If man, however, had as much regard for worthy objects, as he has spirit in the pursuit of what is useless1, unprofitable, and even perilous, he would not be governed by circumstances more than he would govern them, and would attain to a point of greatness, at which, instead of being mortal?, he would be immortalised by glory.

II. As man is composed of mind and body, so, of all our concerns and pursuits, some partake the nature of the body, and some that of the mind. Thus beauty of person, eminent wealth, corporeal strength, and all other things of this kind, speedily pass away; but the illustrious achievements of the mind are, like the mind itself, immortal.

Of the advantages of person and fortune, as there is a beginning, there is also an end; they all rise and fall3, increase and decay. But the mind, incorruptible and eternal, the ruler of the human race, actuates and has power over all things, yet is itself free from control.

The depravity of those, therefore, is the more surprising, who, devoted to corporeal gratifications, spend their lives in luxury and indolence, but suffer the mind, than which nothing is better or greater in man, to languish in neglect and inac

but they pretend that they cannot, when the truth is that they will not." "Negotia is a common word with Sallust, for which other writers would use res, facta." Gerlach. "Cujus rei nos ipsi sumus auctores, ejus culpam rebus exMüller. "Auctores" is the same as the Greek atriol. Unsuitable, not to the purpose, not contributing to the im

ternis attribuimus."

1 Useless] Aliena. provement of life.

2 Instead of being mortal] Pro mortalibus. There are two senses in which these words may be taken: as far as mortals can, and instead of being mortals. Kritz and Dietsch say that the latter is undoubtedly the true sense. Other commentators are either silent or say little to the purpose. As for the translators, they have studied only how to get over the passage delicately. The latter sense is perhaps favoured by what is said in c. 2, that "the illustrious achievements of the mind are, like the mind itself, immortal."

3 II. They all rise and fall, &c.] Omnia orta occidunt, et aucta senescunt. This is true of things in general, but is here spoken only of the qualities of the body, as De Brosses clearly perceived.

Has power over all things] Habet cuncta. "All things are in its power." Dietsch. "Sub ditione tenet. So Jupiter, Ov. Met. i., 197:

Quum mihi qui fulmen, qui vos habeoque rogoque."

Burnouf.

So Aristippus said, Habeo Laidem, non habeor à Laide, exw ovк exoμal. Cic. Epist. ad Fam. ix., 26.

tivity; especially when there are so many and various mental employments by which the highest renown may be attained. III. Of these occupations, however, civil and military offices1, and all administration of public affairs, seem to me, at the present time, by no means to be desired; for neither is honour conferred on merit, nor are those, who have gained power by unlawful means, the more secure or respected for it. To rule our country or subjects2 by force, though we may have the ability, and may correct what is wrong, is yet an ungrateful undertaking; especially as all changes in the state lead to bloodshed, exile, and other evils of discord; while to struggle in ineffectual attempts, and to gain nothing, by wearisome exertions, but public hatred, is the extreme of 1 III. Civil and military offices] Magistratus et imperiu. "Illo vocabulo civilia, hoc militaria munera, significantur." Dietsch.

