View source for Sallust

{{Short description|Roman historian and politician (86–35 BC)}}
{{about|the historian|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Gaius Sallustius Crispus
| image         = Salluste (cropped).jpg
| caption       = Imaginary portrait of Sallust
| birth_date    = 86 BC
| birth_place   = [[Amiternum]]
| death_date    = {{circa|35 BC}}
| death_place   = 
| death_cause   = 
| nationality   = Roman
| occupation    = Politician and soldier
| office        = {{ubl|[[Plebeian tribune]] (52 BC)|[[Praetor]] (46 BC)}}
| party         = <!-- Populares not a thing. See MA Robb, Beyond populares and optimates (2010). -->
| children      = 
| parents       = 
| relatives     = [[Gaius Sallustius Passienus Crispus]] (great-nephew and adopted son)
| module        = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
| allegiance    = Caesarian
| rank          = {{ubl|[[Legatus|Legate]] |[[Praetor]]| Proconsul}}
| battles       = {{nowrap|[[Caesar's civil war]] (49–44 BC)}}
| battles_label = Wars
}}
}}

'''Gaius Sallustius Crispus''', usually [[anglicisation|anglicised]] as '''Sallust''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|æ|l|ə|s|t}}, {{respell|SAL|əst}}; {{Circa|86}}–35 BC),<ref>{{harvnb|Woodman|2008|p= xxvii|ps=. "When Sallust died, probably in 35..."}}</ref> was a historian and politician of the [[Roman Republic]] from a [[plebeian]] family. Probably born at [[Amiternum]] in the country of the [[Sabine]]s, Sallust became a partisan of [[Julius Caesar]] (100 to 44 BC), circa 50s BC. He is the earliest known [[Latin]]-language Roman historian with surviving works to his name, of which ''Conspiracy of Catiline'' on [[Catilinarian conspiracy|the eponymous conspiracy]], ''The Jugurthine War'' on the [[Jugurthine War|eponymous war]], and the ''Histories'' (of which only fragments survive) remain extant. As a writer, Sallust was primarily influenced by the works of the [[5th century BCE|5th-century BC]] Greek historian [[Thucydides]]. During his political career he amassed great and ill-gotten wealth from his governorship of Africa.<ref>{{harvnb|Woodman|2008|p=xxvii|ps=, referencing his estate, "developed with ill-gotten gains from his year's governorship in Africa".}}</ref>

== Life and career ==

Sallust was probably born in [[Amiternum]] in [[Central Italy]],<ref name=syme.7>{{harvnb|Syme|1964|p=7}}.</ref><ref name=mellor.30>{{harvnb|Mellor|2002|p=30}}</ref><ref name=grant.13>{{harvnb|Grant|1995|p=13}}.</ref> though [[Eduard Schwartz]] takes the view that Sallust's birthplace was Rome.{{sfn|Syme|1964|p=15}} His birth date is calculated from the report of [[Jerome]]'s ''[[Chronicon (Jerome)|Chronicon]]''.<ref name=syme.13>{{harvnb|Syme|1964|p=13}}.</ref> But [[Ronald Syme]] suggests that Jerome's date has to be adjusted because of his carelessness,<ref name=syme.13 /> and suggests 87 BC as a more correct date.<ref name=syme.13 /> However, Sallust's birth is widely dated at 86 BC,<ref name=mellor.30 /><ref>{{in lang|ru}} Альбрехт, М. (2002) ''История римской литературы'' [Istoriya Rimskoy Literatury], Т. 1. Греко-латинский кабинет. С. 480</ref><ref>{{in lang|ru}} Горенштейн, В. О. (1981) ''Гай Саллюстий Крисп. Сочинения''. Наука. С. 148</ref> and the ''[[Der Kleine Pauly|Kleine Pauly Encyclopedia]]'' takes 1 October 86 BC as the birthdate.<ref name=dkp>Schmidt, P. L. "Sallustius (4)", ''Der Kleine Pauly''. Bd. IV. Sp. 1513</ref> [[Michael Grant (classicist)|Michael Grant]] cautiously offers 80s BC.<ref name=grant.13 />

There is no information about Sallust's parents or family,<ref name=syme.14>{{harvnb|Syme|1964|p=14}}.</ref> except for [[Tacitus]]' mention of his sister.<ref>[[Tacitus]], [[Annals (Tacitus)|''Annales'']] III.30.3</ref> The ''Sallustii'' were a provincial noble family of [[Sabines|Sabine]] origin.<ref name=mellor.30 /><ref name=grant.13 /><ref name=syme.9>{{harvnb|Syme|1964|p=9}}.</ref> They belonged to the [[equestrian order]] and had full Roman citizenship.<ref name=mellor.30 /> During the [[Social War (91–88 BC)|Social War]] Sallust's parents hid in Rome, because Amiternum was under threat of siege by rebelling Italic tribes.<ref name=syme.12>{{harvnb|Syme|1964|p=12}}.</ref> Because of this Sallust could have been raised in Rome.<ref name=syme.14 /> He received a very good education.<ref name=mellor.30 />

