Quae cum ita sint is a common clause of transition, and since these things are so. Quae is a connective relative: that is, it refers to something in the preceding sentence or discourse and is the equivalent of et haec . sint marks the cum-clause as a cumcircumstantial: it asks the reader to draw some inferences from the character of the preceding facts or events.
perge, egredere, proficiscere: Note that the three synonymous verbs are in jagged sentences of unequal length; but when combined with the explanatory additions (patent ; and nimium.) the rhythm is that of a tri-colon crescendo.
aliquando: Another echo of the impatience of quo usque tandem.
patent portae: A parenthetical addition, pointing out that nothing stands in Catilines way.
nimium diu: Cicero mockingly refracts his own impatience as the impatience of Catilines men. A temporal adverb of duration and a present tense is used in Latin (and in other European languages) to indicate that an event was continuous in the past and is still continuing in the present. In English we can say, I have been living here for 5 years. but in most language you must say, I am living her five years.
Maniliana: Manilius, a Sullan centurian we have heard of before, maintained a camp of gladiators and Sullan veterans (so Cicero said) in Etruria. The plan had been that they would seize the Praeneste, and on 27 October march on Rome. It was the scare of these events on 21 October that produced a two day debate which resulted in the Senate issuing the senatorial decree that Cicero has been talking about. Catiline did in fact leave Rome after this speech. He let it be known that he was leaving under protest and that he was bound for exile in Marseilles, but he did in fact join Manlius camp.
[*] Find the core of the sentence: te tua castra desiderant = your camp awaits you; nimium diu te tua castra desiderant = for much too long your camp has been awaiting you. etc.
si minus: That is, if less than all.
quam plurimos: quam + superlative = as many as possible
purgo, purgare: the verb has most of the same bodily, religious, and hygienic association that to purge does in English.
me, like other pronouns in the oblique cases, finds itself in the enclitic position if it is not emphatic; that is, it attaches itself to the emphatic word in the sentence. That means that its position has nothing to do with its own syntax.
liberabis: Verbs of freeing and separation take and ablative of separation. The manuscripts also offer liberaveris: "you will have freed me"; the present is better in this situation where completed freedom from fear is not really the point. The future can imply "you will begin freeing me."
dum modo + subjunctive creates a Proviso Clause; that is, it means provided that. Originally this was a jussive subjunctive: let there be a wall between us the-while.
iam diutius: Another echo of the idea and the impatience in quo usque tandem.
magna: Adjectives that are emphatic in meaning are often found in first position in the Latin sentence; this position is usually emphatic by convention. Adjectives of size are often separated from their nouns as if the very space between, here, magna and gratia represented the extent of the gratitude.
dis immortalibus: Only context tells you that this is not a dative of agent with the gerundive. It is the regular dative of advantage or of indirect object with a verb or giving or granting.
huic: Cicero was speaking in the temple of Jupiter and so it is easy to imagine that with huic he pointed to the very statue of Jupiter in temple in which the Senate was meeting.
antiquissimo: It was claimed that this temple had been dedicated by the founder of the city, Romulus, in 753 BCE. One might remember that, at least later, it was Ciceros aspiration to be hailed as pater patriae, the second father of the fatherland, for having saved the republic from the threat of Catilines revolution.
urbis: custodi huius urbis: urbis is a genitive after custodi subjective or objective?
quod: Quod introduces an accusative clause that original meant somthing like: "the fact that" and was used to mean "with regard to the fact that"; for this implicit relaionship to the main clause it developed a causal sense by classical times.
hanc pestem is expanded by three parallel adjectival phrases, a mini-tri-colon crescendo.
totiens: Surely it is a bit of an exaggeration to say that the safety of the republic has been threatened so many time by Catiline; but this is part of the rhetoric of invective. totiens also sets up a contrast with non saepius, below: not any more often
in uno homine: Literally in one man, but that is not an easy idiom to get into English. You may wish to try in the case of one man or even by one man.
summa: the overall safety summus may mean taken all together.
[*] Differences of idiom require some finesse in translating this sentence. One version could be: The overall safety of the republic must not in one man be endangered any more often.
quam diu: The sentence above said: Non est saepius = not any more often. This leads to a review of the times that danger has already arisen. This review takes the form of a catalogue with parallel temporal adverbs at their beginnings: quam diu . cum proximis . denique .
