The Influence of Thucydides 7.61-71 on Sallust ... - Historia Antigua

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Influence</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Thucydides</strong> <strong>7.61</strong>-<strong>71</strong> on Sallust Cat. 20-21Author(s): Elizabeth KeitelSource: <strong>The</strong> Classical Journal, Vol. 82, No. 4 (Apr. - May, 1987), pp. 293-300Published by: <strong>The</strong> Classical Association <strong>of</strong> the Middle West and SouthStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3297997Accessed: 20/10/2010 14:25Your use <strong>of</strong> the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance <strong>of</strong> JSTOR's Terms and Conditions <strong>of</strong> Use, available athttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions <strong>of</strong> Use provides, in part, that unlessyou have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue <strong>of</strong> a journal or multiple copies <strong>of</strong> articles, and youmay use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.Please contact the publisher regarding any further use <strong>of</strong> this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained athttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=camws.Each copy <strong>of</strong> any part <strong>of</strong> a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printedpage <strong>of</strong> such transmission.JSTOR is a not-for-pr<strong>of</strong>it service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range <strong>of</strong>content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms<strong>of</strong> scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.<strong>The</strong> Classical Association <strong>of</strong> the Middle West and South is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve andextend access to <strong>The</strong> Classical Journal.http://www.jstor.org

THE INFLUENCE OF THUCYDIDES <strong>7.61</strong>-<strong>71</strong>ON SALLUST CAT. 20-21*Catiline's speech to his supporters at a meeting in a private house, Cat.20-21, is ostensibly an appeal for support in the consular elections <strong>of</strong> 64 B.C.His remarks are enveloped, however, by the verbs cohortari (20.1) and cohortatus(21.5), and Skard, Paladini and Vretska have remarked on the similarityin thought and diction between Cat. 20 and a general's harangue beforebattle.' At the close <strong>of</strong> the meeting, Catiline addresses individual adherents byname and appeals to their various needs and desires (21.4). This too evokes thebehavior <strong>of</strong> a good general before battle. Avenarius suggested that Sallustcould have modelled this passage on Nicias' appeal to his men before the lastbattle at Syracuse (Thuc. 7.69.2).2 Furthermore, some motifs from Catiline'sfirst speech (20) recur in his genuine cohortatio before battle at Pistoria (Cat.58), thus creating a responsion between the pseudo-battle scene and the actualone. Finally, most scholars since John have viewed the military language <strong>of</strong>Cat. 20 as an anachronism in 64 B.C., when Catiline still pursued his ambitionsthrough the electoral process.3 We can be fairly safe then in viewing thescene at Cat. 20-21 as a literary construct, designed to bring out importantthemes. Proceeding from these well-established points, I will demonstrate thatthe construction <strong>of</strong> the whole scene is part <strong>of</strong> a particular tradition <strong>of</strong> battlescenes which stems ultimately from <strong>Thucydides</strong> <strong>7.61</strong>-<strong>71</strong>, the great naval*This paper was delivered in slightly different form at the 1986 meeting <strong>of</strong> the ClassicalAssociation <strong>of</strong> the Middle West and South. I am grateful to the anonymous referees and Pr<strong>of</strong>essorJudith Ginsburg for very helpful criticism. Research for this work, part <strong>of</strong> a larger study ongenerals' battle harangues in the ancient historians, was generously underwritten by a grant fromthe American Council <strong>of</strong> Learned Societies. Sallust is quoted from Kurfess' Teubner text (Leipzig1957).'E. Skard, "Sallust und seine Vorgiinger", SO Suppl. 15 (1956) 31, cites <strong>of</strong>ortissumi viri (Cat.20.9) and the commonplaces nonne emori per virtutem praestat (20.9) and fortuna omnia eavictoribus praemia posuit (20.14). M. L. Paladini, "Discorsi e lettere del Sallustiano BellumCatilinae" Lat. 20 (1961) 7-8, adds 20.14: quin . . . expergiscimini. K. Vretska, C. SallustiusCrispus, De Catilinae Conjuratione (Heidelberg 1976) points to the military tone at 20.10 and20.14 and in Catiline's <strong>of</strong>fer to serve his men either as dux or miles (20.16).2W. Avenarius, "Die griechischen Vorbilder des Sallust," SO 33 (1957) 51. Vretska (note 1above) 330, and T. F Scanlon, <strong>The</strong> <strong>Influence</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Thucydides</strong> on Sallust (Heidelberg 1980) 109,reject this as a Thucydidean reminiscence because