=== Early career ===

After an ill-spent youth, Sallust entered [[Cursus honorum|public life]] and may have won election as [[quaestor]] in 55&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Broughton|1952|p=217|ps=. "The date of his quaestorship is probably 55, since he was born in 86 and held the [plebeian] tribunate... in 52".}}</ref> However, the evidence is unclear; some scholars suggest he never held the post.<ref name=grant.13 /><ref name=syme.28>{{harvnb|Syme|1964|p=28}}</ref>{{sfn|Earl|1966|p=306}} The "earliest certain information" on his career is his term as [[plebeian tribune]] in 52 BC, the year in which the followers of [[Titus Annius Milo|Milo]] killed [[Publius Clodius Pulcher|Clodius]]. During his year, Sallust supported the prosecution of Milo.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Millar |first=Fergus |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/264095990 |title=The crowd in Rome in the late Republic |date=1998 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=0-472-10892-1 |oclc=264095990 |pages=181–83}}</ref> He also organised "ferocious street demonstrations" to exert public pressure on Cicero, intimidating him into "giving a substandard performance" when defending Milo at his trial,{{sfn|Mellor|2002|p=31}} seeing Milo leave the city into exile. In this year, he, with the other ten tribunes, all supported a law to permit Caesar to stand for a second consulship in absentia.{{sfn|Broughton|1952|p=236}}

Syme suggests that Sallust, because of his position in Milo's trial, did not originally support Caesar.<ref name=syme.29>{{harvnb|Syme|1964|p=29}}.</ref> According to one inscription, some Sallustius (with unclear [[praenomen]]) was a [[proquaestor]] in Syria in 50&nbsp;BC under [[Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus]].{{sfn|Broughton|1952|p=242}} Mommsen identified this Sallustius with Sallust the historian, but Broughton argued that Sallust the historian would not have been an assistant to Caesar's adversary or, as an ex-plebeian tribune, have taken the lowly title ''legatus pro quaestore''.{{sfn|Broughton|1952|p=247}}

Sallust's political affiliation is unclear in this early period,{{sfn|Earl|1966|p=311}} but after he was expelled from the senate in 50&nbsp;BC by [[Appius Claudius Pulcher (consul 54 BC)|Appius Claudius Pulcher]] (then serving as [[Roman censor|censor]]), he joined Caesar.{{sfn|Pelling|2012|p=1310}} He was removed on grounds of immorality, but this was likely a pretext for his opposition to Milo during his tribunate.{{sfn|Broughton|1952|p=248}}{{sfn|Pelling|2012|p=1310}}

=== Caesar's civil war ===
{{further|Caesar's civil war}}

During the [[Caesar's Civil War|civil war]] from 49 to 45&nbsp;BC, Sallust was a Caesarian partisan, but his role was not significant; his name is not mentioned in the dictator's ''[[Commentarii de Bello Civili]]''.<ref name=syme.36>{{harvnb|Syme|1964|p=36}}.</ref> Plutarch reported that Sallust dined with Caesar, [[Aulus Hirtius|Hirtius]], [[Gaius Oppius|Oppius]], [[Lucius Cornelius Balbus (consul)|Balbus]] and [[Servius Sulpicius Rufus|Sulpicius Rufus]] on the night after Caesar's [[crossing the Rubicon]] into Italy in early January.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dando-Collins|first=Stephan|title=The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Tenth Legion and Rome|year=2002|isbn=0-471-09570-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/caesarslegionepi00dand/page/67 67]|publisher=Wiley |url=https://archive.org/details/caesarslegionepi00dand/page/67}}</ref> In 49 BC, Sallust was moved to [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]] and probably commanded at least one legion there after the failure of [[Publius Cornelius Dolabella (consul 44 BC)|Publius Cornelius Dolabella]] and [[Gaius Antonius (brother of Mark Antony)|Gaius Antonius]].<ref name=dkp /><ref name=syme.36 /> This campaign was unsuccessful.<ref name=syme.36 /> In 48&nbsp;BC, he was probably made quaestor by Caesar, automatically restoring his seat in the senate.<ref name=dkp /><ref>{{harvnb|Broughton|1952|p=274|ps=. Broughton notes disagreement about the dates. The pseudo-Cicero ''Invective'' dates his senatorial return to 50 via a quaestorship; Broughton places it in 48&nbsp;BC.}}</ref> In late summer 47&nbsp;BC, a group of soldiers rebelled near Rome, demanding their discharge and payment for service. Sallust, as ''praetor designatus'' and serving as one of Caesar's legates,{{sfn|Broughton|1952|p=291}} with several other senators, was sent to persuade the soldiers to abstain, but the rebels killed two senators, and Sallust narrowly escaped death.{{sfn|Mellor|2002|p=31}}

In 46&nbsp;BC, he served as a [[praetor]]{{sfn|Broughton|1952|p=613}} and accompanied Caesar in his African campaign, which ended in another defeat of the remaining Pompeians at [[Battle of Thapsus|Thapsus]]. Sallust did not participate in military operations directly, but he commanded several ships and organized supply through the [[Kerkennah Islands]]. As a reward for his services, Sallust was appointed proconsular governor of [[Numidia|Africa Nova]], either from 46–45 or for early 44&nbsp;BC.{{sfn|Broughton|1952|pp=298, 613}} It is not clear why: Sallust was not a skilled general; the province was militarily significant. Moreover, his successors as governor were experienced military men. However, Sallust successfully managed the organization of supply and transportation, and these qualities could have determined Caesar's choice.<ref name="syme.37">{{harvnb|Syme|1964|p=37}}.</ref> As governor he was so corrupt and avaricious that – on his return in late 45 or early 44&nbsp;BC{{sfn|Broughton|1952|p=329}} – only Caesar's dictatorial influence enabled him to escape conviction on charges of corruption and extortion.{{sfn|Mellor|2002|p=32}} On his return to Rome he purchased and began laying out in great splendour the famous gardens on the [[Quirinal Hill|Quirinal]] known as the [[Gardens of Sallust]] ({{langx|la|Horti Sallustiani}}), which were later inherited by the emperors.

