For the philosopher, see Sallustius; for other uses, see Sallust (disambiguation).
Gaius Sallustius Crispus, generally known simply as Sallust, (86-34 BC), a Roman historian, belonged to a well-known plebeian family, and was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines. Throughout his career Sallust always stood by his principle as a popularis, an opposer of Pompey's party and the old aristocracy of Rome.
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After an ill-spent youth, Sallust entered public life and won election as Quaestor in 55 and one of the tribunes of the people in 52, the year in which the followers of Milo killed Clodius in a street brawl. Sallust then supported the following prosecution of Milo. He also had hostilities with the famous orator Cicero.
From the beginning of his public career, Sallust operated as a decided partisan of Caesar, to whom he owed such political advancement as he attained. In 50 the censor Appius Claudius Pulcher removed him from the Senate on the grounds of gross immorality (probably really because of his friendship with Caesar). In the following year, no doubt through Caesar's influence, he was reinstated.
In 46 he served as a praetor and accompanied Caesar in his African campaign, which ended in the decisive defeat of the remains of the Pompeian war party at Thapsus. As a reward for his services, Sallust gained appointment as governor of the province of Africa Nova. In this capacity he committed such oppression and extortion that only the influence of Caesar enabled him to escape condemnation. On his return to Rome he purchased and began laying out in great splendour the famous gardens on the Quirinal known as the Horti Sallustiani or Gardens of Sallust. These gardens would later belong to the emperors.
Sallust then retired from public life and devoted himself to historical literature, and further developing his Gardens of Sallust, upon which he spent much of his accumulated wealth.
Sallust's account of the Catiline conspiracy (De coniuratione Catilinae or Bellum Catilinae) and of the Jugurthine War (Bellum Iugurthinum) have come down to us complete, together with fragments of his larger and most important work (Historiae), a history of Rome from 78-67 BC, intended as a continuation of Cornelius Sisenna's work.
The Conspiracy of Catiline (Sallust's first published work) contains the history of the memorable year 63. Sallust adopts the usually accepted view of Catiline, and describes him as the deliberate foe of law, order and morality, and does not give a comprehensive explanation of his views and intentions. (Note that Catiline had supported the party of Sulla, which Sallust had opposed.) Mommsen's suggestion — that Sallust particularly wished to clear his patron (Caesar) of all complicity in the conspiracy — may have contained some truth.
In writing about the conspiracy of Catiline, Sallust's tone, style, and descriptions of aristocratic behavior show him as deeply troubled by the moral decline of Rome. While he inveighs against Catiline's depraved character and vicious actions, he does not fail to state that the man had many noble traits — indeed all that a Roman man needed to succeed. In particular, Sallust shows Catiline as deeply courageous in his final battle.
This subject gave Sallust the opportunity of showing off his rhetoric at the expense of the old Roman aristocracy, whose degeneracy he delighted to paint in the blackest colours.
Sallust's Jugurthine War is a brief monograph recording the war in Numidia c.112 B.C. Its true value lies in the introduction of Marius and Sulla to the Roman political scene and the beginning of their rivalry. Sallust's time as governor of Africa Nova ought to have let the author develop a solid geographical and ethnographical background to the war, however, this is not evident in the monograph despite a diversion on the subject because Sallust's priority in the "Jugurthine War", as with the "Catiline Conspiracy", is to use history as a vehicle for his judgement on the slow destruction of Roman morality and politics.
The extant fragments of the Histories (some discovered in 1886) show sufficiently well the political partisan, who took a keen pleasure in describing the reaction against Sulla's policy and legislation after the dictator's death. Historians regret the loss of the work, as it must have thrown much light on a very eventful period, embracing the war against Sertorius (died 72 BC), the campaigns of Lucullus against Mithradates VI of Pontus (75 - 66 BC), and the victories of Pompey in the East (66 - 62 BC).
