The Jugurthine War/The Conspiracy of Catiline [antikvár]

life and writings of sallustThe information we possess about the career of Gaius Sallustius Cris-pus is meagre, and, in spite of the high moral tone which he adopts in those passages of his works that deal with political and social matters, very litde of what is known reflects any credit upon him. He was bom in 86 b.c., in the Sabine highlands of central Italy, became a quaestor about 55 and a tribune of the plebs in 52, during which year he tried to secure the condemnation of Milo - a political gang-leader who was on trial for the murder of his rival Clodius - and attacked Cicero for defending Milo. Since Clodius had been a bitter enemy of Cicero and some years earlier had been one of Caes?.r's chief henchmen, this action marked Sallust as a supporter of the populares, the anti-senatorial group of politicians, among whom Caesar - still engaged at the time in the conquest of Gaul - had been since the late sixties one of the most prominent.In 50 b.c. Sallust was expelled from the Senate by the censors for alleged immorality: no doubt his private life was no more above reproach than that of many of his contemporaries, though much that was said about him by his enemies was mere malicious gossip. A year or two later, however, the influence of Caesar enabled liim to be elected to a second quaestorship and so to re-enter the Senate. During the years 49-45 he served Caesar as an officer in various campaigns of the civil war, was elected praetor (46), and was installed by Caesar as proconsular governor of the Province o( Africa Nova, which had been formed from the kingdom of Juba, king of Numidia. He is said to have plundered the province disgracefully and to have been saved from condemnation only by the protection of Caesar, to whom his enemies said he gave an enormous bribe. Certainly he was thereafter a wealthy man, owning a villa at Tivoli that had been Caesar's and a mansion and a splendid park at Rome - the famous horti Sallustiam which afterwards became the property of the Roman emperors. After Caesar's death he retired from public life, for which perhaps he had