=== Retirement ===
[[File:Piranesi-10047.jpg|thumb|Gardens of Sallust]]
Due to those charges and without prospects for advancement, he devoted himself to writing history,{{sfn|Pelling|2012|p=1310}} presenting his historical writings as an extension of public life to record achievements for future generations.{{sfn|Mellor|2002|p=32}} His political life influenced his histories, which produced in him a "deep bitterness toward the elite", with "few heroes in his surviving writings".{{sfn|Mellor|2002|p=35}} He also further developed his gardens, upon which he spent much of his accumulated wealth. According to [[Jerome]], Sallust later became the second husband of Cicero's ex-wife [[Terentia]].<ref>[[Jerome|Hieronymus]], ''Adversus Jovinianum'' [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/02m/0347-0420,_Hieronymus,_Adversus_Jovinianum_Libri_Duo,_MLT.pdf 2.1].48. "Illa [Terentia] … nupsit Sallustio".</ref> However, prominent scholars of Roman prosopography such as [[Ronald Syme]] believe this is a legend.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Syme |first=Ronald |date=1978 |title=Sallust's Wife |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/638680 |journal=The Classical Quarterly |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=292–295 |issn=0009-8388 |doi=10.1017/S0009838800034820|jstor=638680 |s2cid=170773851 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> According to [[Procopius]], when [[Alaric I|Alaric]]'s invading army entered Rome they burned Sallust's house.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Procopius |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/747116798 |chapter=Vandalic War |title=History of the Wars |volume=2 |date=1916 |series=Loeb Classical Library |publisher=Harvard University Press |translator-last=Dewing |translator-first=HB |isbn=978-0-674-99090-6 |location=Cambridge |oclc=747116798 |at=[https://archive.org/details/L081ProcopiusIIHistoryOfTheWars34VandalicWar/page/n27/mode/2up 3.2.24]}}</ref>

== Works ==
Sallust's monographs of the [[Catiline]] conspiracy (''De coniuratione Catilinae'' or ''Bellum Catilinae'') and 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 to 67&nbsp;BC.{{sfn|Levene|2007|p=277}}

His brief monographs – his work on Catiline, for example, is shorter than the shortest of Livy's volumes – were the first books of their form attested at Rome.{{sfn|Levene|2007|p=280}}

=== ''Catiline's War'' ===
{{main|Bellum Catilinae}}

The monograph was probably written {{circa|42 BC}}.{{sfn|Pelling|2012|p=1310}} Some historians, however, give it an earlier date of composition, perhaps as early at 50&nbsp;BC as an unpublished pamphlet which was reworked and published after the civil wars.{{sfn|MacKay|1962|p=190}} It shows no traces of personal recollections on the conspiracy, perhaps indicating the Sallust was out of the city on military service at the time.{{sfn|Earl|1966|pp=307–9}} It may have been written as "a plea for common sense" during the proscriptions of the [[Second Triumvirate]], with its depiction of Caesar opposing the death penalty contrasting with the then-current slaughter.{{sfn|Mellor|2002|p=38}}

It is Sallust's first published work, detailing the attempt by [[Lucius Sergius Catilina]] to overthrow the Roman Republic in 63&nbsp;BC. Sallust presents Catiline as a deliberate foe of law, order and morality, and does not give a comprehensive explanation of his views and intentions (Catiline had supported the party of [[Sulla]], whom Sallust had opposed). [[Theodor Mommsen]] suggested that Sallust particularly wished to clear his [[Patronage in ancient Rome|patron]] ([[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]) of all complicity in the conspiracy.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

In writing about the conspiracy of Catiline, Sallust's tone, style, and descriptions of aristocratic behaviour illustrate "the political and moral decline of Rome, begun after the fall of Carthage, quickening after Sulla's dictatorship, and spreading from the dissolute nobility to infect all Roman politics".{{sfn|Pelling|2012|p=1310}} While he inveighs against Catiline's depraved character and vicious actions, he does not fail to state that the man had many noble traits. In particular, Sallust shows Catiline as deeply courageous in his final battle.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} He presents a narrative condemning the conspirators without doubt, likely relying on Cicero's ''De consulatu suo'' ({{literally|On his [Cicero's] consulship}}) for details of the conspiracy;{{sfn|MacKay|1962|p=183}} his narrative focused, however, on Caesar and [[Cato the Younger]], who are held up as "two examples of ''virtus'' ('excellence')" with long speeches describing a debate on the punishment of the conspirators in the last section.{{sfn|Pelling|2012|pp=1310–11}}{{sfn|Levene|2007|p=281}}