such appeals to men by name were acommonplace <strong>of</strong> ancient battle narrative. For examples, see Vretska 330, and Skard (note 1above) 31. <strong>The</strong>y overlook, however, the similarity in form between the two scenes (discussedbelow, p. 298).3C. John, "Die Entstehungsgeschichte der catilinarischen Verschwdrung", Jahrbacher firclassischen Philologie Suppl. VIII (1876) 763 ff., followed by R. Syme, Sallust (Berkeley 1964)75-76. D. C. Earl, <strong>The</strong> Political Thought <strong>of</strong> Sallust (Cambridge 1961) 86-89, places more faith inSallust's account <strong>of</strong> 64 B.C. but notes that the historian's version contradicts his own picture <strong>of</strong> awell-developed revolutionary plot at that time. Vretska (note 1 above) 277-80 summarizes otherrecent discussions <strong>of</strong> the problem.293

294 ELIZABETH KEITELbattle in the harbor at Syracuse, a passage from which Sallust drew severaltimes for both the Jugurtha and the Catilina.I turn first to the Thucydidean scene and its influence on later battle narratives.<strong>Thucydides</strong>' account <strong>of</strong> the last battle at Syracuse is the first examplein ancient historiography <strong>of</strong> the accumulation <strong>of</strong> battle speeches to provideemotional intensification at a crucial moment in the narrative.4 <strong>Thucydides</strong>uses an unprecedented number <strong>of</strong> speeches and summaries <strong>of</strong> speeches in thisepisode. <strong>The</strong>re is a pair <strong>of</strong> reflections by Athenians and Syracusans after thefirst battle (7.55-56), a recapitulation and expansion <strong>of</strong> the Syracusans' plans(7.59.2-3), a summary <strong>of</strong> the council scene where the Athenians decide t<strong>of</strong>ight their way out <strong>of</strong> the harbor (7.60.2), and paired harangues in oratio rectaby Nicias and Gylippus (<strong>7.61</strong>-68). For the first and only time, <strong>Thucydides</strong>then adds a supplementary exhortation by Nicias (7.69.2).5 Finally, there aretwo pairs <strong>of</strong> cries in the midst <strong>of</strong> battle: Athenian and Syracusan bosuns exhorttheir crews (7.70.7), and the strategoi on both sides rebuke shirkers (7.70.8).<strong>The</strong>se speeches do provide important new information about the motivesand situation <strong>of</strong> both sides and about the tactics they decide to adopt for battle,but there is also much repetition <strong>of</strong> major themes and key words from reflectionsto set speeches, from speeches to supplementary exhortation and to thecries in battle.6 <strong>The</strong> reiteration underlines the decisive importance <strong>of</strong> thisbattle for both sides. After their first victory, the Syracusans vow not to let theAthenians get away, a change from their earlier strategy (7.56.1-2). This isrepeated and amplified in the Syracusans' second reflections: they now realizewhat honor and glory they can win if they liberate Greece outright or at leastfree her from fear <strong>of</strong> Athens (7.59.2). <strong>The</strong>se themes are repeated in Gylippus'harangue (7.68.3) and in the cries in battle (7.70.7-8). <strong>The</strong> Athenians, like theSyracusans, realize that the safety <strong>of</strong> Athens herself is now at stake. If theSyracusans win, they will sail at once against Athens, which will be unable towithstand attacks from both the Spartans and the Sicilians (Nicias' speech[7.64.1] repeats this point made in reflections earlier [7.56.2]). Finally, weshould note how emphatically <strong>Thucydides</strong> himself builds up the importance <strong>of</strong>this battle. He repeatedly adverts to the unprecedented scale <strong>of</strong> the conflict.Never before had so many people gathered in front <strong>of</strong> a city (7.56.4); thefighting is harder than in any previous battle (7.70.2), and the Athenian panicafterward is greater than any they had ever known (7.<strong>71</strong>.1). No Hellenic armyhad ever suffered such a reverse (7.75.7).74Homeric epic may well be the ultimate source for such accumulation <strong>of</strong> speeches to mark a keymoment. See B. Fenik, Typical Battle Scenes in the Iliad (Wiesbaden 1968) 190, on the use <strong>of</strong> thistechnique at the opening <strong>of</strong> Book 16.50. Luschnat, Die Feldherrnreden im Geschichtswerk des Thukydides, Philologus Suppl. 34.2(1942) 99.6J. Albertus, Die Paraklitikoi in der griechischen und rdmischen Literatur (Diss. Strassburg1908) 79, notes that these speeches contain the most detailed discussion <strong>of</strong> the situation andpreparations for battle <strong>of</strong> any in <strong>Thucydides</strong>. For a detailed analysis <strong>of</strong> keywords from speech tospeech in this section, see Luschnat (note 5 above) 84-101.7<strong>Thucydides</strong> earlier stressed the brilliance and boldness <strong>of</strong> the Sicilian expedition (6.31.6) andlater the corresponding magnitude <strong>of</strong> its final, total defeat (7.87.5-6).

