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Sallust: The Conspiracy of Catiline and The War of Jugurtha Hardcover – May 18, 2017

by Quintus Curtius (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 47 ratings
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This new and original translation of Sallust's "Conspiracy of Catiline" and "War of Jugurtha" uses a fresh, modern English idiom that preserves the flavor of the historian's famous epigrammatic style. Fully outfitted for comprehension and efficient referencing, this special edition contains the following features:

1. Almost 300 detailed, scholarly footnotes

2. Extended introduction describing the political and military systems of the Roman republic

3. Maps, diagrams, and photographs

4. Topical organization charts

5. Chronological tables

6. Textual commentary

7. Detailed index

Considered the first of the great Roman historians, Sallust has been read for centuries for his penetrating character studies, timeless moral insights, and matchless rhetoric. His profiles of flawed men led inexorably to ruin by excessive ambition or character defects resonate with us today more powerfully than ever.

Intrigue...murder...the lust for power...and the fatal hubris that leads men to their dooms. These are some of the historian's gripping themes.

Deeply concerned with the moral decay and corruption he saw around him, Sallust's pragmatic views of historical forces, personalities, and the psychology of power were aided by his own direct participation in the highest levels of Roman politics. "The Conspiracy of Catiline" tells the dramatic story of renegade senator Lucius Catiline's attempt to seize power in Rome during the waning days of the republic. "The War of Jugurtha" recounts the rise and ultimate destruction of the headstrong Numidian king Jugurtha, who waged an insurgent war against Rome from 112 to 106 B.C.

And as the fates of men play themselves out on the stage of history, strength of character and the will of Fortune will be the ultimate arbiters of human destiny.

Quintus Curtius can be found at qcurtius.com

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  1. Print length
    240 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Quintus Curtius
  4. Publication date
    May 18, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.69 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0578431246
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0578431246
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"'For glory derived from riches and appearances is transitory and brittle, but masculine virtue is pure and eternal."

It is my first contact with Sallust. The first great Roman Historian, he's a writer from an era when facts were not dissociated from wisdom and the aim of education was moral rectitude. What more could we ask for in these days, since the youth has no compass to guide their lives with?

The writing brings the history to life and you can lose yourself among the romans, listening to speeches and deeply getting to know what was going on. At times, indeed it feel like a superb time machine.

Quintus' translation and commentaries greatly add to the work, providing the necessary background. If I could sum up the book in 3 adjectives, it'd be: grandiose, educational and timeless.

--Paulo Ribeiro

About the Author

Quintus Curtius is the pen name of writer and translator George Thomas. After graduating from MIT in 1990, he served as an active duty officer in the US Marine Corps for a number of years. After leaving active service, he enrolled in law school and began practicing law in 1998. He lives in Kansas City and travels frequently. His innovative and groundbreaking translations include Cicero's "On Moral Ends," "On Duties," "Stoic Paradoxes," and Sallust's "The Conspiracy of Catiline and War of Jugurtha." Curtius has also written extensively on moral philosophy, ethics, and historical subjects. His penetrating essay collections explore questions of character, leadership, and adversity that have never been more relevant to the modern era. These books include "Thirty-Seven," "Pantheon," and "Pathways." Using examples from history, personal experience, literature, and philosophy, these unique books have been described as "inexplicably inspiring." He can be found at qcurtius.com.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quintus Curtius; Annotated edition (May 18, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0578431246
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0578431246
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.12 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.69 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 47 ratings

About the author

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Quintus Curtius

Quintus Curtius

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Quintus Curtius is the pen name of writer and translator George J. Thomas. After graduating from MIT in 1990, he served as an active duty officer in the US Marine Corps for a number of years. After leaving active service, he enrolled in law school and began practicing law in 1998. He lives in Overland Park, Kansas.

His innovative and groundbreaking translations include Cicero's "On the Nature of the Gods," "Tusculan Disputations," "On Moral Ends," "On Duties," "Stoic Paradoxes," Sallust's "The Conspiracy of Catiline and War of Jugurtha," and Cornelius Nepos's "Lives of the Great Commanders."