=== ''The Jugurthine War'' ===
{{Main|Bellum Jugurthinum}}
[[File:Houghton MS Richardson 17 - Sallust manuscript, ca. 1490, f51.jpg|thumb|c. 1490 manuscript of ''De Bello Jugurthino'']]
Sallust's ''Jugurthine War'' ({{langx|la|Bellum Jugurthinum}}) is a monograph on the war against [[Jugurtha]] in [[Numidia]] from 112 to 106&nbsp;BC. It was written {{circa|41–40 BC}} and again emphasised moral decline.{{sfn|Pelling|2012|p=1311}} Sallust likely relied on a general annalistic history of the time, as well as the autobiographies of [[Marcus Aemilius Scaurus (consul 115 BC)|Marcus Aemilius Scaurus]], [[Publius Rutilius Rufus]], and [[Sulla]].{{sfn|Pelling|2012|p=1311}}

Its true value lies in the introduction of [[Gaius Marius|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 ''War of Catiline'', is to use history as a vehicle for his judgement on the slow destruction of Roman morality and politics.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

=== Other works ===
{{see also|Epistula Mithridatis}}

His last work, ''Historiae'', covered events from 78&nbsp;BC; none of it survives except a fragment of book 5, concerning the year 67&nbsp;BC.{{sfn|Pelling|2012|p=1311}} From the extant fragments, he seemed to again emphasize moral decline after Sulla; he "was not generous to Pompey".{{sfn|Pelling|2012|p=1311}} 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).{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

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 come from the pen of a rhetorician of the first century AD, along with a counter-invective attributed to Cicero. At one time [[Marcus Porcius Latro]] was considered a candidate for the authorship of the pseudo-Sallustian corpus, but this view is no longer commonly held.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Smith
  | first = William
  | author-link = William Smith (lexicographer)
  | contribution = Latro, M. Porcius
  | editor-last = Smith
  | editor-first = William
  | title = [[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]
  | volume = 2
  | pages = 726
  | publisher = Stefano Ciufferpebble
  | year = 1867
  | contribution-url = http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1834.html
  | access-date = 8 September 2007
  | archive-date = 15 March 2009
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090315034607/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1834.html
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>

== Style and themes ==
[[File:Medaglione contorniato di sallustio con busto.JPG|thumb|4th century AD bronze medallion, inscribed: <small>SALUSTI/VS AVTOR</small>; an imaginary likeness, sometimes identified as Sallustius Crispus.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hartswick |first=Kim J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ca9WSJhC9z4C&pg=PA8 |title=The Gardens of Sallust: A Changing Landscape |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-292-70547-6 |edition=1st |location=Austin |pages=8 |oclc=52108727}}</ref>]]
The core theme of his work was decline, though his treatment of Roman politics was "often crude", with a historical philosophy influenced by [[Thucydides]].<ref>{{harvnb|Pelling|2012|p=1311}}. Also citing {{harvnb|Scanlon|1980}}.</ref> In this, he felt a "pervasive pessimism" with decline that was "both dreadful and inevitable", a consequence of political and moral corruption itself caused by Rome's immense power:{{sfn|Levene|2007|p=281}} he traced the civil war to the influx of wealth from conquest and the absence of serious foreign threats to hone and exercise Roman virtue at arms.{{sfn|O'Gorman|2007|p=382}} For Sallust, the defining moments of the late republic were the destruction of Rome's old foe, Carthage, in 146&nbsp;BC and the influx of wealth from the east after Sulla's [[First Mithridatic War]].{{sfn|O'Gorman|2007|p=383}} At the same time, however, he conveyed a "starry-eyed and romantic picture" of the republic before 146&nbsp;BC, with this period described in terms of "implausibly untrammelled virtue" that romanticised the distant past.{{sfn|Levene|2007|p=283}}

The style of works written by Sallust was well known in Rome. It differs from the writings of his contemporaries — Caesar and especially Cicero. It is characterized by brevity and by the use of rare words and turns of phrase. As a result, his works are very far from the conversational Latin of his time.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} Альбрехт, М. (2002) ''История римской литературы'', Т. 1. Греко-латинский кабинет. С. 494</ref>

He employed archaic words: according to [[Suetonius]], [[Lucius Ateius Praetextatus|Lucius Ateius Praetextatus (Philologus)]] helped Sallust to collect them.<ref>[[Suetonius]], ''On Famous Grammarians and Rhetoricians'' 10.</ref> [[Ronald Syme]] suggests that Sallust's choice of style and even particular words was influenced by his antipathy to Cicero, his rival, but also one of the trendsetters in Latin literature in the first century BC.{{sfn|Syme|1964|p=257}} More recent scholars agree, describing Sallust's style as "anti-Ciceronian", eschewing the harmonious structure of Cicero's sentences for short and abrupt descriptions.{{sfn|O'Gorman|2007|pp=380, 381–82}} "The Conspiracy of Catiline" reflects many features of style that were developed in his later works.{{sfn|Syme|1964|p=266}}

