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Authors: Ernle Bradford
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citizens—while at the same time those leading citizens and senators who were clearly law-abiding and hostile to the overthrow of the republic would be murdered. First among these, of course, was Cicero. He had singled himself out in all his speeches and actions as a man who resolutely upheld law and order and was the staunchest known defendant of the old institutions.
It is largely from Cicero’s own magnificent orations against Catiline that we know so much about the plot. These were subsequently published so as to be read and remembered by the Roman people and they constitute one of the landmarks of their literature. Catiline now fled from Rome and made his way to Etruria, where the insurrection broke out in late October. The planned assassinations, however, did not take place, probably largely due to Cicero’s vigilance and the maintenance of an impressive guard on himself and all others who had been placed on the death list. It was now the turn of the senate to declare a state of war. An attempt was made on Cicero’s life and Catiline was branded as a public enemy, while the consuls mustered the troops for the defense of the state. During all this time, it would appear, Caesar and Crassus were lying very low. Caesar’s feelings were no doubt ambivalent. He had much to gain by the cancellation of all debts, while in the confusion of a civil war, with the consuls engaged with the armies and the senate in a state of disorder, an opportunist could only benefit.
Then the conspirators within the city unwittingly betrayed themselves. They made approaches to a delegation of Gauls who were visiting Rome, with the object of securing their assistance by a rebellion in their own country, thus furthering the chaos and making the aims of the Catilinarians easier to attain. The Gauls for whatever reason (perhaps they had more sense of dignity and responsibility than many Romans) passed the incriminating letters to the consular authorities. Five of the leading conspirators, who included members of the senate, were immediately seized and placed under arrest. Arrest warrants were also made out for four others who were clearly implicated.
On 5 December the senate met to decide the fate of the arrested conspirators. It was one of the most dramatic meetings on record, for Crassus failed to attend while Caesar, whose position as praetor called on him to speak, did so in such a way that scholars and historians have been arguing about the interpretation of his speech ever since. The rules demanded that one of the consuls-elect for the following year should speak first and this was a certain D. Junius Silanus. He proposed that the arrested conspirators should pay “the ultimate” penalty and the fourteen consulars present concurred in this judgment. Our authorities, including Cicero when he was later reviewing the whole affair, all agree that death was meant by this—”they should not for a moment enjoy the light or breathe the air of which they had sought to deprive their fellow citizens.” It was now the duty of Caesar to speak and, in a long and involved speech, which seems to suggest some embarrassment, he made a case for the conspirators to be condemned to imprisonment for life in the towns which were best fitted to ensure their security (these to be selected by Cicero), and all their property to be confiscated. It was certainly an ambiguous speech, but silence would only have confirmed some of the ugly rumors that were already in circulation.
Caesar’s position was an awkward one since it was known that he had been well-acquainted with Catiline, and he had no wish to give offense to the people, who felt that the conspirators represented their real interests far better than the well-entrenched aristocrats who now condemned them. Also there was the important point that Caesar himself had made, condemning the use of emergency decrees by the senate to bring about the deaths of Roman citizens. In his speech, designed to save the
It is largely from Cicero’s own magnificent orations against Catiline that we know so much about the plot. These were subsequently published so as to be read and remembered by the Roman people and they constitute one of the landmarks of their literature. Catiline now fled from Rome and made his way to Etruria, where the insurrection broke out in late October. The planned assassinations, however, did not take place, probably largely due to Cicero’s vigilance and the maintenance of an impressive guard on himself and all others who had been placed on the death list. It was now the turn of the senate to declare a state of war. An attempt was made on Cicero’s life and Catiline was branded as a public enemy, while the consuls mustered the troops for the defense of the state. During all this time, it would appear, Caesar and Crassus were lying very low. Caesar’s feelings were no doubt ambivalent. He had much to gain by the cancellation of all debts, while in the confusion of a civil war, with the consuls engaged with the armies and the senate in a state of disorder, an opportunist could only benefit.
Then the conspirators within the city unwittingly betrayed themselves. They made approaches to a delegation of Gauls who were visiting Rome, with the object of securing their assistance by a rebellion in their own country, thus furthering the chaos and making the aims of the Catilinarians easier to attain. The Gauls for whatever reason (perhaps they had more sense of dignity and responsibility than many Romans) passed the incriminating letters to the consular authorities. Five of the leading conspirators, who included members of the senate, were immediately seized and placed under arrest. Arrest warrants were also made out for four others who were clearly implicated.
On 5 December the senate met to decide the fate of the arrested conspirators. It was one of the most dramatic meetings on record, for Crassus failed to attend while Caesar, whose position as praetor called on him to speak, did so in such a way that scholars and historians have been arguing about the interpretation of his speech ever since. The rules demanded that one of the consuls-elect for the following year should speak first and this was a certain D. Junius Silanus. He proposed that the arrested conspirators should pay “the ultimate” penalty and the fourteen consulars present concurred in this judgment. Our authorities, including Cicero when he was later reviewing the whole affair, all agree that death was meant by this—”they should not for a moment enjoy the light or breathe the air of which they had sought to deprive their fellow citizens.” It was now the duty of Caesar to speak and, in a long and involved speech, which seems to suggest some embarrassment, he made a case for the conspirators to be condemned to imprisonment for life in the towns which were best fitted to ensure their security (these to be selected by Cicero), and all their property to be confiscated. It was certainly an ambiguous speech, but silence would only have confirmed some of the ugly rumors that were already in circulation.
Caesar’s position was an awkward one since it was known that he had been well-acquainted with Catiline, and he had no wish to give offense to the people, who felt that the conspirators represented their real interests far better than the well-entrenched aristocrats who now condemned them. Also there was the important point that Caesar himself had made, condemning the use of emergency decrees by the senate to bring about the deaths of Roman citizens. In his speech, designed to save the
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