C. Sallusti Crispi De Bello Catilinario Et Jugurthino

"De Bello Catilinario Et Jugurthino" by Sallust is a historical account written in the late 1st century BC. The work intricately details two significant conflicts in Roman history: the Catilinarian conspiracy, which aimed to overthrow the Roman Republic, and the Jugurthine War, focusing on Jugurtha's resistance against Rome. Sallust, a political figure and historian, provides deep insights into the moral decay of Roman society during his time, highlighting themes of corruption and the struggle between different political factions. At the start of the text, the author introduces himself and his motives for documenting the events of the Catilinarian conspiracy. Sallust discusses the nature of human ambition, contrasting the virtues of the Roman Republic with the vices that led to its decline. He begins by describing Lucius Catilina, the central figure behind the conspiracy, portraying him as a man of ambition and depravity. Sallust goes on to outline the social and political tensions in Rome, illustrating how Catiline capitalized on the prevailing discontent among the populace and his connections with disillusioned individuals, thus setting the stage for the dramatic events that would unfold in the conspiracy against the state. The opening thus establishes a tone of urgency and foreboding, inviting readers into a world of political intrigue and moral complexity. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust, was a historian and politician of the Roman Republic from a plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became a partisan of Julius Caesar, circa 50s BC. He is the earliest known Latin-language Roman historian with surviving works to his name, of which Conspiracy of Catiline on the eponymous conspiracy, The Jugurthine War on the eponymous war, and the Histories remain extant. As a writer, Sallust was primarily influenced by the works of the 5th-century BC Greek historian Thucydides. During his political career he amassed great and ill-gotten wealth from his governorship of Africa.