Catiline Orations
Encyclopedia
The Catiline Orations or Catilinarian Orations were speeches given in 63 BC
by Marcus Tullius Cicero
, the consul
of Rome
, exposing to the Roman Senate
the plot
of Lucius Sergius Catilina
and his allies to overthrow the Roman government.
, who was running for the consul
ship a second time after having lost the first time around, tried to ensure his victory by resorting to outlandish, blatant bribery
. Cicero, in indignation, issued a law prohibiting machinations of this kind. It was obvious to all that the law was directed specifically at Catiline. Catiline, in turn, conspired with some of his minions to murder Cicero and the key men of the Senate on the day of the election. Cicero discovered the plan and postponed the election to give the Senate time to discuss the attempted coup d'état
.
The day after the election was supposed to be held, Cicero addressed the Senate on the matter and Catiline's reaction was immediate and violent. In response to Catiline's behavior, the Senate issued a senatus consultum ultimum
, a kind of declaration of martial law
invoked whenever the Senate and the Roman Republic
were in imminent danger from treason or sedition. Ordinary law was suspended and Cicero, as consul, was invested with absolute power.
When the election was finally held, Catiline lost again. Anticipating the bad news, the conspirator
s had already begun to assemble an army, made up mostly of Sulla
's veteran soldiers. The nucleus of conspirators was also joined by senators whose profligate tastes left them perennially without funds. The plan was to initiate an insurrection in all of Italy
, put Rome to the torch and to kill as many senators as they could.
Through his own investigations, Cicero knew exactly what was being planned. On November 8, Cicero called for a meeting of the Senate in the Temple
of Jupiter in the Capitol
, which was used for this purpose only when great danger was imminent. Catiline attended as well. It was in this context that Cicero delivered one of his most famous orations.
As political orations go, this was relatively short—roughly 317 lines of Latin—and to the point. The opening remarks are still widely remembered and used after 2,000 years:
Also remembered is the famous exasperated exclamation, O tempora, O mores!
(Oh the times! Oh the customs!)
Catiline was present when this speech was delivered. When he arrived at the Temple of Jupiter Stator
and took his seat, however, the other senators moved away from him leaving him alone in his bench. Catiline tried to reply after the speech, but senators repeatedly interrupted him, calling him a traitor. He ran from the temple, hurling threats at the Senate. Later he left the city and, though he claimed that he was placing himself in self-imposed exile at Marseilles, he in fact went to the camp of Manlius, who was in charge of the army of rebels. The next morning Cicero assembled the people, and gave a further oration.
s would protect the state.
Meanwhile, Catiline joined up with Gaius Manlius, commander of the rebel force. When the Senate was informed of these developments, they declared the two of them public enemies. Antonius Hybrida (Cicero's fellow consul), with troops loyal to Rome, followed Catiline while Cicero remained at home to guard the city.
) to argue for the execution
of the conspirators. As consul
, Cicero was formally not allowed to voice any opinion in the matter, but he circumvented the rule with subtle oratory. Although very little is known about the actual debate (except for Cicero's argument, which has probably been altered from its original), the Senate majority probably opposed the death sentence for various reasons, one of which was the nobility of the accused. For example, Gaius Julius Caesar
argued that exile
and disenfranchisement would be sufficient punishment for the conspirators. However, after the combined efforts of Cicero and Cato, the vote shifted in favor of execution.
While most historians agree that Cicero's actions, and in particular the final speeches before the Senate, saved the republic
, they also reflect his self-aggrandisement – and to a certain extent envy – probably born out of the fact that he was considered a novus homo
, a Roman citizen without noble or ancient lineage.
63 BC
Year 63 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cicero and Hibrida...
by Marcus Tullius Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, the consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, exposing to the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
the plot
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
of Lucius Sergius Catilina
Catiline
Lucius Sergius Catilina , known in English as Catiline, was a Roman politician of the 1st century BC who is best known for the Catiline conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Senate.-Family background:Catiline was born in 108 BC to...
and his allies to overthrow the Roman government.
The Catiline plot and the orations of Cicero
CatilineCatiline
Lucius Sergius Catilina , known in English as Catiline, was a Roman politician of the 1st century BC who is best known for the Catiline conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Senate.-Family background:Catiline was born in 108 BC to...
, who was running for the consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
ship a second time after having lost the first time around, tried to ensure his victory by resorting to outlandish, blatant bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
. Cicero, in indignation, issued a law prohibiting machinations of this kind. It was obvious to all that the law was directed specifically at Catiline. Catiline, in turn, conspired with some of his minions to murder Cicero and the key men of the Senate on the day of the election. Cicero discovered the plan and postponed the election to give the Senate time to discuss the attempted coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
.