Curtius has also written extensively on moral philosophy, ethics, and historical subjects. His essay collections explore questions of character, leadership, and adversity. These books include "Thirty-Seven," "Digest," "Pantheon," and "Pathways." Using examples from history, personal experience, literature, and philosophy, these unique books have been described as "inexplicably inspiring."

He can be found at www.qcurtius.com.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
47 global ratings
Read and learn. This book is great.
5 Stars
Read and learn. This book is great.
Great translation of two major events. I enjoyed this and will revisit the book.The audio version is excellent as well.
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Top reviews from the United States

DocZ
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful new translation. Must read.
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2017
Verified Purchase
Certainly the best translation of Sallust available in English. It exceeds its predecessors in that balance between artistry and fidelity to the original. The language is fluid and forceful, and is probably the closest that one can get to the nuances of the original. But where Quintus really shines here is the consistent effort to explain every detail that a reader might need to know to appreciate the original text. The hard work, the heavy lifting, is right there for me to see. We have maps, timelines, topical points, commentaries, introductions, etc. This is the kind of book that just begs to be read aloud (and I've done it, too). First rate. Five stars. Yet another masterpiece by QC, following his translations of Cicero.
I happen to have bought 10 copies of the printed version as well, and have been handing them out to those friends of mine who will appreciate this work as much as I do.
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Randy Stafford
5.0 out of 5 stars Two Vivid Accounts of Fatal Ambition in the Final Corrupt Century of the Roman Republic
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2021
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What makes a Roman patrician turn against the Roman Republic? Why does a foreign prince, a friend of Rome, risk its wrath? These are the questions addressed by Sallust.

He is the first historian of Rome with works that have come down to us complete though not all of them survived.

Living from 86 to 34 BC, he was well enough thought of that his house was preserved with its destruction in the 410 AD sack of Rome being noted by Procopius.

Sallust came from a family of modest means. From the beginning, Curtius’ notes he possessed a “seething hostility” toward the patrician class. And his attitude certainly didn’t change when he was expelled from the Senate in 50 BC on a charge of “moral turpitude”. The details of his crime and punishment (once source says he was publicly flogged) aren’t clear, but, as Curtius’ introduction notes, political prosecutions and loose morals were certainly a product of the time, and Sallust probably wasn’t worse than his contemporaries.

Sallust’s populism made him a member of Caesar’s faction, and he accompanied Caesar to Numidia in 46 BC where he served as a governor, a post that was useful in gathering information for his work on Jugurtha.

In 45 BC, he was charged with corruption and extortion though not convicted. He may have shaken down the province to get money for Caesar or he may have been the fall guy for Caesar’s activities there. In 44 BC, he retired from public life.

Sallust is a moralist. For him, character is all. It helps to master the vicissitudes of chance. Perhaps looking back at his early life, Sallust says in the opening to The War of Jugurtha: “But if men had the same care for doing good works as they have enthusiasm for chasing what is of no advantage to them – in many cases what is even dangerous and harmful to them – they would often rule fortune than be ruled by it, and would advance to such greatness that through their glory they would become immortal among men.”

Sallust examines both his subjects, Catiline and Jugurtha, in moral terms. He talks about their impressive abilities and why they chose actions not only treacherous to Rome but led to their own downfall.

Lucius Catiline, a patrician, “possessed a mind and body of great power, but also a deformed and wicked character”. He was “tolerant of hunger, cold, and lack of sleep to a degree that exceeded any other man”. Yet, he was “lavish in his own habits, and fiery in his lusts.” He possessed “some eloquence”.

Sallust shows us a Rome awash in money and sex and the search for glory. Catiline gathered about him an “entourage of lackeys” of every moral failing and every criminal type. And Catiline opened his purse to satisfy their appetites: money, prostitutes, dogs, and horses. And, for his noble acquaintances with their own cash, he offered a chance for glory and power.

