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Orna me! was the constant cry of CICERO; and he desires the historian Lucceius to write separately the conspiracy of Catiline, and to publish quickly, that while he yet lived he might taste the sweetness of his glory. HORACE and OVID wore equally sensible to their immortality; but what modern poet would be tolerated with such an avowal?
"'When was that? "'When I lassoed him. "'Him? remonstrated Coke. "'Yes, said the witness. 'I only caught one of him, and then the other two took a hand. "'Ah, the other two, said Coke. 'You know dogs when you see them? "'I do, and he was all of 'em in a bunch, replied the witness. "'Your witness, said Coke. "'My friend, said Catiline, rising quietly. 'How many men are you?
He paused for a moment, as if to note the effect of his words; then turning round abruptly upon the spot, where Catiline sat, writhing with rage and impatience, and gnawing his nether lip, until the blood trickled down his chin, he flung forth his arm with an indignant gesture, and instantly addressed him by his name, in tones that rang beneath the vaulted roof, over the heads of the self-convicted traitors, like heaven’s own thunder, and found a fearful echo in their dismayed and guilty souls.
The divine powers seemed to give intimation of the coming troubles, by earthquakes, thunderbolts and strange appearances. Nor was human evidence wanting, certain enough in itself, though not sufficient to convict the noble and powerful Catiline. Therefore Cicero, deferring the day of election, summoned Catiline into the senate, and questioned him as to the charges made against him.
And again elsewhere: "When I saw that the faction of Catiline was in power, that the party which I had led, some from envy of myself, some from fear for their own lives, had betrayed and deserted me; when the two consuls had been purchased by promises of provinces, and had gone over to my enemies, and the condition of the bargain was that I was to be delivered over, tied and bound, to my enemies; when the Senate and knights were in mourning, but were not allowed to bring my cause before the people; when my blood had been made the seal of the arrangement under which the State had been disposed of; when I saw all this, although 'the good' were ready to fight for me, and were willing to die for me, I would not consent, because I saw that victory or defeat would alike bring ruin to the Commonwealth.
CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. Meanwhile at Rome, the state had been endangered by the combination of democrats and anarchists in the conspiracy of Catiline.
Henrik Ibsen in his hot youth essayed a Catiline, and in later life seeks the subject of what is perhaps his masterpiece, the Emperor and Galilean, in the Rome of the fourth century. But in Russia Tolstoi begins, and in Russia he ends.
Catiline himself, who was designing to effect a pernicious and complete change in the Roman state, and was at the same time stirring up insurrection and war, being convicted by Cicero, fled from the city; but Lentulus and Cethegus and many others with them, who had taken up the conspiracy, upbraiding Catiline with cowardice and want of spirit in his designs, were plotting to destroy the city with fire, and to subvert the supremacy of Rome by the revolt of nations and by foreign wars.
Sallust, however, was not present on the occasion, and the threat probably had been uttered at an earlier period of Catiline's career. Cicero tells us expressly, in one of his subsequent works, that Catiline was struck dumb.
And this, though BEN. JOHNSON has not told us, yet 'tis, manifestly, his opinion. For you see, that, to his Comedies, he allows generally but twenty-four hours: to his two Tragedies SEJANUS and CATILINE, a much larger time; though he draws both of them into as narrow a compass as he can.
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