multi - Nominative plural masculine substantive adjective - means "many men"
delectare: present active infinitive Remember that posse takes a complementary infinitive to complete its meaning. We also do this in English (i.e. We are able to study Latin on the Web. Here "to study" is the complementary infinitive.) Do you remember what other verb requires a complementary infinitve? Refer back to Chapter 1 for the answer.
On account of your vices many blame you and nothing in your country is able to delight you.
Again, one sees the social or community bias of Roman thought: the fact that many blame Catilina is evidence of his vices (vitia) and the result is that he can (so Cicero says) find no pleasures in his country any more.
- Patria Romanorum erat plena Graecorum librorum statuarumque pulchrarum.
erat - "was" - 3rd person sing., imperfect indicative active.
Graecorum librorum statuarumque pulchrarum - "of Greek books and beautiful statues" - all are partititive genitives following the adjective plena.
The fatherland of the Romans was full of Greek books and beautiful statues.
This is from a speech Cicero delivered on behalf of a Greek poet, Archias. The Romans often expressed a sense of inferiority in comparison with the Greek cultural achievements. Of course, one must suspect some irony in this posture, especially when Vergil adopts it in his great epic.
- Si animus infirmus est, non poterit bonam fortunam tolerare.
If the soul is weak, it will not be able to endure good fortune.
poterit: 3rd. pers. sing., Future, Indicative, Active of possum, posse. The sense of this verb is completed in the sentence by the use of the complementary infinitive tolerare.
The Romans were in some ways more troubled by the proper response to success than by the response to failure. In one of the first speeches we have, Cato the Elder warns against the dangers of success.