The day after the election was supposed to be held, Cicero addressed the Senate on the matter and Catiline's reaction was immediate and violent. In response to Catiline's behavior, the Senate issued a senatus consultum ultimum
Senatus consultum ultimum
Senatus consultum ultimum , more properly senatus consultum de re publica defendenda is the modern term given to a decree of the Roman Senate during the late Roman Republic passed in times of emergency...
, a kind of declaration of martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
invoked whenever the Senate and the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
were in imminent danger from treason or sedition. Ordinary law was suspended and Cicero, as consul, was invested with absolute power.
When the election was finally held, Catiline lost again. Anticipating the bad news, the conspirator
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
s had already begun to assemble an army, made up mostly of Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...
's veteran soldiers. The nucleus of conspirators was also joined by senators whose profligate tastes left them perennially without funds. The plan was to initiate an insurrection in all of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, put Rome to the torch and to kill as many senators as they could.
Through his own investigations, Cicero knew exactly what was being planned. On November 8, Cicero called for a meeting of the Senate in the Temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
of Jupiter in the Capitol
Capitoline Hill
The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...
, which was used for this purpose only when great danger was imminent. Catiline attended as well. It was in this context that Cicero delivered one of his most famous orations.
Oratio in Catilinam Prima in Senatu Habita
Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? Quam diu etiam furor iste tuus nos eludet? Quem ad finem sese effrenata iactabit audacia?
How long, O Catiline, will you abuse our patience? And for how long will that madness of yours mock us? To what end will your unbridled audacity hurl itself?
Also remembered is the famous exasperated exclamation, O tempora, O mores!
O tempora o mores!
O tempora o mores is a famous sentence by Cicero in the fourth book of his second oration against Verres and First Oration against Catiline...
(Oh the times! Oh the customs!)
Catiline was present when this speech was delivered. When he arrived at the Temple of Jupiter Stator
Temple of Jupiter Stator (8th century BC)
The Temple of Jupiter Stator was a temple of ancient Rome, located in the area of the Roman Forum.-History:The temple was first founded by Romulus after a battle in the Forum area between Romulus and the Sabines. During that battle the Romans were forced to retreat up hill on the Via Sacra...
and took his seat, however, the other senators moved away from him leaving him alone in his bench. Catiline tried to reply after the speech, but senators repeatedly interrupted him, calling him a traitor. He ran from the temple, hurling threats at the Senate. Later he left the city and, though he claimed that he was placing himself in self-imposed exile at Marseilles, he in fact went to the camp of Manlius, who was in charge of the army of rebels. The next morning Cicero assembled the people, and gave a further oration.
Oratio in Catilinam Secunda Habita ad Populum
In this speech, Cicero informed the citizens of Rome that Catiline had left the city, not in exile (as it was rumored), but to join with his illegal army. He described the conspirators as rich men who were in debt, men eager for power and wealth, Sulla's veterans, ruined men who hoped for any change, criminals, profligates, and other men of Catiline's ilk. He assured the people of Rome that they had nothing to fear because he, the consul, and the godGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
s would protect the state.
Meanwhile, Catiline joined up with Gaius Manlius, commander of the rebel force. When the Senate was informed of these developments, they declared the two of them public enemies. Antonius Hybrida (Cicero's fellow consul), with troops loyal to Rome, followed Catiline while Cicero remained at home to guard the city.
Oratio in Catilinam Tertia ad Populum
In this speech, Cicero claims that the city should rejoice because it has been saved from a bloody rebellion. He presents evidence that all of Catiline's accomplices confessed to their crimes. He asked for nothing for himself but grateful remembrance of the city, and acknowledged that this victory was more difficult than one in foreign lands because the enemies were citizens of Rome.Oratio in Catilinam Quarta in Senatu Habita
In his fourth and final argument, Cicero establishes a basis for other orators (primarily CatoCato the Younger
Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis , commonly known as Cato the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather , was a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower of the Stoic philosophy...
) to argue for the execution
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
of the conspirators. As consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
, Cicero was formally not allowed to voice any opinion in the matter, but he circumvented the rule with subtle oratory. Although very little is known about the actual debate (except for Cicero's argument, which has probably been altered from its original), the Senate majority probably opposed the death sentence for various reasons, one of which was the nobility of the accused. For example, Gaius Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
argued that exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
and disenfranchisement would be sufficient punishment for the conspirators. However, after the combined efforts of Cicero and Cato, the vote shifted in favor of execution.
While most historians agree that Cicero's actions, and in particular the final speeches before the Senate, saved the republic
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, they also reflect his self-aggrandisement – and to a certain extent envy – probably born out of the fact that he was considered a novus homo
Novus homo
Homo novus was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul...
, a Roman citizen without noble or ancient lineage.