SALLUST, CAT. 20-21 295<strong>The</strong> Thucydidean episode presents then five distinctive elements: reflections<strong>of</strong> those involved precede the battle and spell out its importance; there is a pair<strong>of</strong> harangues in oratio recta; there is a supplementary harangue, plus summaries<strong>of</strong> even more exhortations, before or during the battle; there is repetitionfor emphasis <strong>of</strong> themes and diction, from reflections to speeches to supplementaryexhortations; and the author himself states or suggests the importance<strong>of</strong> the battle. This particular combination <strong>of</strong> elements occurs very rarely inancient historiography after <strong>Thucydides</strong>. <strong>The</strong> only other instance <strong>of</strong> such ascene before Sallust occurs at the opening <strong>of</strong> Book III <strong>of</strong> Xenophon's Anabasis(3.1.2-2.39). <strong>The</strong> five elements <strong>of</strong> the Thucydidean scene recur here, thoughthe episode does not mark a battle but rather the important moment when theGreeks choose Xenophon as their leader and decide to fight their way out <strong>of</strong>Persia if necessary.8 In the vast majority <strong>of</strong> cases, however, later authorsapparently felt that one or a pair <strong>of</strong> exhortations, either in direct or indirectdiscourse, was sufficient to mark out a battle as important. Even the pair <strong>of</strong>harangues in oratio recta, beloved by <strong>Thucydides</strong>, becomes quite rare in laterhistorians. Xenophon (Cyrop. 3.3.34-43;44-46), Livy (21.40-41;43-44),and Tacitus (Agr. 30-32;33.2-34) each have only one such pair while Polybius,Caesar and Sallust have none. Indeed, paired harangues <strong>of</strong> any type growrarer after <strong>Thucydides</strong>.9 Supplementary exhortations to the set speech are alsoinfrequent. Aside from the great scenes under discussion, such supplementaryspeeches, delivered before battle, appear twice in Livy (21.45;34.14.3-4),once in Caesar (B.C. 3.91), never in Sallust. By the time <strong>of</strong> Sallust then theaccumulation <strong>of</strong> battle speeches, whether by pairing or by adding supplementaryexhortations, was rather unusual.I turn now to the scene at Cat. 20-21. Of the five elements observed in theThucydidean scene, three are immediately apparent. <strong>The</strong>re is one cohortatioin oratio recta. <strong>The</strong>re are supplementary appeals as Catiline states his programin response to questions from the audience (Cat. 21.2-3), then addressesappeals to individuals (21.4). Key themes are repeated from set speech tosupplementary speeches. Catiline thus moves from vague, sometimes l<strong>of</strong>tysounding,appeals in the set speech, to more specific promises <strong>of</strong> gain, to theneeds <strong>of</strong> his individual adherents.8Reflections on the desperate situation by the Greeks appear at Anab. 3.1.2-3; by Xenophon at3.1.11-14. <strong>The</strong> latter also represents the author's statement <strong>of</strong> the magnitude <strong>of</strong> the situation.Xenophon gives speeches in oratio recta with parainetic motifs at 3.1.15-25; 35-45; 3.2.8-32;34-39. <strong>The</strong>re are supplementary speeches with exhortation motifs by Cheirisophus (3.2.2-3) andCleanor (3.2.4-6). <strong>The</strong>mes repeated from speech to speech include the impiety <strong>of</strong> the Persianswhich ensures that the gods are on our side (3.1.21-22; 3.2.4-6;10) and that fighting is theGreeks' only recourse, victory or death their only choice (3.2.2-3;39). <strong>The</strong> combination <strong>of</strong> thesefive elements to mark a crucial battle is extremely rare in the historians. After Xenophon itappears only at Livy 27.40-49, the battle at the Metaurus, Livy 30.28-33, Zama, and AppianB.C. 4.117-29, Philippi.9For a list <strong>of</strong> major battle scenes which contain speeches, see Albertus (note 6 above) 28-32.Sallust makes sparing use <strong>of</strong> battle speeches <strong>of</strong> any kind, giving Catiline one in oratio recta beforePistoria (Cat. 58) and Petreius a brief epipolesis (Cat. 59.5) before the same. Jugurtha has a briefharangue in oratio obliqua (Jug. 49.2-4).

