De Bellum Catilinae 61
Ellie Winters /
- Created on 2021-12-01 20:20:12
- Modified on 2021-12-03 20:20:14
- Translated by Ellie Winters
- Aligned by Ellie Winters
Latin
English
English
sed cōnfectō proeliō , tum vērō cernerēs quanta audācia quantaque animī vīs fuisset in exercitū Catilīnae . nam ferē quem quisque vīvos pugnandō locum cēperat , eum āmissā animā corpore tegēbat . paucī autem , quōs mediōs cohors praetōria disiēcerat , paulō dīvorsius , sed omnēs tamen advorsīs volneribus conciderant . Catilīna vērō longē ā suīs inter hostium cadāvera repertus est , paululum etiam spīrāns ferōciamque animī quam habuerat vīvos in voltū retinēns . postrēmō ex omnī cōpiā neque in proeliō neque in fugā quisquam cīvis ingenuos captus est : ita cūnctī suae hostiumque vītae iuxtā pepercerant .
neque tamen exercitus populī Rōmānī laetam aut incruentam victōriam adeptus erat ; nam strēnuissumus quisque aut occiderat in proeliō aut graviter volnerātus discesserat . multī autem , quī ē castrīs vīsundī aut spoliandī grātiā prōcesserant , volventēs hostīlia cadāvera , amīcum aliī , pars hospitem aut cognātum reperiēbant ; fuēre item quī inimīcōs suōs cognōscerent . ita variē per omnem exercitum laetitia , maeror , lūctus , atque gaudia agitābantur .
neque tamen exercitus populī Rōmānī laetam aut incruentam victōriam adeptus erat ; nam strēnuissumus quisque aut occiderat in proeliō aut graviter volnerātus discesserat . multī autem , quī ē castrīs vīsundī aut spoliandī grātiā prōcesserant , volventēs hostīlia cadāvera , amīcum aliī , pars hospitem aut cognātum reperiēbant ; fuēre item quī inimīcōs suōs cognōscerent . ita variē per omnem exercitum laetitia , maeror , lūctus , atque gaudia agitābantur .
But when the battle was over you were indeed able to see how great must have been the boldness and how great in Catiline’s army the strength of spirit must have been . For nearly each one that let his soul slip away was covering with his body that place which , when fighting , he occupied alive . A few in the center , on the other hand , whom the praetorian cohort had scattered , were a little apart , but all the same were killed by wounds in the front . Indeed Catiline was found far out from them among the bodies of the enemy , still breathing a little , and in his face holding the ferocity of mind which he had in life . Finally out of the whole army , neither in battle nor in flight was anyone of the free-born cityizens captured , in such a way , on the whole they had spared their own lives and those of the enemy just the same . Still neither had the army of the Roman people obtained a happy or bloodless victory , for each one of the most vigorous had fallen in battle or had come away severely wounded . Many , however , who had come out from the camp for reason to see or to pilliage , turning over the bodies of the enemies found a friend , part of the others , a guest or a relative ; some would also have recognized those who were their personal enemies . In this manner , everyone throughout the whole army was variously affected with rejoicing and mourning , with sorrow and happiness .
But it was only when the battle was over that you could have perceived properly what daring and what strength of purpose there had been in Catiline’s army . Almost everyone , after gasping his last , protected with his body the place which he had taken by fighting when alive . Nevertheless a few , whom the praetorian cohort had scattered from the centre , had fallen over a somewhat wider area , yet all of them with frontal wounds . Catiline , however , was discovered far from his own men amongst the corpses of the enemy , still breathing a little and retaining on his face the defiance of spirit which he had had when alive . In fact , from that entire force , no freeborn citizen was captured either in battle or in flight : they had no more spared their own lives than those of the enemy .
Yet neither had the army of the Roman people achieved a delightful or bloodless victory : all the most committed had either fallen in the battle or retired seriously wounded . As for the many who had emerged from the camp for the purposes of viewing or plundering and were turning over the enemy corpses , some discovered a friend , others a guest or relative ; likewise there were those who recognized their own personal antagonists . Thus , throughout the entire army , delight , sorrow , grief and joy were variously experienced .
Yet neither had the army of the Roman people achieved a delightful or bloodless victory : all the most committed had either fallen in the battle or retired seriously wounded . As for the many who had emerged from the camp for the purposes of viewing or plundering and were turning over the enemy corpses , some discovered a friend , others a guest or relative ; likewise there were those who recognized their own personal antagonists . Thus , throughout the entire army , delight , sorrow , grief and joy were variously experienced .