Sallust avoids common words from public speeches of contemporary Roman political orators, such as ''honestas'', ''humanitas'', ''consensus''.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} Альбрехт, М. (2002) ''История римской литературы'', Т. 1. Греко-латинский кабинет. С. 493</ref> In several cases he uses rare forms of well-known words: for example, ''lubido'' instead of ''libido'', ''maxumum'' instead of ''maximum'', the conjunction ''quo'' in place of more common ''ut''. He also uses the less common endings ''-ere'' instead of common ''-erunt'' in the third person plural in the [[Perfect (grammar)|perfect]] indicative, and ''-is'' instead of ''-es'' in the [[accusative case|accusative]] plural for third declension (masculine or feminine) adjectives and nouns. Some words used by Sallust (for example, ''antecapere'', ''portatio'', ''incruentus'', ''incelebratus'', ''incuriosus''), are not known in other writings before him. They are believed to be either [[neologism]]s or intentional revivals of archaic words.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McGushin |first=Patrick |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3414580 |title=C Sallustius Crispus, Bellum Catilinae : a commentary |date=1977 |publisher=Brill |isbn=90-04-04835-9 |oclc=3414580 |page=19}}</ref> Sallust also often uses [[antithesis]], [[alliteration]]s and [[chiasmus]].<ref>{{in lang|ru}} Горенштейн, В. О. (1981) ''Гай Саллюстий Крисп. Сочинения''. Москва: Наука. С. 161</ref>

This style itself called for "a 'return to values'" which was "made to recall the austere life of the idealised ancient Roman", with archaisms and abrupt writing contrasted against Cicero's "adornment" as present decadence was contrasted with ancient virtues.{{sfn|O'Gorman|2007|p=382}}

== Reception ==
[[File:Laquila Piazza Palazzo Monumento Gaio Sallustio Crispo0001.jpg|thumb|Statue of Sallust in [[L'Aquila]]]]

=== As a historian ===

On the whole, antiquity looked favourably on Sallust as a historian. [[Tacitus]] speaks highly of him.<ref>Tacitus, ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annals]]'' 3.30.</ref> [[Quintilian]] called him the "Roman [[Thucydides]]".{{sfn|Levene|2007|p=280}} [[Martial]] joins the praise: "Sallust, according to the judgment of the learned, will rank as the prince of Roman historiographers".<ref>(Mart. XIV, 191) Martial. Epigrams, XIV, 191: Hic erit, ut perhibent doctorum corda virorum, // Primus Romana Crispus in historia.</ref>

In late antiquity, he was highly praised by [[Jerome]] as "very reliable"; his monographs also entered the corpus of standard education in Latin, with [[Virgil]], [[Cicero]], and [[Terence]] (covering history, the epic, oratory, and comedy, respectively).{{sfn|Mellor|2002|pp=46–47}}

In the thirteenth century Sallust's passage on the expansion of the Roman Republic (Cat. 7) was cited and interpreted by theologian [[Thomas Aquinas]] and scholar [[Brunetto Latini]].{{sfn|Osmond|1995|p=104}} During the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, Sallust's works began to influence political thought in Italy. Among many scholars and historians interested in Sallust, the most notable are [[Leonardo Bruni]], [[Coluccio Salutati]] and [[Niccolò Machiavelli]].{{sfn|Osmond|1995|p=107 et seq}} Among his admirers in England in the early modern period were [[Thomas More]], [[Alexander Barclay]] and [[Thomas Elyot]].{{sfn|Osmond|1995|p=120}} [[Justus Lipsius]] marked Sallust as the second most notable Roman historian after [[Tacitus]].{{sfn|Osmond|1995|p=101}}

Historians since the 19th century also have negatively noted Sallust's bias and partisanship in his histories, not to mention some errors in geography and dating. Also importantly, much of Sallust's anti-corruption moralising is "blunted by his sanctimonious tone and by ancient accusations of corruption, which have made him out to be a remarkable hypocrite".{{sfn|Mellor|2002|p=47}}

Modern views on the period which Sallust documented reject moral failure as a cause of the republic's collapse and believe that "social conflicts are insufficient to account for the political implosion".<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Review of: The Breakdown of the Roman Republic: From Oligarchy to Empire |journal=Bryn Mawr Classical Review |year=2010 |url=https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2010/2010.12.65/ |issn=1055-7660}}</ref> The core narrative of moral decline prevalent in Sallust's works, is now criticised as crowding out his own examination of the structural and socio-economic factors that brought about the crisis of the republic while also manipulating historical facts to make them fit his moralistic thesis; he, however, is credited as "a clear-sighted and impartial interpreter of his own age".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brunt |first=PA |date=1963 |title=Review of "The Political Thought of Sallust" by DC Earl |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0009840X00216417/type/journal_article |journal=The Classical Review |language=en |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=74–75 |doi=10.1017/S0009840X00216417 |s2cid=153649280 |issn=0009-840X|url-access=subscription }} On moral decline crowding out socio-economic factors, see {{cite book |last=Earl |first=DC |title=The political thought of Sallust |year=1961 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=57–59}}</ref>

His focus on moralising also misrepresents and over-simplifies the state of Roman politics. For example, {{harvnb|Mackay|2009|pp=84, 89}}:

{{blockquote|text=
Sallust paints a picture that is unsatisfactory in a number of ways. He has great interest in moralising, and for this reason, he tends to paint an exaggerated picture of the senate's faults... he analyses events in terms of a simplistic opposition between the self-interest of Roman politicians and the "public good" that shows little understanding of how the Roman political system actually functioned...{{sfn|Mackay|2009|p=84}} The reality was more complicated than Sallust's simplistic moralising would suggest.{{sfn|Mackay|2009|pp=89–90}}
}}