Two letters (Duae epistolae de republica ordinanda), letters of political counsel and advice addressed to Caesar, and an attack upon Cicero (Invectiva or Declamatio in Ciceronem), frequently attributed to Sallust, are thought by modern scholars to have probably come from the pen of the rhetorician Marcus Porcius Latro, also the supposed author of a counter-invective attributed to Cicero.[1]
On the whole, antiquity looked favourably on Sallust as an historian. Tacitus speaks highly of him (Annals, iii. 30); and Quintilian does not hesitate to put him on a level with Thucydides (x.1), and declares that he is a greater historian than Livy (ii.5).
Sallust struck out for himself practically a new line in literature, his predecessors having functioned as little better than mere dry-as-dust chroniclers, whereas he endeavoured to explain the connection and meaning of events and successfully delineated character. The contrast between his early life and the high moral tone adopted by him in his writings has frequently made him a subject of reproach, but history gives no reason why he should not have reformed.
In any case, his knowledge of his own former weaknesses may have led him to take a pessimistic view of the morality of his fellow-men, and to judge them severely. He took as his model Thucydides, whom he imitated in his truthfulness and impartiality, in the introduction of philosophizing reflections and speeches, and in the brevity of his style, sometimes bordering upon obscurity. Some readers have ridiculed[citation needed] his fondness for old words and phrases (in which he imitated his contemporary Cato the younger) as an affectation, but this very affectation and his rhetorical exaggerations made Sallust a favourite author in the 2nd century and later.
Nietzsche, in Twilight of the Idols (Section 13.1) credits Sallust for his epigrammatic style: "My sense of style, for the epigram as a style, was awakened almost instantly when I came into contact with Sallust." and praises him for being "compact, severe, with as much substance as possible, a cold sarcasm against 'beautiful words' and 'beautiful sentiments'."
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
Gaius Sallustius Crispus (86 – 34 BC) Statesman and Historian during the last century of the Roman Republic.
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SALLUST [[[Gaius|GAIUS]] SALLUSTIUS CRISPUS] (86-34 B.C.), Roman historian, belonging to a well-known plebeian family, was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines. After an ill-spent youth he entered public life, and was elected tribune of the people in 52, the year in which Clodius was killed in a street brawl by the followers of Milo. Sallust was opposed to Milo and to Pompey's party and to the old aristocracy of Rome. From the first he was a decided partisan of Caesar, to whom he owed such political advancement as he attained. In 50 he was removed from the senate by the censor Appius Claudius Pulcher on the ground of gross immorality, the real reason probably being his friendship for Caesar. In the following year, no doubt through Caesar's influence, he was reinstated and appointed quaestor. In 46 he was praetor, and accompanied Caesar in his African campaign, which ended in the decisive defeat of the remains of the Pompeian party at Thapsus. As a reward for his services, Sallust was appointed governor of the province of Numidia. In this capacity he was guilty of such oppression and extortion that only the influence of Caesar enabled him to escape condemnation. On his return to Rome he purchased and laid out in great splendour the famous gardens on the Quirinal known as the Horti Sallustiani. He now retired from public life and devoted himself to historical literature. His account of the Catiline conspiracy (De conjuratione Catilinae or Bellum Catilinarium) and of the Jugurthine War (Bellum Jugurthinum) have come down to us complete, together with fragments of his larger and most important work (Historiae), a history of Rome from 78-67, intended as a continuation of L. Cornelius Sisenna's work. The Catiline Conspiracy (his first published work) contains the history of the memorable year 63. Sallust adopts the usually accepted view of Catiline, and describes him as the deliberate foe of law, order and morality, without attempting to give any adequate explanation of his views and intentions. Catiline, it must be remembered, had supported the party of Sulla, to which Sallust was opposed. There may be truth in Mommsen's suggestion that he was particularly anxious to clear his patron Caesar of all complicity in the conspiracy. Anyhow, the subject gave