The Conspiracy of Catiline and The Jugurthine War
Forthcoming The translation of this work is in preparation and will be published in the library.
Introduction
Both of Sallust's historical monographs ask the same question: why did Rome decline? The Conspiracy of Catiline tells how in 63 BC a debt-ridden, ruined nobleman gathered desperate men to overthrow the Republic; the two speeches in the Senate by Caesar and the younger Cato on how to punish the conspirators, set against each other, became a classic of Roman political debate. The Jugurthine War tells how Jugurtha, king of Numidia, bought Roman senators with bribes, and records his famous verdict: 'A city for sale, and doomed to perish quickly, if it finds a buyer.'