Entries tagged with sallust

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Still, the army of the Roman people did not attain a joyful or bloodless victory. The most energetic fighters had either been killed in the battle or had returned gravely wounded.

Furthermore, many came from the camp to visit the field or to plunder; when they rolled over the enemy corpses they discovered now a friend, now a guest or a relative; likewise, there were those who recognized political opponents. And so through the entire army men were moved in different ways to joy, sorrow, grief, and happiness.

--- Sallust. The Catiline Conspiracy.

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When he had gathered the information that he wanted, he called together everyone who suffered from extraordinary need or possessed unusual daring.
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21.The men who listened to Catiline were rich in troubles but had neither resources nor any good hope. Although they thought that the disruption of the status quo was a great reward in itself, still, after they had listened, they demanded that he lay out the terms of the war, what rewards their weapons would be seeking, what resources or hope they could have and where. Then Catiline promised clean slates, proscription of the wealthy, priesthoods, plunder, everything else that war and the caprice of victors can offer.

--- Sallust. The Catiline Conspiracy.

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...they thought that restricting political licence in this way would prevent men’s minds from becoming arrogant.

7. But that was the time when individuals began to elevate themselves and to display their native ability more readily. The reason is that kings are always more suspicious of good men than wicked men and they fear the virtue they do not have.

--- Sallust, The Catiline's Conspiracy.

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After fear of Carthage had been removed, and there was space to exercise enmity, many mob actions, acts of sedition, and in the end civil wars arose, while the few who had power, and to whose influence most had yielded, aspired to domination under the honourable pretexts of ‘the Senate’ or ‘the people’, and men were called good and bad citizens not for their services to the Republic—all had been equally corrupted—but, as each was one of the wealthiest or more powerful from his injustices, so he was regarded as good because he defended the status quo.
The honour of all parties had been corrupted into some- thing of exchange value.

--- Sallust, Histories.