[*] The parallelism noted in the prior note continues with the subordinate verbs and the repetition in the main clause that Cicero acted using only his private resources: quam diu insidiatus es, privata diligentia . cum proximis comitiis interficere voluisti, amicorum praesidio. denique, quotienscumque petisti, per me.
non publico: Note the contrast in meaning and position: non publico sed privata .
me: The oblique case of the personal pronoun in enclitic position; here, it emphasizes publico in order to help set up the contrast with privata.
proximis comitiis consularibus: when words or expressions referring to time are found in the ablative case you should assume that they are the ablative of time. Cicero refers to the elections of 63 BCE for the consulship in 62 BCE. Catiline was a candidate and he had proposed a programme of novae tabellae or clean slates or cancellation of debt. The elections were postponed and, when they were held, Cicero appeared in a cuirass with an armed bodyguard, ostensibly to prevent panic. Catiline failed and this, supposedly, precipitated the final decision to attempt to take over the government by armed force.
me consulem: Notice how me consulem is parallel in reference and position to mihi consuli designato above.
Campo: The comitia centuriata met in the Campus Martius, north-west of the city.
competitores tuos: D. Silanus and L. Murena.
compressi: Above, Cicero had described his action as non publico sed privata defendi. Here, he simple reverses the order of these claims: compressi amicorum nullo tumultu. If the order A-B-B-A is chiasmus, perhaps this should be considered an asterisk: A-B-C-C-B-A. Notice, as well, that the second event is expanded; it depends upon the audiences expectation that the same thing will be said.
praesidio et copiis: Probably his friend and the clients and slaves of friends. praesidio et copiis best taken as an hendyades.
[*] The last version of these events (remember he had said totiens) is a summary in the briefest possible space: quotienscumque me petisti, per me tibi obstiti. It has the feel of just the facts maam at the same time that it is singularly short on facts.
quamquam: Some editors treat quamquam as a subordinate clause meaning although. It could just as easily be a sentence connective; the difference is one of emphasis and rhetoric. As a sentence connective it will mean: And yet I was aware . This seems more forceful.
rei publicae: calamatas rei publicae = misfortune to the state. Probably an objective genitive, since calamitasseems derived from clades and that from cello (to shake).
nunc iam: This temporal adverb stands in answering contrast to quamdiu, cum proximis, and quotienscumque; note that its verb repeats petisti from above and that in this way it highlights the difference circumstances, namely the republic, as the significant change:
quamdiu................mihi consuli.......insideatis
cum proximis........me consulem.....interficere voluisti
quotienscumque....me.....................petis
nunc iam..............rem publicam...petis.
templa begins a catalogue of objects for another verb whose meaning will be the equivalent of, but a variation on, petis: ad exitium ac vastitatem vocas.
[*] The structure of this sentence is simple; Cicero says that since he does not dare to do on thing, he will do anoother: quoniam id (quod) nondum audeo facere, faciam id (quod). The meaning of the sentence lies in the contrast between what he dares not do and what he will do.
primum: I have highlighted in bold the terms in the contrasting quod-clauses that make explicit the difference between what Cicero does not dare to do and what he will do:
huius imperii: appropriate to this imperium, Cicero refers to the consular imperium he has as consul as well as the decree of the Senate.
disciplinae maiorum: the tradition of our ancestors; Cicero characterizes the tradition he has just recalled as a disciplina, something that sets them apart.
ad severitatem: The use of ad + accusative of an abstract is a common idiom in Latin, readily translated as in regards to. It is a metaphorical extension of ad referring to the goal of action.
Nam: This sentence will explain why Cicero needs to act in a way that is lenient and utilitarian.
interfici: Compare interfectus est above in the example of Opimius at II. 4.
iussero: Future perfect indicative in a factualfuture indicative condition. This is because the consequences of Ciceros actions (residebit) will only appear after the order has been given: iussero.
iam dudum, again referring to the extended impatience with which Cicero began. Note: temporal adverb denoting an extension of time + present tense of the verb. See above n. 5.
exhaurietur: A vivid meaphor: to drain or flush out
tuorum comitum: Genitive of material: as a wall of bricks means a wall [that consists] of bricks so this means the sewage [that consists] of your companions
sentina: sewage
Quid est, Catilina?: Transitional formula.
dubito + infinitive = hesitate to do
id: The demonstrative looks forward to the relative that defines it; see above at n. 41ff.
me imperante: Ablative absolute, probably, but since it is clearly in contrast to tua sponte, one might readily argue that it is some sort of ablative of manner (under compulsion vs. spontaneously).
faciebas: The imperfect aspect can be used for continuing, beginning, intended, attempted, and habitual action. Which works best here?
hostem: By calling Catiline a hostis, or public enemy, he lays the groundwork for a defense of his actions against Catiline, a Roman citizen: as he was to claim himself, if you are a hostis, you cannot by definition be a citizen.
[*] Cicero skirts a constitutional issue here with wit. He needs to show that he is a decisive consul; so he orders Catiline out of the city. However, exile or death could not be ordered by a magistrate without a vote and trial before the Roman people. So, Cicero orders Catiline out of the city. Then he imagines Catiline asking him a question, Are you asking me whether [I mean] into exile? Now he gets to have his cake and eat it to: non iubeo, sed suadeo.
me consulis: As if Catiline would seek the advice and opinion of Cicero.