2 To rule our country or subjects, &c.] Nam vi quidem regere patriam aut parentes, &c. Cortius, Gerlach, Kritz, Dietsch, and Müller, are unanimous in understanding parentes as the participle of the verb pareo. That this is the sense, says Gerlach, is sufficiently proved by the conjunction aut; for if Sallust had meant parents, he would have used ut; and in this opinion Allen coincides. Doubtless, also, this sense of the word suits extremely well with the rest of the sentence, in which changes in government are mentioned. But Burnouf, with Crispinus, prefers to follow Aldus Manutius, who took the word in the other signification, supposing that Sallust borrowed the sentiment from Plato, who says in his Epistle ad Dionis Propinquos : Πατέρα δὲ ἡ μητέρα ουχ ὅσιον ἡγοῦ μαι προσβιάζεσθαι, μὴ νόσῳ παραφροσύνης ἐχομένους. Βίαν δὲ πατρίδι πολιτείας μεταβολῆς μὴ προσφέρειν, ὅταν ἄνευ φυγῶν, καὶ σφαγῆς ἀνδρῶν, μὴ δυνατὸν ᾖ γίνεσθαι τὴν ἀριστὴν. And he makes a similar observation in his Crito: Πανταχοῦ ποιητέον, ὃ ἂν κελεύοι ἡ πόλις ΤΕ, καὶ ἡ πατρὶς. -Βιάζεσθαι δὲ ουχ ὅσιον ὄυτε μητέρα, ὄντε πατέρα· πολὺ δὲ τούτων ἔτι ἧττον τὴν πατρίδα. On which sentiments Cicero, ad Fam. i., 9, thus comments: Id enim jubet idem ille Plato, quem ego auctorem vehementer sequor; tantum contendere in republica quantum probare tuis civibus possis: vim neque parenti, neque patriæ afferre oportere. There is also another passage in Cicero, Cat. i., 3, which seems to favour this sense of the word: Si te parentes timerent atque odissent tui, neque eos ullâ ratione placare posses, ut opinor, ab eorum oculis aliquò concederes; nunc te patria, quæ communis est omnium nostrum parens odit ac metuit, &c. Of the first passage cited from Plato, indeed, Sallust's words may seem to be almost a translation. Yet, as the majority of commentators have followed Cortius, I have also followed him. Sallust has the word in this sense in Jug., c. 102: Parentes abunde habemus. So Vell. Pat. ii., 108: Principatus constans ex voluntate parentium.

3 Lead to] Portendant. "Portendere in a pregnant sense, meaning not merely to indicate, but quasi secum ferre, to carry along with them." Kritzius.

madness; unless when a base and pernicious spirit, perchance, may prompt a man to sacrifice his honour and liberty to the power of a party.

IV. Among other employments which are pursued by the intellect, the recording of past events is of pre-eminent utility; but of its merits I may, I think, be silent, since many have spoken of them, and since, if I were to praise my own occupation, I might be considered as presumptuously1 praising myself. I believe, too, that there will be some, who, because I have resolved to live unconnected with political affairs, will apply to my arduous and useful labours the name of idleness; especially those who think it an important pursuit to court the people, and gain popularity by entertainments. But if such persons will consider at what periods I obtained office, what sort of men2 were then unable to obtain it, and what description of persons have subsequently entered the senates, they will think, assuredly, that I have altered my sentiments rather from prudence than from indolence, and that more good will arise to the state from my retirement, than from the busy efforts of others.

I have often heard that Quintus Maximus1, Publius Scipio5, and many other illustrious men of our country, were accustomed to observe, that, when they looked on the images of their ancestors, they felt their minds irresistibly excited to

1 IV. Presumptuously] Per insolentiam. The same as insolenter, though some refer it, not to Sallust, but to quis existumet, in the sense of strangely, i. e. foolishly or ignorantly. I follow Cortius's interpretation.

2 At what periods I obtained office, what sort of men, &c.] Quibus ego temporibus magistratus adeptus sum, et quales viri, &c. "Sallust obtained the quæstorship a few years after the conspiracy of Catiline, about the time when the state was agitated by the disorders of Clodius and his party. He was tribune of the people, A.U.C. 701, the year in which Clodius was killed by Milo. He was prætor in 708, when Cæsar had made himself ruler. In the expression quales viri, fc., he alludes chiefly to Cato, who, when he stood for the prætorship, was unsuccessful." Burnouf. Kritzius defends adeptus sum.

"Cæsar

3 What description of persons have subsequently entered the senate] chose the worthy and unworthy, as suited his own purposes, to be members of the senate." Burnouf.

4 Quintus Maximus] Quintus Fabius Maximus, of whom Ennius says,

Unus qui nobis cunctando restituit rem;
Non ponebat enim rumores ante salutem.

5 Publius Scipio] Scipio Africanus the Elder, the conqueror of Hannibal. See

c. 5.

the pursuit of honour. Not, certainly, that the wax2, or the shape, had any such influence; but, as they called to mind their forefathers' achievements, such a flame was kindled in the breasts of those eminent persons, as could not be extinguished till their own merit had equalled the fame and glory of their ancestors.