296 ELIZABETH KEITELA brief review <strong>of</strong> the themes and structure <strong>of</strong> the set speech reveals theheavy repetition <strong>of</strong> themes and diction from speech to speech in this scene.<strong>The</strong> set oration contains a blend <strong>of</strong> demogogic and parainetic motifs which, asVretska observed, gives the speech a "peculiar inner tension." 'O This blend issustained throughout the set speech and in the supplementary speeches thatfollow. As a demagogue, Catiline appeals to the self-interest <strong>of</strong> his adherents,whom he describes as disenfranchised and oppressed by the rich and powerfulwho control all the wealth and <strong>of</strong>fices <strong>of</strong> the state (20.6-8):ceterum mihi in dies magis animus adcenditur, quom considero,quae condicio vitae futura sit, nisi nosmet ipsi vindicamus in libertatem.nam postquam res publica in paucorum potentium ius atquedicionem concessit, semper illis reges tetrarchae vectigales esse,populi nationes stipendia pendere; ceteri omnes, strenui boni,nobiles atque ignobiles, volgus fuimus sine gratia, sine auctoritate,iis obnoxii, quibus, si res publica valeret, formidini essemus. itaqueomnis gratia potentia honos divitiae apud illos sunt aut ubi illivolunt; nobis reliquere pericula repulsas iudicia egestatem."<strong>The</strong> second half <strong>of</strong> the tractatio recapitulates and amplifies the demagogicthemes <strong>of</strong> the first half (Cat. 20.11-14):etenim quis mortalium, quoi virile ingenium est, tolerare potest illisdivitias superare, quas pr<strong>of</strong>undant in extruendo mari et montibuscoaequandis, nobis rem familiarem etiam ad necessaria deesse? illosbinas aut amplius domos continuare, nobis larem familiarem nusquamullum esse? quom tabulas signa toreumata emunt, novadiruunt, alia aedificant, postremo omnibus modis pecuniam trahuntvexant, tamen summa lubidine divitias suas vincere nequeunt. atnobis est domi inopia, foris aes alienum, mala res, spes multoasperior: denique quid relicui habemus praeter miseram animam?Quin igitur expergiscimini? en illa, illa quam saepe optastis libertas,praeterea divitiae decus gloria in oculis sita sunt; fortuna omniaea victoribus praemia posuit.In both, the wealth <strong>of</strong> the potentes (the word divitiae appears five times in thetractatio) is repeatedly contrasted with the want <strong>of</strong> the Catilinarians (20.8;11;13), who suffer from poverty (egestas at 20.8 and 15), want at home (domiinopia at 20.13) and debt (aes alienum at 20.13).12 Consequently, theloVretska (note 1 above) 303-4.11On libertas (20.6;14) as a slogan <strong>of</strong> the populares, see Earl (note 3 above) 55-56. See also K.Btichner, Sallust (Heidelberg 1960) 165, and Vretska (note 1 above) 311-12 on the demagogicslogans in 20.7.121 follow the outline <strong>of</strong> the speech given by R. Ullmann, La technique des discours dansSalluste, Tite-Live et Tacite (Oslo 1927) 25-26. He notes at 25 the importance <strong>of</strong> wealth as atheme. See also H. Engemann, "Catilina Spricht zu den Verschwirern", Der altsprachlicheUnterricht 5 (1962) 28-31. Vretska (note 1 above) notes many <strong>of</strong> the verbal repetitions in thespeeches but does not comment on their role in the whole scene.

