Customer Reviews

The Jugurthine War / The Conspiracy of Catiline (Penguin Classics)

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It is suggested by historians that Sallust was a hypocrite. In his writings he always claims to be writing from the highest motives and says such things as:
"Wealth and Beauty can only give us a fleeting and perishable fame, but intellectual excellence is a glorious and everlasting possession." This stance sits nicely alongside the fact that he was expelled from the Senate for alleged immorality in 50 B.C.! The solution to this problem seems to be that human nature is a complex phenomenon, and that man is capable of both brute carnality and intellectual honesty, depending on the chemical swings of the moment without totally compromising his integrity.

Only a part of Sallust's work has survived, most notably his history of the war against Jugurthine, an able North African monarch, and the Conspiracy of Catiline, a debauched but charismatic member of the aristocracy who aimed at a populist coup. This volume is composed of these two histories.

The war against the ruthless but talented Jugurthine was more about politics than tactics. Jugurthine took advantage of the growing material greed of senators and tribunes in the late Roman Republic to bribe them to connive at his usurpation of the Numidian Kingdom. This policy was only successful in the short term, however, as the aggravated greed of the Romans led to a war of conquest, plunder, and annexation of his kingdom.

Sallust's account is particularly effective at showing the rise of Marius, a common soldier from a plebian family, who succeeded in overcoming prejudice to rise to the top of the Roman State as Consul. Although he later became a bloodthirsty revolutionary, his toughness, honesty, and energy contrast with the corruption and decadence that was already infecting Rome's higher orders.

The second part of this history focuses on one of these corrupt aristocrats, the much vilified Catiline, who tried to seize supreme power. Connected to many of the great men of his day, like the young Julius Caesar and the extremely wealthy Crassus, he hatched a plot to cause fires, assassinations, and riots in Rome while his private army conscripted from veterans with bad debts marched on the city. Catiline as a profligate nobleman had vast debts of his own and this was perhaps one of the main motives behind the plot.

Ably opposed by the Consul Cicero, the plot fell apart until Catiline's private army was forced to retreat and then annihilated by the Roman legions in North Italy. Although Catiline was depicted by Cicero as a depraved monster who had even sacrificed and eaten human flesh, Sallust seems more objective. He records Caesar's fine speech calling for clemency for some of the conspirators, and he also records the bravery of Catiline's little army, every man of which fell facing the enemy in a stubborn battle. This leaves the reader feeling that Catiline was perhaps more than just a power-crazed thug.

Dealing honestly with two of the most unpopular 'villains' from the late Republic, Sallust's history successfully aspires to the writer's own notion of intellectual excellence. It is for this reason that his name is still with us today.

Sallust is credited as the father of the historical monograph, and this volume contains his two surviving examples in this genre. I first read this edition of the "Jugurthine War" back in the late 60's at the height of the Vietnam War. I found the similarities between Vietnam and the Jugurthine War to be striking. The U.S. military could well have studied the lessons of this book. Aside from that, Sallust's story of Jugurtha is a rollicking good yarn with intrigue, corruption, hairbreadth escapes, betrayal, remarkable battles, and central characters (Jugurtha and the Romans opposing him) who, each in their own way, are all remarkable men. The other half of the book, "Cataline" deals, not with a guerilla war, but with an abortive coup. It deals with some of the same human values and has some characters who are almost as interesting as the characters in "The Jugurthine War".

As all Penguin Classics, this translation is intended to be enjoyable by a modern reader with no knowledge of the Classical languages who wants to introduce him/herself to the Classical authors. Therefore the colorful cover and the emminently readable translation. However, the cover - a mythological mosaic of the Later Roman epoch - has nothing to do with the subject-matter, and the translation falls sometimes into unduly modernizing. There is a place where one speaks of the Roman "proletariat"?! Personally, I should prefer a translation that was readable but which made no attempt to give the impression of Ancient-Roman-society-very-much-alike-to-ours. But I must admit that, compared to, say, the Portuguese translation by Barreto Feio (a fine speciment of XIXth century prose, and enormously cumbersome to a modern reader) this trans. fares better.

