In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Cicero's Catilinarian Orations

  • Introduction
  • General Scholarly Analysis of the Catilinarian Orations
  • Scholarly Analysis of Individual Catilinarian Orations
Back to top

Classics Cicero's Catilinarian Orations
by
James M. May
  • LAST MODIFIED: 19 February 2025
  • DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389661-0425

Introduction

In 63 BCE, during the final months of his term as consul, Cicero, through diligence, careful investigation, and a series of other fortuitous events, uncovered a plot to overthrow the state. The leader and mastermind of the conspiracy was Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline), a nobly born but disaffected senator, who had experienced defeat in the consular elections two years running. In possession of considerable physical abilities and great personal magnetism, Catiline had assembled a group of similarly disgruntled conspirators, who were hard-pressed by the ongoing economic crisis plaguing Rome and who were aiming, among other things, at the cancellation of debts, redistribution of land, and a radical (and violent) change of leadership. The four speeches that Cicero delivered concerning the conspiracy, known as the Catilinarian orations, or simply the Catilinarians (Marci Tullii Ciceronis orationes in Catilinam [In Catilinam I–IV]), are justly famous and familiar to most every student who has studied Latin. After thwarting an assassination attempt at his house on the morning of 7 November, Cicero convened a meeting of the Senate, during which he delivered a fiery speech, perhaps his most famous (the First Catilinarian oration), repeatedly urging Catiline (who was in attendance) to leave Rome and join his revolutionary army. On the next day, the consul called a public meeting in the forum and delivered the Second Catilinarian oration, a scathing invective in which he characterizes Catiline and his followers, contrasting them with the loyal Romans who oppose them. On 3 December, in another speech to the people (the Third Catilinarian oration), he reports on the arrest of several conspirators and reveals crucially incriminating evidence against them. Two days later, the Senate deliberated the fate of the conspirators in custody. Silanus, the consul-elect, proposed execution, while Julius Caesar argued for life imprisonment. Cicero, in his Fourth Catilinarian oration, reviews the arguments and pledges his loyal support for the will of the Senate. Silanus’s proposal, bolstered considerably by a powerful speech by the younger Cato, carried the day and the five conspirators in custody ultimately met their fate by strangulation that evening in the Tullianum, Rome’s prison. Although hailed as a hero in the immediate aftermath, the action of executing Roman citizens without a trial would return to haunt Cicero in the near future. Catiline, after fleeing Rome, joined fellow-conspirator Gaius Manlius and his assembled troops in northern Italy; he, along with several thousand soldiers, died in a pitched battle near Pistoria, northwest of Florence, in January 62 BCE.

The Text

Cicero published the four Catilinarian Orations in 60 BCE, along with eight other “consular orations,” and, in a letter to his friend Atticus (Att. 2.1.3), compared them to Demosthenes’ Philippics. Their publication was at least partially precipitated by the difficulties that Cicero had been experiencing increasingly since the execution of the conspirators, difficulties that would ultimately result in his exile in 58. Given such circumstances, scholars have speculated that Cicero edited the Catilinarians to some degree in order to explain his actions and justify them more fully. In any case, the Catilinarians soon became standard school texts, a status they enjoy even to this day. They are certainly Cicero’s most well-known orations, even among people who are not steeped in Latin literature or the classics in general. Multiple editions and scores of school commentaries have been published over the centuries; those listed below comprise the best and most recent examples.

back to top

Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.

How to Subscribe

Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.

Article

Up

Down