SALLUST, CAT. 20-21 297Catilinarians live in constant danger, the pericula <strong>of</strong> 20.8 and 15, and disgrace,the dedecus <strong>of</strong> 20.9, which Catiline answers with the decus he holdsout to them as one <strong>of</strong> the prizes <strong>of</strong> war at 20. 14.As a military leader, Catiline appeals to the courage and pride <strong>of</strong> his men(20.2 and 3) and urges them to choose, if necessary, a brave death over adegraded life (20.9-10):quae quo usque tandem patiemini, o fortissimi viri? nonne emori pervirtutem praestat quam vitam miseram atque inhonestam, ubialienae superbiae ludibrio fueris, per dedecus amittere? verum enimvero, pro deum atque hominum fidem, victoria in manu nobis est,viget aetas animus valet; contra illis annis atque divitiis omniaconsenuerunt.<strong>The</strong> martial overtones, present throughout the speech, become especiallystrident at the close. Catiline's earlier statement, victoria in manu nobis est(20.10) is now apparently conceived <strong>of</strong> as a military victory which will bringto the victors praemia and the splendid spoils <strong>of</strong> war (belli spolia magnifica,20.15).Supplementary harangues follow in the next chapter (Cat. 21). To be sure,some new information is added here, especially in 21.3, where Catilineenlarges the argument from ease given in the set speech (20.10) by naming hisinfluential allies in the plot.13 But the bulk <strong>of</strong> this chapter repeats and amplifiesthe twin themes <strong>of</strong> demagoguery and military exhortation already given inthe set speech. Catiline's listeners pick up only on the martial overtones <strong>of</strong> hisperoration.14 <strong>The</strong>y ask what will be the condicio belli and what praemia theywould seek by arms, thus taking up the language <strong>of</strong> 20.14, where Catilinespoke <strong>of</strong> the praemia which Fortune gives the victors, and <strong>of</strong> 20.15, where healluded to the spolia belli.'5 By stating explicitly what praemia his men couldwin, Catiline recapitulates the demagogic theme <strong>of</strong> wealth versus want fromthe set speech (21.2): turn Catilina polliceri tabulas novas, proscriptionemlocupletium, magistratus, sacerdotia, rapinas, alia omnia, quae bellum atquelubido victorum fert. He had earlier described the omnipotence <strong>of</strong> the few interms <strong>of</strong> their total control <strong>of</strong> gratia potentia honos divitiae (20.8).Catiline's supporters have twice been characterized in this scene as menwithout prospects, first by Catiline in the set speech at 20.13 (quoted above, p.296). Sallust introduces the supplementary exhortations with a similar descrip-13Cat. 21.3: praeterea esse in Hispania citeriore Pisonem, in Mauretania cum exercitu P.Sittium Nucerinum, consili sui participes; petere consulatum C. Antonium, quem sibi collegamfore speraret, hominem et familiarem et omnibus necessitudinibus circumventum; cum eo seconsulem initium agundi facturum.14p. McGushin, C. Sallustius Crispus, Bellum Catilinae: A Commentary (Leiden 1977) 137.15<strong>The</strong> repetition <strong>of</strong> condicio from 20.6 at 21.1, though used in a different sense, neatlyunderscores the alternatives as Catiline and the conspirators see them: either they must endurecontinued oppression or they must fight and win. (<strong>The</strong>se are the only instances <strong>of</strong> this word in theCatilina. A. W. Bennett, Index Verborum Sallustianus [Hildesheim 1970] s.v.) Compare thissentiment with the last words <strong>of</strong> the set speech (20.17): haec ipsa, ut spero, vobiscum una consulagam, nisi forte me animus fallit et vos servire magis quam imperare parati estis.