But, in the present state of manners, who is there, on the contrary, that does not rather emulate his forefathers in riches and extravagance, than in virtue and labour? Even men of humble birth3, who formerly used to surpass the nobility in merit, pursue power and honour rather by intrigue and dishonesty, than by honourable qualifications; as if the prætorship, consulate, and all other offices of the kind, were noble and dignified in themselves, and not to be estimated according to the worth of those who fill them.

But, in expressing my concern and regret at the manners of the state, I have proceeded with too great freedom, and at too great length. I now return to my subject.

V. I am about to relate the war which the Roman people carried on with Jugurtha, King of the Numidians; first, because it was great, sanguinary, and of varied fortune; and secondly, because then, for the first time, opposition was offered to the power of the nobility; a contest which threw everything, religious and civil, into confusion, and was carried to such a height of madness, that nothing but war, and the devastation of Italy, could put an end to civil dissensions5. But before I fairly commence my narrative, I will take a review of a few preceding particulars, in order that

To the pursuit of honour] Ad virtutem. Virtus in the same sense as in virtutis viâ, c. 1.

2 The wax] Ceram illam. The images or busts of their ancestors, which the nobility kept in the halls of their houses, were made of wax. See Plin. H. N.

3 Men of humble birth] Homines novi. See Cat., c. 23.

4 V. Threw everything, religious and civil, into confusion] Divina et humana cuncta permiscuit. "All things, both divine and human, were so changed, that their previous condition was entirely subverted." Dietsch.

5 Civil dissensions] Studiis civilibus. This is the sense in which most commentators take studia; and if this be right, the whole phrase must be understood as I have rendered it. So Cortius: "Ut non prius finirentur [studia civilia] nisi bello et vastitate Italiæ." Sallust has studia partium, Jug. c. 42; and Gerlach quotes from Cic. pro Marcell. c. 10: "Non enim consiliis solis et studiis, sed armis etiam et castris dissidebamus."

the whole subject may be more clearly and distinctly understood.

In the second Punic war, in which Hannibal, the leader of the Carthaginians, had weakened the power of Italy more than any other enemy1 since the Roman name became great2, Masinissa, King of the Numidians, being received into alliance by Publius Scipio, who, from his merits was afterwards surnamed Africanus, had performed for us many eminent exploits in the field. In return for which services, after the Carthaginians were subdued, and after Syphax3, whose power in Italy was great and extensive, was taken prisoner, the Roman people presented to Masinissa, as a free gift, all the cities and lands that they had captured. Masinissa's friendship for us, accordingly, remained faithful and inviolate; his reign and his life ended together. His son, Micipsa, alone succeeded to his kingdom; Mastanabal and Gulussa, his two brothers, having been carried off by disease. Micipsa had two sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal, and had brought up in his house, with the same care as his own children, a son of his brother Mastanabal, named Jugurtha, whom Masinissa, as being the son of a concubine, had left in a private station.

VI. Jugurtha, as he grew up, being strong in frame, graceful in person, but, above all, vigorous in understanding, did not allow himself to be enervated by pleasure and indolence, but, as is the usage of his country, exercised himself

More than any other enemy] Maximè.

2 Since the Roman name became great] Post magnitudinem nominis Romani. "I know not why interpreters should find any difficulty in this passage. I understand it to signify simply since the Romans became so great as they were in the time of Hannibal; for, before that period, they had suffered even heavier calamities, especially from the Gauls." Cortius.

3 Syphax] "He was King of the Masæsyli in Numidia; was at first an enemy to the Carthaginians (Liv. xxiv., 48), and afterwards their friend (Liv. xxviii., 17). He then changed sides again, and made a treaty with Scipio; but having at length been offered the hand of Sophonisba, the daughter of Asdrubal, in marriage, he accepted it, and returned into alliance with the Carthaginians. Being subsequently taken prisoner by Masinissa and Lælius, the lieutenant of Scipio, (Liv. xxx., 2) he was carried into Italy, and died at Tibur (Liv. xxx., 45).” Burneuf.

+ His reign] Imperii. Cortius thinks that the grant of the Romans ceased with the life of Masinissa, and that his son Micipsa reigned only over that part of Numidia which originally belonged to his father. But in this opinion succeeding commentators have generally supposed him to be mistaken.