In 65 BC, Catiline launched his first plot: the murder of consuls and some senators. But Catiline moved too soon and had too few armed accomplices, and the scheme collapsed.

In 63 BC, he tried again. Sallust gives us his speech to his recruits. It played on their resentments, that “arrogant mediocrities” should have the wealth and positions denied them. It ended with a promise for the discharge of debts, execution of elites, and offices and plunder for the men who joined Catiline, and “everything else that war and passion deliver to the victor”.

The Roman army was away, and, Catiline, having lost an election for consul, put his plan in motion. But it was compromised by a woman, Fulvia, an associate of one of Catiline’s conspirators. He eventually, at the behest of the new consul, one Marcus Tullius Cicero, turned into a double agent. Meanwhile, Catiline gathered more arms and men.

Cicero and his other consul were granted extraordinary policies to stomp the conspiracy down. Catiline’s plot was not the only source of unrest in Italy at the time.

With his plot exposed, Catiline decided to brazen it out and made an appearance in the Senate. Cicero delivered a famous speech against him, and Catiline was prepared to lie about everything” in his response. Would a man such as him, a patrician, work against Rome? And how could they think “Marcus Tullius, who was little more than a tenant in the city of Rome, could be its guardian”?

The Senate wasn’t buying it, and Catiline ended up shouting he had been “pushed to the edge of the abyss” by his enemies. “I’ll put out my fire with demolition.”

Catiline again acted before gathering all his forces. He called for Cicero and others to be assassinated. That effort failed.

Claiming that he was retiring to Marseilles, instead he went to Arretium to distribute arms to his followers. In response, the Senate declared Catiline an outlaw and ordered an army to be raised.

At this point, Sallust says the people of Rome were at their “most pathetic”. Their “warped characters” wouldn’t lead them to “betray the conspiracy or desert Catiline’s camp”. Catiline even tried to recruit a force of Gauls, but Cicero was able to turn their leaders into double agents too.

Famous speeches were delivered in the Senate for the named conspirators, some yet not in custody. (As with Tacitus, speeches are extensively “quoted” by Sallust.) Caesar, perhaps foreshadowing the relative clemency he pursued after he consolidated power (my take, not Sallust’s), argued they should be exiled not executed. Marcus Portius Cato argued for execution. Sallust does one of his asides and comments on the great traits of both men.

Eventually, the consular force brought Catiline and his men to battle. Sallust, ever noting his subject’s good points, says Catiline “carried out the duties of a courageous soldier and a good field commander”. He fought to the last man with “much audacity” and “force of spirit”. He was found “far from his own men among some corpses of the enemy, still breathing, and preserving his facial expression that ferocity of spirit he showed in life”.

Jugurtha lived from 158 to 105 BC. Numidia fell into the Roman sphere of influence during the Second Punic War. For his aid, Rome made Micipsa King of Numidia. Jugurtha was his nephew.

Sallust was charismatic, handsome, good at all the skills of a warrior. “He accomplished much, yet spoke of himself little”. But Micipsa feared his nephew was getting to be too popular, was a usurper in the making, so, hoping Jugurtha would be killed, he lent him out to the Roman conquest of Spain. There Jugurtha impressed the Romans with his “hard work and consistent diligence, and by showing scrupulous loyalty”. He was befriended by commander Publius Scipio Aemilianus.

Scipio advised him to cultivate “the friendship of the Roman people as a whole rather than the favor of private parties” procured through bribery. It was also there that his Roman acquaintances put in his mind that he should rule Numidia.

As he was dying, Micipsa asked Jugurtha to look after Micipsa’s sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal. He advised his sons, younger than Jugurtha, not to make him sorry that his adopted child was better than his natural ones.