=== Stylistically ===

Quotations and commentaries "attest to the high status of Sallust's work in the first and second centuries&nbsp;CE".{{sfn|O'Gorman|2007|p=379}} Among those who borrowed information from his works were [[Silius Italicus]], [[Lucan]], [[Plutarch]], and [[Ammianus Marcellinus]].<ref name=mfa.1.504>{{in lang|ru}} Альбрехт, М. (2002) ''История римской литературы'', Т. 1. Греко-латинский кабинет. С. 504</ref>{{sfn|Rawson|1987|p=164}} [[Marcus Cornelius Fronto|Fronto]] used ancient words collected by Sallust to provide "archaic coloring" for his works.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} Тронский, И. М. (1946) ''История античной литературы'' Ленинград: Учпедгиз. С. 47</ref> In the second century AD, [[Zenobius]] translated his works into Ancient Greek.<ref name=mfa.1.504 />

Other opinions were also present. For example, [[Gaius Asinius Pollio (consul 40 BC)|Gaius Asinius Pollio]] criticized Sallust's addiction to archaic words and his unusual grammatical features.<ref name=suet.gram.10>Suetonius, ''On Famous Grammarians and Rhetoricians'' 10</ref> [[Aulus Gellius]] saved Pollio's unfavorable statement about Sallust's style via quote. According to him, Sallust once used the word ''transgressus'' meaning generally "passage [by foot]" for a platoon which crossed the sea (the usual word for this type of crossing was ''transfretatio'').<ref>Gellius, ''Noctes Atticae'' 10.26</ref> Though Quintilian has a generally favorable opinion of Sallust, he disparages several features of his style:

{{blockquote|For though a diffuse irrelevance is tedious, the omission of what is necessary is positively dangerous. We must therefore avoid even the famous terseness of Sallust (though in his case of course it is a merit), and shun all abruptness of speech, since a style which presents no difficulty to a leisurely reader, flies past a hearer and will not stay to be looked at again.<ref>Quintilian, ''Institio Oratoria'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Quintilian/Institutio_Oratoria/4B*.html#2.45 4.2.44-45]</ref>}}

His works were also extensively quoted in [[Augustine of Hippo]]'s ''[[The City of God|City of God]]''; the works themselves also show up in manuscripts all over the post-Roman period and circulated in [[Carolingian Libraries|Carolingian libraries]].{{sfn|O'Gorman|2007|p=379}} In the Middle Ages, Sallust's works were often used in schools to teach Latin. His brief style influenced, among others, [[Widukind of Corvey]] and [[Wipo of Burgundy]].<ref name=mfa.1.505>{{in lang|ru}} Альбрехт, М. (2002) ''История римской литературы'', Т. 1. Греко-латинский кабинет. С. 505</ref>

[[Petrarch]] also praised Sallust highly, though he primarily appreciated his style and moralization.{{sfn|Osmond|1995|p=106}} During the [[French Wars of Religion]], ''De coniuratione Catilinae'' became widely known as a tutorial on disclosing conspiracies.{{sfn|Osmond|1995|p=121}}

[[Friedrich Nietzsche]] credits Sallust in ''[[Twilight of the Idols]]'' (1889) 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 "condensed, severe, with as much substance as possible in the background, and with cold but roguish hostility towards all 'beautiful words' and 'beautiful feelings'".<ref>{{cite book |last=Nietzsche |first=Friedrich Wilhelm |author-link=Friedrich Nietzsche |title=Twilight of the Idols |editor-last=Levy |editor-first=Oscar |translator-last=Ludovici |translator-first=Anthony M |year=1911 |series=The Complete Works of Fredrich Nietzsche |volume=16 |publisher=TN Foulis |location=Edinburgh |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/52263/52263-h/52263-h.htm |page=112}}</ref>

Norwegian playwright [[Henrik Ibsen]]'s first play ''[[Catiline (play)|Catiline]]'' ({{circa|1849}}) was based on Sallust's story.<ref name=mfa.1.505 />

== Manuscripts ==

Several manuscripts of his works survived due to his popularity in antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Manuscripts of his writings are usually divided into two groups: ''mutili'' (mutilated) and ''integri'' (whole; undamaged). The classification is based on the existence of the [[lacuna (manuscripts)|lacuna]] (gap) between 103.2 and 112.3 of the ''Jugurthine War''. The lacuna exists in the ''mutili'' scrolls, while ''integri'' manuscripts have the text there. The most ancient scrolls which survive are the ''Codex Parisinus 16024'' and ''Codex Parisinus 16025'', known as "P" and "A" respectively. They were created in the ninth century, and both belong to the ''mutili'' group.{{sfn|Ramsey|2007|p=14}} Both these scrolls include only ''Catiline'' and ''Jugurtha'', while some other ''mutili'' manuscripts also include ''Invective'' and Cicero's response.{{sfn|Rolfe|1931|p=xviii}} The oldest ''integri'' scrolls were created in the eleventh century&nbsp;AD.{{sfn|Ramsey|2007|p=26}} The probability that all these scrolls came from one or more ancient manuscripts is debated.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} Альбрехт, М. (2002) ''История римской литературы'', Т. 1. Греко-латинский кабинет. С. 502</ref>

There is also a unique scroll ''Codex Vaticanus 3864'', known as "V". It includes only speeches and letters from ''Catiline'', ''Jugurtha'' and ''Histories''.{{sfn|Ramsey|2007|p=14}} The creator of this manuscript changed the original word order and replaced archaisms with more familiar words.{{sfn|Ramsey|2007|p=14}} The "V" scroll also includes two anonymous letters to Caesar probably from Sallust,{{sfn|Ramsey|2007|p=14}} but their authenticity is debated.

