Alrighty, let's translate a piece with more gravity than that of frivolous mice in a fable.
Who's Cicero?
Cicero was a Roman orator/political figure around 60 BC. Cicero was born less of gentry ("patricians, nobiles") and more of wealthy middle class (equestrians). Cicero was a "novus homo" (literally "new man" in Latin), which means he was the first to ascend to the rank of Consul within his family, and he did so at the earliest possible age at the time: The so called "suo anno" (literally "in his year"), which was age 43.
Who's Cataline?
Catiline on the other hand was born into a charmed place in life, a member of the "nobiles", meaning that he had erstwhile consuls painting his lineage. Cataline ran for consul twice, once disqualified and once placing 3rd to Cicero. Cataline had incurred debt while campaigning for his consulship, among other things. Not surprisingly Cataline tried to rally support from the financially less fortunate by advocating "Novae Tabula" (literally "new records"), a cancellation of debt; how convenient? This flavor of tact distanced Cataline from the support of the wealthy families. Since his public play of politics fell short, he used the support he had garnished to set the stage for insurrection. I had an instructor refer to this as the "Fight Club" method, think Tyler Durden and Project Mayhem, but instead of demolishing the corporate headquarters of visa and mastercard, Cataline wanted to usurp the Roman political powers.
Cicero learned of these plans through his informers, and he intended on delivering a speech to senate to inform them of Cataline's treacherous conspiracy. Supposedly Cicero also thought that Cataline was going to flee when he learned that Cicero himself would be denouncing him; Cicero was by now a total bad ass, being the most renowned orator and holding the highest seat of politics. However Cataline, aware Cicero had little hard evidence, actually came to the the meeting itself, and thus Cicero had to declaim him directly and likely forged many an extemporaneous verse.
Note the second paragraph:
"O tempores! O mores!": O the times! O the morals! Essentially, "What is the world coming to?" Even the Romans knew how to remember the "good ole days", and even they thought their society was spinning into oblivion!
I'm more of a grammarian than I am a historian, so forgive my simplicity in historical reference.
The translation that follows is my own, and I tend to adhere more to a literal translation of Latin because I strive to preserve it. I'm also deprived of history relative to most classicists, so I translated almost exclusively by understanding the Latin on the page. Nevertheless I have used commentary from "Cicero's First Catilinarian Oration" by Karl Frerichs. I have also altered the syntax on certain sentences to make it understandable to the idiomatic English ear.
Latin text follows, sourced from: http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/cicero/cat1.shtml
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In L. Catilinam
Oratio Prima
[1] I. Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? quam diu etiam furor iste tuus nos eludet? quem ad finem sese effrenata iactabit audacia? Nihilne te nocturnum praesidium Palati, nihil urbis vigiliae, nihil timor populi, nihil concursus bonorum omnium, nihil hic munitissimus habendi senatus locus, nihil horum ora voltusque moverunt? Patere tua consilia non sentis, constrictam iam horum omnium scientia teneri coniurationem tuam non vides? Quid proxima, quid superiore nocte egeris, ubi fueris, quos convocaveris, quid consilii ceperis, quem nostrum ignorare arbitraris?
[2] O tempora, o mores! Senatus haec intellegit. Consul videt; hic tamen vivit. Vivit? immo vero etiam in senatum venit, fit publici consilii particeps, notat et designat oculis ad caedem unum quemque nostrum. Nos autem fortes viri satis facere rei publicae videmur, si istius furorem ac tela vitemus. Ad mortem te, Catilina, duci iussu consulis iam pridem oportebat, in te conferri pestem, quam tu in nos [omnes iam diu] machinaris.
[3] An vero vir amplissumus, P. Scipio, pontifex maximus, Ti. Gracchum mediocriter labefactantem statum rei publicae privatus interfecit; Catilinam orbem terrae caede atque incendiis vastare cupientem nos consules perferemus? Nam illa nimis antiqua praetereo, quod C. Servilius Ahala Sp. Maelium novis rebus studentem manu sua occidit.
Fuit, fuit ista quondam in hac re publica virtus, ut viri fortes acrioribus suppliciis civem perniciosum quam acerbissimum hostem coercerent. Habemus senatus consultum in te, Catilina, vehemens et grave, non deest rei publicae consilium neque auctoritas huius ordinis; nos, nos, dico aperte, consules desumus.
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Against Lucius Catiline
First Oration
O the times! O the morals! The senate understands these things, the consul sees them. Nevertheless this man lives. He lives? Rather indeed, he even comes into the senate, he becomes a participant of the public debate, with his eyes he marks down and points out each and every one of us for slaughter. We however, brave men [sarcastic tone], seem to accomplish enough for the republic, if we avoid the madness and weapons of such [pejorative force] a man.
For a long time now you, Cataline, ought to have been lead to death by a command of the consuls, your plague, which for a long time now you have been devising against us all, ought to have been conferred upon you. Or is it indeed (that) a most distinguished man, Pontius Scipius, the pontifex maximus (= highest priest), as a private citizen, killed Tiberius Gracchus who was moderately weakening the condition of the republic and we consuls put up with Cataline desiring to destroy our wold by means of massacre and arson? For too often I do not mention that ancient affair, the fact that, by means of his own hand, Gaius Servilius Ahala killed Spurius Malius as he was pursuing revolution.
There was at one time such virtue in this republic that brave men restrained a destructive citizen with fiercer punishments than the most grievous enemy of the state. We hold a decree of the senate, strong and heavy, against you Cataline; the policy does not fail the republic, and neither does the authority of this body. We, I say openly, we consuls fail the republic.
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This is just kissing the beginning of the speech, and it's a fine stopping point for the time being. I believe it's difficult for us to truly appreciate what is was like to hear something of this caliber in a prestigious political hearing; it takes balls of tungsten carbide to do this. Cicero lived in trouble times, political tables turned quickly and it wasn't rare to find oneself at the business end of a blade for lesser things. Cicero alludes to this fear as he's speaking, noting important people who have been killed for lesser things. Also, according to Cicero, Cataline is trying to destroy the world and yet he lives! "Vivit?" "He lives?"
It's worth nothing that Cicero met his end on a political proscription list and his head and hands (the orator's prime tools) were nailed to the rostra (= think podium) in the Roman Forum.
How far invectives have been diluted these days, not so much in visibility, but in intelligent gravity. I refuse to accept that Perez Hilton can even call his personality one of declamation in any sense of the word; if you're relying on a personality and a character edifice to begin with then it's fair to say that rhetoric is riding bitch seat in the toolset. What an experience it must have been to deliver and aurally imbibe the invectives from world authorities of speech and rhetoric, authorities who still stand as pillars in our understanding of persuasive diction.
Anyways I bring to an end this wall of text with two pictures, references, one historical and one popular culture.
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| Cicero on the floor, Cataline in the corner. (Who says no one puts "baby in the corner"?)... By Cesare Maccari |
"It's only after you've lost everything that you're free to do anything"
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| Make revolution, not war. Make soap. |