But, of course, things didn’t stay that way. Jugurtha had Hiempsal assassinated. Adherbal fled to Rome where both he and Jugurtha tried to gain Rome’s support. Adherbal argued principle. His father had given aid to Rome in its war against Carthage. Was it going to standby and let his heir be deposed? Jugurtha relied on bribery. Eventually, Rome dispatched two legates to divide Numidia, but they failed to broker a peace, and Adherbal’s forces were defeated, and he was executed.

Rome, angry at its wishes being ignored, dispatched an army to Numidia.

This history is more of a military account. Curtius, a former United States Marine Corps officer, emphasizes in his notes a couple of military matters. First is the successful counterinsurgency techniques used by Roman general Metellus. Second is the disloyal undercutting of Metellus’ command, which was largely successful, by his subordinate Marius who would later become one of Rome’s most famous generals and military reformers. Metellus largely won the war before Marius got him recalled, but Marius took credit for the final victory. (In his postscript, Curtius acknowledges Marius’ future importance and that he was a great man. Metellus, he argues, was both great and good.)

The war finally ended when one of Jugurtha’s subordinates sold him out to the Romans.

Sallust is rather neutral in depicting the war’s morality. Rome was already corrupt, and Jugurtha was a man of fatal ambition.

Anybody who has never read a single bit of Roman history can appreciate this book’s history and moral insights. Curtius carefully provides numerous aids for study: an explanation of Roman political offices, notes on Sallust’s Latin style, chronological breakdowns for each work, a summary of each section’s moral themes, extensive annotations, maps and photos of the Italian and Numidian areas, an index, and a summary of Sallust’s life and moral philosophy.
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WJW
5.0 out of 5 stars A deeply rewarding immersion into the Classical mind.
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2017
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The fantastic forward is worth the price of the book, alone. The author's handy list of terms (including a detailed-yet-digestible breakdown of Roman political offices and structural elements) could constitute a mini-volume all on its own.

The unique angle that this translation offers is a focus on character and ethics as the driving force behind the fates of the men chronicled within. The much shorter "Conspiracy of Cataline" segment makes this poetically clear in a way that has escaped me with translations of ancient histories that have tended to emphasize events, rather than character. QC's translation keeps the events locked into the motivations of the conspirators-- and how those motivations connect directly to their values and desires. "War of Jugurtha" is longer and filled with more principle characters (and events), but does not fail to return the broad narrative sweep to Jugurtha himself, his ambitions, and his character.

Most pleasantly, I get a genuine feel for Sallust, himself from this translation. Here we find a supporter of Julius Caesar writing these histories at the end of his public career-- a man that has known victory, adventure, ambition, as well as public disgrace and accusations of corruption. Sallust is writing at the end of his life, seemingly to help him understand his own fate. He's contemplating his own trajectory through the lens of Cataline and Jugurtha. Understanding this gives a poignancy to Sallust's writing that is roiling with passion and sadness underneath the clipped stoicism of the surface prose. Quintus Curtius captures these subtleties in all their loveliness.
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Calixtus
5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping translation of an immortal classic
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2020
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Sallust's account of a failed coup attempt in 63 BC is one of the greatest pieces of Roman history ever written. What happened to the Roman Republic? Why did it fail? Sallust lived through these events and was obsessed with that question, and he found a compelling answer. He keyed the beginning of the end to Rome's total success in foreign war, a success so total that the only possible result was internal polarization, hatred, and win-at-all-costs attitudes. Caesar was inevitable -- as would-be Caesars before him proved. One of them is Catiline, whose coup was thwarted by Cicero, the great champion of Roman republicanism. Sallust's book is 2000 years old but it never gets old, and Quintus Curtius' translation is, hands down, the finest of our times. Highly recommended.
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David Jungman
4.0 out of 5 stars Sallust, Quintus Curtius and Fontaine
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2017
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An interesting look at the problems and challenges of the Roman Republic written not long after the events took place. The translation by Quintus Curtius is clear and modern. I was lucky to have as my guide through this book Professor Michael Fontaine of the Classics Department of Cornell University during a Cornell Adult University course in August of 29017 on the Death of the Roman Republic. Sallust is good, but Sallust as explained and expanded upon by Fontaine is great.
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Erik Vining
5.0 out of 5 stars Read and learn. This book is great.
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2020
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Great translation of two major events. I enjoyed this and will revisit the book.