Several fragments of Sallust's works survived in [[papyrus|papyri]] of the second to fourth centuries&nbsp;AD. Many ancient authors cited Sallust, and sometimes their citations of ''Histories'' are the only source for reconstruction of this work. But the significance of these citations for the reconstruction is uncertain; because occasionally the authors cited Sallust from memory, some distortions were possible.{{sfn|Ramsey|2007|p=15}}

== Translations ==
* {{cite book |author=Sallust |title=Sallust |year=1931 |orig-year=Translation first published 1921 |translator-last=Rolfe |translator-first=John C |url= |series=Loeb Classical Library |publisher=William Heinemann |location=London |edition=Revised |isbn=0-674-99128-1 |oclc=40186151 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Sallust |title=Catiline's War, The Jugurthine War, Histories |date=2008 |publisher=Penguin |translator-last=Woodman |translator-first=A J |isbn=((978-0-140-44948-5))<!-- Checksum error, confirmed that isbn is as printed --> |url=https://archive.org/details/catilineswarjugu00sall |url-access=registration }}
* {{Cite book |author=Sallust |title=Catiline's conspiracy, the Jugurthine War, Histories |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |series=Oxford World's Classics |translator-first=William Wendell |translator-last=Batstone |isbn=978-0-19-161252-7 |location=Oxford |oclc=759007075}}
* {{Cite book |author=Sallust |title=The War with Catiline. The War with Jugurtha |translator-last1=Rolfe |translator-first1=J C |translator-last2=Ramsey |translator-first2=John T |date=2013 |orig-date=First published 1921, revised 1931 |series=Loeb Classical Library |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-99684-7 |edition=Edited and revised |location=Cambridge |oclc=856191298 }}
*{{cite book |author=Sallust |title=How to Stop a Conspiracy: An Ancient Guide to Saving a Republic |translator-last=Osgood |translator-first=Josiah |series=Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers |location=New Jersey |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2022 |url=https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691212364/how-to-stop-a-conspiracy |isbn=978-0-691-21236-4}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Ancient Rome|Biography}}
* [[List of historians]]
* [[Roman historiography]]
* [[Unity makes strength]]
* ''[[Animus in consulendo liber]]''

== References ==
'''Citations'''
{{Reflist|15em}}

'''Sources'''
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=y}}
* {{cite book |last=Broughton |first=Thomas Robert Shannon |year=1952 |title=The magistrates of the Roman republic |location=New York |publisher=American Philological Association |author-link=Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton |volume=2}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Earl |first=DC |date=1966 |title=The Early Career of Sallust |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4434936 |journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=302–311 |jstor=4434936 |issn=0018-2311}}
* {{Cite book |last=Grant |first=Michael |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/30974327 |title=Greek and Roman historians: information and misinformation |date=1995 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-11769-0 |location=London |oclc=30974327}}
* {{cite book |last=Levene |first=DS |chapter=Roman historiography in the late republic |title=A companion to Greek and Roman historiography |year=2007 |volume=1 |publisher=Routledge |editor-last=Marincola |editor-first=John |isbn=978-1-4051-0216-2 |lccn=2006032839 |pages=275–289}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mackay |first=Christopher S. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/270232275 |title=The breakdown of the Roman republic: from oligarchy to empire |date=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-51819-2 |location=New York |oclc=270232275}}
* {{Cite journal |last=MacKay |first=LA |date=1962 |title=Sallust's "Catiline": Date and Purpose |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1086814 |journal=Phoenix |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=181–194 |doi=10.2307/1086814 |jstor=1086814 |issn=0031-8299|url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite book |last=Mellor |first=Ronald |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50553430 |title=The Roman historians |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-203-29442-4 |location=London |oclc=50553430}}
* {{cite book |last=O'Gorman |first=Ellen |chapter=The politics of Sallustian style |title=A companion to Greek and Roman historiography |year=2007 |volume=2 |publisher=Routledge |editor-last=Marincola |editor-first=John |isbn=978-1-4051-0216-2 |lccn=2006032839 |pages=379–84 }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Osmond |first=Patricia J |date=1995 |title="Princeps Historiae Romanae": Sallust in Renaissance Political Thought |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4238730 |journal=Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome |volume=40 |pages=101–143 |doi=10.2307/4238730 |jstor=4238730 |issn=0065-6801|url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |last=Pelling |first=Christopher |title=Sallust (Gaius Sallustius Crispus) |encyclopedia=The Oxford classical dictionary |year=2012 |editor-first1=Simon |editor-last1=Hornblower |editor-first2=Antony |editor-last2=Spawforth |editor-first3=Esther |editor-last3=Eidinow |isbn=978-0-19-954556-8 |edition=4th |location=Oxford |oclc=959667246 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=1310–11 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.5674 }}
* {{Cite book |contributor-last=Ramsey |contributor-first=JT |contribution=Introduction |author=Sallust |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/560589383 |title=Sallust's Bellum Catilinae |date=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |translator-last=Ramsey |translator-first=JT |isbn=978-1-4356-3337-7 |edition=2nd |location=Oxford |oclc=560589383}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Rawson |first=Elizabeth |date=1987 |title=Sallust on the Eighties? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/639353 |journal=The Classical Quarterly |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=163–180 |doi=10.1017/S0009838800031748 |jstor=639353 |s2cid=170610173 |issn=0009-8388|url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite book |contributor-last=Rolfe |contributor-first=John C |contribution=Introduction |author=Sallust |title=Sallust |year=1931 |orig-year=Translation first published 1921 |translator-last=Rolfe |translator-first=John C |url= |series=Loeb Classical Library |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge |edition=Revised |isbn=0-674-99128-1 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Syme |first=Ronald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3WNc_r58jwAC |title=Sallust |date=1964 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-02374-1 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |contribution=Introduction |contributor-last=Woodman |contributor-first=AJ |translator-last=Woodman |translator-first=AJ |last=Sallust |title=Catiline's War, The Jugurthine War, Histories |date=2008 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=((978-0-140-44948-5))<!-- This ISBN has an incorrect checksum, yet that is what is printed in the book. See link. --> |language=en |url=https://archive.org/details/catilineswarjugu00sall |url-access=registration }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==

