiline's ilk. He assured the people of Rome that they had nothing to fear because he, the consul, and the
gods would protect the
state.
Meanwhile, Catiline joined up with Manlius, commander of the rebel force. When the Senate was informed of these developments, they declared the two of them public enemies. Antonius, with troops loyal to Rome, followed Catiline while Cicero remained at home to guard the city. During the battle that took place between the 2nd and 3rd orations, Catiline saw that he would lose and in consequence threw himself into middle of the
Roman troops, which promptly killed him. The year was 62 BC. Eventually Cicero obtained documents and confessions of many of the conspirators, and the whole matter was presented to the people in his:
Oratio in Catilinam Tertia ad Populum
In this speech, Cicero claims that the city should rejoice because it has been saved from a bloody rebellion. He presents evidence that all of Catiline's accomplices confessed to their crimes. He asked for nothing for himself but grateful remembrance of the city, and acknowledged that this victory was more difficult than one in foreign lands because the enemies were citizens of Rome.
Oratio in Catilinam Quartum ad Populum
In his fourth and final argument, Cicero, lays the ground for other orators (primarily
Cato) to argue for
execution of the conspirators. As the
Roman Senate's
consul, Cicero was formally not allowed to voice any opinion in the matter, but he circumvented the matter by subtle oratory. Although very little is known about the actual debate (except for Cicero's argument, which has most probably been heavily edited later), the Senate majority very probably opposed the death sentence for various reasons, one of which was the nobility of the accused. For example,
Gaius Julius Caesar had argued that
exile and disenfranchisement would be sufficient punishment for Catiline and his co-conspirators. However, after the combined efforts of Cicero and Cato, the vote shifted in Cicero's favor.
While most historians agree that his actions, and in particular the final speeches before the Senate, saved the
republic, they also reflect his self-aggrandizement – and to a certain extent envy – probably born out of the fact that he was considered a
homo novus, i.e. a Roman citizen without noble or ancient lineage.
[2]
Notes
1. Dio Cassius XXXVII.29.1
2. Robert W. Cape jr.: The rhetoric of politics in Cicero's fourth Catilinarian, American Journal of Philology, 1995
References
★ At
Gutenberg Project:
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The four Catiline Orations in Latin, in a single text file
★ At
Perseus Project (Latin text, translation and analysis):
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★ English, with notes and introductions (ed. C. D. Yonge):
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THE FIRST ORATION OF M. T. CICERO AGAINST LUCIUS CATILINA
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THE SECOND ORATION OF M. T. CICERO AGAINST LUCIUS CATILINA
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THE THIRD ORATION OF M. T. CICERO AGAINST LUCIUS CATILINA
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THE FOURTH ORATION OF M. T. CICERO AGAINST LUCIUS CATILINA
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★ Latin (ed. Albert Clark):
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ORATIO QVA L. CATILINAM EMISIT IN SENATV HABITA
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IN L. CATILINAM ORATIO SECVNDA HABITA AD POPVLVM
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IN L. CATILINAM ORATIO TERTIA HABITA AD POPVLVM
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IN L. CATILINAM ORATIO QVARTA HABITA IN SENATV
★ At cicero.missouristate
Cicero's Orations (Latin and English)
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