298 ELIZABETH KEITELtion (21.1): homines, quibus mala abunde omnia erant, sed neque res nequespes bona ulla, tametsi illis quieta movere magna merces videbatur. Catilinetouches again on the desperate situation <strong>of</strong> his adherents in his epipolesis at21.4: admonebat alium egestatis, alium cupiditatis suae, compluris periculiaut ignominiae, multos victoriae Sullanae, quibus ea praedaefuerat. We hearagain <strong>of</strong> his listeners' egestas and pericula as we did in the set speech (20.8).<strong>The</strong> appeals to individuals at 21.4 then are clearly a supplementary exhortation,since they add nothing new to our understanding <strong>of</strong> the motives <strong>of</strong>Catiline's men but simply reiterate points made in the set speech.16Three <strong>of</strong> the five characteristics <strong>of</strong> the elaborate battle scene, <strong>of</strong> which<strong>Thucydides</strong> <strong>7.61</strong> ff. is the exemplar, appear then in the Sallustian scene. What<strong>of</strong> the remaining two, reflections on the importance <strong>of</strong> the battle by the participantsand the author's own statement <strong>of</strong> the same point? A statement <strong>of</strong>Catiline's motives and decision does introduce the action <strong>of</strong> 64 B.C. and spellout its ultimate goal (Cat. 16.4-5):His amicis sociisque confisus Catilina, simul quod aes alienum peromnis terras ingens erat et quod plerique Sullani milites, largius suousi, rapinarum et victoriae veteris memores civile bellum exoptabant,opprimundae rei publicae consilium cepit. in Italia nullusexercitus, Cn. Pompeius in extremis terris bellum gerebat; ipsi consulatumpetenti magna spes, senatus nihil sane intentus: tutae tranquillaequeres omnes, sed ea prorsus opportuna Catilinae.Note too that themes stated here recur in the harangue. At chapter 16.4 andlater in the epipolesis at 21.4 (quoted just above) we are told that Catiline'ssupporters included Sullan veterans, mindful <strong>of</strong> their former victories and <strong>of</strong>the booty they had won.'7 Debt also plays a part in Catiline's calculationshere, just as it does later in his supplementary appeals at 21.2 and 21.4.But we still lack a statement by the author himself as to the supremeimportance <strong>of</strong> the upcoming action. Clearly, Sallust regarded the conspiracy asa whole as a great danger to the state; indeed, that is why he chose it as asubject (Cat. 4.4): nam idfacinus in primis ego memorabile existumo scelerisatque periculi novitate. Just as clearly, Sallust portrays Catiline's electoral16Cat. 21.4 also confirms Catiline's skill in playing on each man's desires, as he has donebefore (17.1). See McGushin (note 14 above) 151. <strong>The</strong> appeal to his followers by name, acharacteristic <strong>of</strong> good generalship (Xen. Cyr. 5.3.47-50), prepares the reader for Catiline's ableleadership at Pistoria. Of course, here as there, he is a good general in a perverse cause.17Sallust makes much <strong>of</strong> the presence <strong>of</strong> Sullan veterans among Catiline's supporters. Healludes to their rapacity in language which echoes 16.4 and 21.2. Manlius' forces in Etruriainclude nonnullos ex Sullanis coloniis, quibus lubido atque luxuria ex magnis rapinis nihil relicuifecerant (28.4). Others at Rome, recalling the Sullan victory and seeing that some <strong>of</strong> Sulla'ssoldiers are now senators, and others wealthy and extravagant, hope for such things for themselvesif they are victorious in arms (37.6). Catiline is portrayed also as very much a product <strong>of</strong> the Sullanera. He spent his youth fighting Sulla's civil wars (5.2) and conceives a desire for dominatio afterSulla's example (5.6). Earl (note 3 above) 86-87 observes that Catiline embodies the vices <strong>of</strong> theperdita iuventus which grew out <strong>of</strong> the Sullan period: "Sallust's antedating <strong>of</strong> his revolutionarydesigns arises from his desire to establish clearly the relationship between the general effects <strong>of</strong>Sulla's domination and the particular case he is about to describe." So also Syme (note 3 above)77.