him the opportunity of showing off his rhetoric at the expense of the old Roman aristocracy, whose degeneracy he delighted to paint in the blackest colours. On the whole, he is not unfair towards Cicero. His Jugurthine War, again, though a valuable and interesting monograph, is not a satisfactory performance. We may assume that he had collected materials and put together notes for it during his governorship of Numidia. Here, too, he dwells upon the feebleness of the senate and aristocracy, too often in a tiresome, moralizing and philosophizing vein, but as a military history the work is unsatisfactory in the matter of geographical and chronological details. The extant fragments of the Histories (some discovered in 1886) are enough to show the political partisan, who took a keen pleasure in describing the reaction against the dictator's policy and legislation after his death. The loss of the work is to be regretted, as it must have thrown much light on a very eventful period, embracing the war against Sertorius, the campaigns of Lucullus against Mithradates of Pontus, and the victories of the great Pompey in the East. Two letters (Duae epistolae de republics ordinanda), letters of political counsel and advice addressed to Caesar, and an attack upon Cicero (Invectiva or Declamatio in Ciceronem), frequently attributed to Sallust, are probably the work of a rhetorician of the first. century A.D., also the author of a counter-invective by Cicero. Sallust is highly spoken of by Tacitus (Annals, iii. 30); and Quintilian (ii. 5, x. 1), who regards him as superior to Livy,. does not hesitate to put him on a level with Thucydides. On the whole the verdict of antiquity was favourable to Sallust as an historian. He struck out for himself practically a new line in literature, his predecessors having been little better than mere dry-as-dust chroniclers, whereas he endeavoured to explain the connexion and meaning of events, and was a successful delineator of character. The contrast between his early life and the high moral tone adopted by him in his writings was frequently made a subject of reproach against him; but there is no reason why he should not have reformed. In any case, his knowledge of his own former weaknesses may have led him to take a pessimistic view of the morality of his fellow-men, and to judge them severely. His model was Thucydides, whom he imitated in his truthfulness and impartiality, in the introduction of philosophizing reflections and speeches, and in the brevity of his style, sometimes bordering upon obscurity. His fondness for old words and phrases, in which he imitated his contemporary Cato, was ridiculed as an affectation; but it was just this affectation and his rhetorical exaggerations that made Sallust a favourite author in the 2nd century A.D. and later.
Editions and translations in various languages are numerous. Editio princeps (1470); (text) R. Dietsch (1874); H. Jordan (1887); A. Eussner (1887); (text and notes) F. D. Gerlach (1823-1831); F. Kritz (1828-1853; ed. minor, 1856); C. H. Frotscher (1830); C. Merivale (1852); F. Jacobs, H. Wirz (1894); G. Long, revised by J. G. Frazer, with chief fragments of Histories (1884); W. W. Capes (1884); English translation by A. W. Pollard (1882). There are many separate editions of the Catilina and Jugurtha, chiefly for school use. The fragments have been edited by F. Kritz (1853) and B. Maurenbrecher (1891-1893); and there is an Italian translation (with notes) of the supposititious letters by G. Vittori (1897). On Sallust generally J. W. Lobell's Zur Beurtheilung des S. (1818) should still be consulted; there are also treatises by T. Vogel (1857) and M. Jager (1879 and 1884), T. Rambeau (1879); L. Constans, De sermone Sallustiano (1880); P. Bellezza, Dei fonti e dell' autoritd storica di Sallustio (1891); and special lexicon by O. Eichert (1885). The sections in Teuffel-Schwabe's History of Roman Literature are full of information; see also bibliography of Sallust for1878-1898by B. Maurenbrecher in C. Bursian, Jahresbericht fiber die Fortschritte der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft (1900).
Categories: SAK-SAN | Historians | Roman military people
   | ''The Jugurthine War'' - Sallust, The Jugurthine War (ed. John Selby Watson) |
| | ''The Catilinarian Conspiracy'' - Sallust, Consipiracy of Catiline (ed. John Selby Watson) |
| | at Latin Teaching Materials - Translation of Sallust's Catilinarian War 1 |
| | Sallust Quotes - quote-fox.com |
| | ''The Gardens of Sallust'', a new book - Hartswick, The Gardens of Sallust, University of Texas Press |
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