The audio version is excellent as well.
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Erik Vining
5.0 out of 5 stars Read and learn. This book is great.
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2020
Great translation of two major events. I enjoyed this and will revisit the book.

The audio version is excellent as well.
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Melanie
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful read
Reviewed in Germany on December 10, 2017
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A true masterpiece. A book full of important lessons. Recommend for those wishing to expand their understanding of war and character.
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Will
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Translation Of Two Great Stories
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2017
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In this piece, Quintus translates the works of Roman historian Sallust. Inside are the accounts of Sallust's few surviving works The Conspiracy of Catiline and The War of Jugurtha.

The two stories are set around the late republican area of Rome where corruption, extravagance, and deceit were rife. The stories' encompassing themes reside around virtue, loyalty, betrayal, greed, and ambition.

In The Conspiracy of Catiline, although Catiline is a man of status who achieved great martial accomplishments failed to become a man of virtuous character and master his animalistic nature. As Catiline gave into his darker desires, his ambition combined with an insatiable need for wealth, prestige, and power, ultimately leading to his undoing.

In The War of Jugurtha it again focuses on characters with immense ambition both Roman and Numidian. The story revolves around Jugurtha who conspires against both brothers to ultimately rule Numidia and take what he deems rightfully his. Eventually, The War of Jugurtha descends into a tale of greed, betrayal, and bloody war with detailed accounts of each decisive battle. Although there is much focus on how Jugurtha's ambition had also lead to his downfall the same demons can be paralleled with Marius, one of the commanders sent to suppress Jugurtha. Many lessons can be gained from this war where the reader is also able to make comparisons with Metellus and Marius although equally as great, the disposition of each individual is starkly different. The difference being, one man lived by a virtuous code and the other without.

Quintus does a fantastic service to both Sallust's account. He manages to write these particular translations in such a way that these historic accounts read more as a novel than the usual dry, and arduous texts many are so used to. For those that are dissuaded by reading classical texts due to the nature of usual translations will not be disappointed. The piece is extremely easy to read due to Sallust's penmanship and Quintus' skill of updating translations for modern times.

Quintus also provides invaluable tales which allows the reader to keep track of the current timeline of events, which makes for easy reading. The footnotes are succinct adding additional context to the situation or providing more meaning to Sallust's choice of wording.

Overall, the book is a fantastic translation of two brilliant events. If you are a beginner to the classics and would like to expand your mind, you will not be disappointed. I would suggest that a beginner start with Sallust and then move onto Quintus' translation of Cicero's On Moral Duties. A person who is more well read on the classical texts will find a great new book to add to their collection
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars The fall of the Roman Republic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 28, 2019
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In his introduction the author stated his intention to establish a self contained tome to help understand Sallust's two most important works. In my view he does not quite achieve this, but this does not deplete the quality of the work. I believe a basic understanding of how the Roman Republic worked is essential to fully appreciated Sallust's work. This is a book about the fall of the Republic that led to the rise of the Emperors.

There is much to be admired about this work. The timelines included with each history aligned with the index of clauses certainly helps the reader navigate their way around the story. The maps are succinct and informative, but I didn't see the relevance of the sketch of the Forum at Rome. It brought nothing to the understanding of either history.

This is a modern language translation written in contemporary English, or to be more precise American-English. [I point this out as not every English reader will be up to date with some of the modern phrases used]. That said it is easy to read and perhaps helps develop a sense of excitement a contemporary roman reader might have experienced.

Sallust was one of Rome's greatest historians and told his story from a contemporary, or near contemporary, viewpoint with a reputation for reporting the facts. This translation does not let him down. I would certainly read another work by this author.
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