SALLUST, CAT. 20-21 299failure in 64 B.C. as but one in a series <strong>of</strong> sinister developments whichculminate in the plot <strong>of</strong> 63. Catiline's electoral defeat signals what Vretskacalled the "second preliminary stage," after which Catiline depots armsthroughout Italy and sends money to Manlius at Fiesole (Cat. 24.2). 18But the speeches at chapters 20-21 do not state that a decisive moment hasarrived, nor does the author. Instead, Sallust has constructed the scene for apolyvalent effect. <strong>The</strong> double strand <strong>of</strong> parainetic and demagogic languageobserved throughout the scene reflects its function. <strong>The</strong> exhortation motifs,many <strong>of</strong> which recur in Catiline's harangue before battle at Pistoria, preparethe reader for the possible implementation <strong>of</strong> armed revolt as well as for thebattle which finally stamps out the conspiracy, while the demagogic motifshold out the possibility that Catiline may pursue the electoral path a whilelonger, as indeed he does.19 Presumably, Sallust has employed the structure <strong>of</strong>a major battle scene here to signal portentously an opening step in the conspiracy.Indeed, this structur enables Sallust to suggest more than he can in goodconscience state, since he does not <strong>of</strong>fer much evidence for sinister acts byCatiline before the electoral rebuff <strong>of</strong> 64.20We can identify then four <strong>of</strong> the five elements <strong>of</strong> the Thucydidean scene inthe Sallustian one. We have seen, too, that Sallust has contrived to make thespeeches at Cat. 20-21 resemble battle harangues, and that even such amodest accumulation <strong>of</strong> exhortations was rare in the classical historians after<strong>Thucydides</strong>. But can we prove that Sallust had the Thucydidean scene in mindwhen he constructed his own? This seems more likely than the alternativehypothesis, that Sallust drew on the opening <strong>of</strong> Xenophon Anabasis, Book III.To be sure, the Sallustian scene resembles that in the Anabasis, as neitheractually introduces a battle, though the speeches are filled with martial rhetoric.Previous research, however, has established only the most tenuous linkbetween Sallust and the Anabasis. Xenophon the philosophical moralizerexercised a much stronger influence on Sallust than did Xenophon the historian,as Perrochat has pointed out.21 On the other hand, Cat. 20-21 is closer to18Vretska (note 1 above) 279.19Paladini (note 1 above) 10 and n.21 observes responsion between 20.14 and 58.8, as divitiae,decus, and gloria are held out as prizes in both. She also notes repetition <strong>of</strong> the attack on thepower <strong>of</strong> the few at 58.11 from 20.7, the commander's declaration <strong>of</strong> faith in his men from 20.2 at58.18, and references to the aetas <strong>of</strong> the men as a positive factor at 20.10 and 58.19. Vretska (note1 above) 306, 315 and 323 notes thematic parallels between the two speeches. Catiline urgesdeath before dishonor at 20.2 and 20.9 and later at 58.8, 13, 17 and 21. <strong>The</strong> antithesis betweenword and deed appears at 20.15 and 58.1 and 58.19.20Clearly Sallust did not consider the "plot" <strong>of</strong> 66 B.C., in which he claims Catiline took part(Cat. 18-19), as a stage in the conspiracy set in motion at 17.1. So Vretska (note 1 above) 289. ToSyme, the digression at 18-19 has no structural function; it merely disturbs the narrative <strong>of</strong> events<strong>of</strong> 64 B.C.21Avenarius (note 2 above) 63-64 rejects the few reminiscences from the Anabasis previouslyproposed. He in turn can <strong>of</strong>fer only one (Anab. 2.6.6: Cat. 17.6). P. Perrochat, Les modules grecsde Salluste (Paris 1949) 66, concludes <strong>of</strong> Xenophontic reminiscences as a whole: "Les empruntssont donc localises dans les discours ou dans les digressions; ils portent surtout sur des idbesg6n6rales, c'est pourquoi ils sont pris dans les oeuvres morales. Quant aux oeuvres historiques,elles semblent avoir peu interesse Salluste. X6nophon, n'ayant pas la forte personnalit6 deThucydide, n'a pu exercer sur lui la meme s6ductioni que le grand historien, si puissant et sioriginal."