Sallust was a master of historical narrative, even if his history's can only barely be labled as such. In his desire to press home a moral of the greed and corruption of Rome he sacrificed much of the truth to his own political agenda, even more so than was normal for historians of the time. These two monographs are the only complete surviving works of the great Latin stylist, and despite the details are well worth the reading.

The two tales in this were hugely influential historical essays more or less up to the early 20C; they served as models of moralistic writing as well as clear exposition in Latin. I remember studying both the content and writing style while (inexplicably) attempting to master Latin in college.

In the Jugurthine War, you get wonderful details on the rise of the great generals, Marius and Sulla, who were friends and then deadly rivals in a struggle that essentially sowed the seeds of the end of the Roman Republic in the next generation. While the plot covers a war in Northern Africa on a ruthless rebel King, Jugurtha, the most important aspects of the work are on the transformation of the Roman army from amateur soldier-farmer landowners to a professional corps that admitted anyone. While a necessary measure to maintain the expansion of the Roman empire as the population of traditional army recruits dwindled, this led directly to rise of powerful generals, who could rely on the personal loyalty of their troops if they wished to grab power in civil war, which had been avoided for centuries. First, there was Sulla's dictatorship, then Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon. But the story takes place before that, when the military genius Marius was transforming the army and mentoring the ambitious Sulla. The reader can study the organization of the army as well as the changing mores of Roman society that this reflected. It is a great masterpiece and fun read, with wonderfully quirky details. In many ways, it is about the end of the oligarchy that ruled the Republic for so long, as exemplified by the failure of Metellus and how despised enemy, Marius (who was not a aristocrat and knew no Greek) took over from him and triumphed.

The story on Cataline's conspiracy is more about Rome's civil society and governance. It is a far more openly moralistic tale of an attempted coup by a disgraced aristocrat, who was opposed by Cicero; in the background Julius Caesar and Pompey are also present, as are a number of lesser known Senators such as Scaurus. While this adds crucial detail to the historical picture, its preachiness and one-sided portrait - and many sloppy chronological mistakes - make it a fairly boring read, i.e. for scholars. It is a tale of decadence and ruffians who are tempted by power in the promises of a fool, Cataline.

The introductory essays are also splendidly detailed regarding historical controversies and background currents as well as beautifully written. I learned a great deal about the context in which Sallust's essays were conceived, e.g. his reasons for moralizing, his hypocracies, and career.

So, while rather recondite, this is a truly great volume of one of antiquity's most influential writers. Recommended.

I am giving this book four stars instead of five because I don't think Sallust's extrinsic moralism has worn well with time. He is right to note that rich, powerful governments are often corrupt, but the men and women who make up these governments do not change thir ways because someone preaches at them.

As with other histories written in ancient times, the two stories contained in this book are partly historical data, partly historical narratives, and partly dramatic dialogue. Whenever Sallust wants to make a general point, like "Rome is the city where everything is for sale", he adapts the language of this assertion to the circumstances of a point of specific action, and then puts it into the mouth of one of his characters. Keep in mind that the dramatic dialogue may be fiction, but the underlying points may very well have been valid. Rome really was a city where almost everything was for sale, and reading narratives like these gives us a vivid look at this reality.

This work is flawed, but we should be very happy that we have it because it gives us an alternate (pagan) look at power relationships within the late Roman Republic - a society that would soon become an Empire and produce written works (both Christian and secular) that are today read all over the world.

This is a primary source, so be prepared! It's a great read and a good way to flex your critical thinking skills. Any historian or classicist should enjoy this.

Sallust was adept in the writing of history as these works attest. A reason not to read this work is if you are able to read it in the original Latin. A good primary source for those interested in this period of the Republic.

His two works, The Jugurthine War & The Conspiracy of Catiline cover the events whereby the Romans were forced to hunt a North African ruler through the desert from hideout to hideout for years & where Cicero, acting in his capacity as Consul faced an insurrection led by a Roman.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. With Enron,
Worldcom, and other companies going down in flames all around us-
with the little guys getting the shaft, while the CEO's get gold-
en parachutes-when you read this, you realize nothing has changed
in 2,000 years!!!!!!!!!!!!

Allowing for some Roman idioms, Sallust is as relevant today as he was 2,000 years ago.

Pretty sad commentary on human nature, huh?!