300 ELIZABETH KEITELthe Thucydidean scene in structure. Both contain supplementary exhortationsafter the set speech in which the commander addresses individuals by name,whereas in the Anabasis the supplementary harangues are delivered by supportingcharacters, Cheirisophus and Cleanor, and precede the main speech ineach section by Xenophon.<strong>The</strong>re are other reasons which commend <strong>Thucydides</strong> as the likely model.Previous research has shown that Sallust's knowledge <strong>of</strong> <strong>Thucydides</strong> and hisdebt to him were wider and deeper than that to Xenophon or to any otherhistorical author. His borrowings from <strong>Thucydides</strong> embrace concepts, motifsand style, as well as reminiscences from specific scenes.22 Sallust borrowsmore <strong>of</strong>ten from the battle at Syracuse harbor and its aftermath (<strong>7.61</strong>-75) thanfrom any other Thucydidean battle scene. By Scanlon's conservative estimate,Sallust drew on this episode twice in the Catilina, for the battle at Pistoria(Cat. 61.8-9: Thuc. 7.75; Cat. 59.5: Thuc. 7.69.2).23 <strong>The</strong>se reminiscencessuggest that Sallust had that great battle scene on his mind while he wascomposing the Catilina.24 Sallust adopted the Thucydidean techniques <strong>of</strong>emphasis through repetition in different forms <strong>of</strong> speech and reflections toenhance his picture <strong>of</strong> a domestic contio as a proto-battle scene, to intensify itsimpact, and to mark as significant the first important step in the conspiracy.University <strong>of</strong> Massachusetts,AmherstELIZABETH KEITEL22<strong>The</strong> most comprehensive studies <strong>of</strong> the influence <strong>of</strong> <strong>Thucydides</strong> on Sallust are those <strong>of</strong>Scanlon (note 2 above) and H. Patzer, "Sallust und Thukydides," NJ 4 (1941) 124-36. Scanlon11-19 summarizes the research over the past hundred years on the subject. His work marks anadvance, as he tries to distinguish between how Sallust viewed <strong>Thucydides</strong> and how we do.Scanlon also draws a useful distinction between descriptive imitations, the borrowing <strong>of</strong> a phrasefor ornament, and allusive imitations by which Sallust links a person or event in his own history toa specific person or event in <strong>Thucydides</strong> and thereby recalls its context to the reader's mind.Finally, he argues that Sallust's use <strong>of</strong> <strong>Thucydides</strong> varied from work to work depending on thefocus <strong>of</strong> each.23See Scanlon (note 2 above) 109-10 for reminiscences <strong>of</strong> <strong>Thucydides</strong> <strong>7.61</strong>-<strong>71</strong> in the Catilina.For borrowings from the same scene for the Jugurtha, see Scanlon 149-51 and Perrochat (note 21above) 19 (Jug. 60.3-4:Thuc. 7.70-<strong>71</strong>). Sallust also borrowed from the aftermath <strong>of</strong> the battle(Thuc 7.75.3-4 for Jug.101.11). See Perrochat 19.24Scanlon (note 2 above) 110 argues that Sallust, through three reminiscences from <strong>Thucydides</strong>7 at Cat. 58-61, equates the situations <strong>of</strong> Nicias and Catiline, or more importantly, the situations<strong>of</strong> their two states: "<strong>The</strong> imitation may allude to a similar 'beginning <strong>of</strong> the end' for Greece andRome as Sallust saw it. <strong>The</strong> conspiracy signalled the beginning <strong>of</strong> a plague <strong>of</strong> civil violence inRome, much as Athens' defeat in Sicily, as Sallust would have it, signalled the beginning <strong>of</strong> theend <strong>of</strong> Athenian rule." This attractive thesis is vitiated by the fact that Scanlon misidentifies thespeaker <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> the reminiscences, the epipolesis at Cat. 59.5, which recalls Thuc. 7.69.2. Thisis delivered by Petreius, not Catiline. Scanlon also admits that the connection between Cat. 58.11and Thuc.7.68.3, a reminiscence proposed by Vretska, is not firmly established. <strong>The</strong> same ideaappears in other Thucydidean battle harangues. Nevertheless, if my thesis is correct, it confirmsSallust's reliance on Thuc. <strong>7.61</strong>-75 at more than one key moment in the crisis <strong>of</strong> 63 B.C. andsupports Scanlon's suggestion that Sallust saw the conspiracy as an analogous moment <strong>of</strong> periland the beginning <strong>of</strong> further strife and danger to the state.