{{refbegin|30em|indent=y}}
* {{Cite thesis |last=Aili |first=Hans  |title=The prose rhythm of Sallust and Livy |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/464827054 |publisher=Almqvist & Wiksell |date=1979 |oclc=464827054 |place=Stockholm |language=Swedish }}
* {{Cite book |last=Drummond |first=Andrew |url=https://archive.org/details/lawpoliticspower0000drum |title=Law, politics and power: Sallust and the execution of the Catilinarian conspirators |date=1995 |publisher=Franz Steiner |location=Stuttgart |isbn=9783515067416 |language=English |oclc=1150242411}}
* {{Cite book |last=Earl |first=Donald C |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1907945 |title=The political thought of Sallust |date=1961 |publisher=University Press |location=Cambridge |language=en |oclc=1907945}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Funari |editor-first=Rodolfo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p50YwwEACAAJ |title=Corpus dei papiri storici greci e latini: Storici latini. Autori noti. Caius Sallustius Crispus. Parte B. 1. Vol. 2 |date=2008 |publisher=F Serra |isbn=978-88-6227-081-6 |language=it}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hartswick |first=Kim J |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52108727 |title=The gardens of Sallust: a changing landscape |date=2004 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=0-292-70547-6 |edition=1st |location=Austin |oclc=52108727}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Renehan |first=R |date=1976 |title=A Traditional Pattern of Imitation in Sallust and His Sources |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/366238 |journal=Classical Philology |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=97–105 |doi=10.1086/366238 |s2cid=162050128 |issn=0009-837X|url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite book |last=Scanlon |first=Thomas Francis |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/800304023 |title=Spes frustrata: a reading of Sallust |date=1987 |publisher=Carl Winter |isbn=978-3-533-03958-7 |location=Heidelberg |language=German |oclc=800304023}}
* {{Cite book |last=Scanlon |first=Thomas Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pd-GAAAAIAAJ |title=The Influence of Thucydides on Sallust |date=1980 |publisher=Carl Winter |isbn=978-3-533-02909-0 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Woodman |first=Anthony J |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/246826029 |title=Rhetoric in classical historiography: 4 studies |date=1988 |publisher=Croom Helm |isbn=978-0-7099-5256-5 |location=London |oclc=246826029}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Sallust}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{NIE Poster}}
{{Library resources box |by=yes |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Sallust
  |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
;Latin with English translation
* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Sallust/home.html at LacusCurtius] (J.&nbsp;C.&nbsp;Rolfe, 1921):
** ''Bellum Catilinae''
** ''Bellum Jugurthinum''
** ''Invectiva in Ciceronem'' (uncertain authorship, sometimes attributed to Sallust)
** ''Oratio ad Caesarem'' (uncertain authorship)
* {{gutenberg author| id=2455}} (Schmitz and Zumpt, 1848):
** ''Bellum Catilinae''
** ''Bellum Jugurthinum''
* at the Perseus Project (Watson, 1899):
** ''[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0124 Bellum Catilinae]''
** ''[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0126 Bellum Jugurthinum]''
* [http://www.attalus.org/translate/sallust.html at Attalus.org]:
** ''Fragmenta Historiarum'' (translation of selected fragments)
** ''Fragmenta Historiarum'' ([http://www.attalus.org/latin/sallust.html Latin text] of all surviving fragments)
;Latin only
* [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sall.html at Latin Library] (unknown edition):
** ''Bellum Catilinae''
** ''Bellum Jugurthinum''
** ''Fragmenta Historiarum''
** ''Epistolae ad Caesarem''
** ''Invectiva in Ciceronem''
* {{Cite book|publisher= Apud Iuntas, et Baba
|title= C. Sallustius Crispus cum veterum historicorum fragmentis
|location= Venetiis
|date= 1645
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UFoOAAAAQAAJ
}}
;English only
* {{Gutenberg author |id=2455}}
* {{Internet Archive author}}
* {{Librivox author |id=5262}}
* {{OL author|6824884A}}

{{Ancient Rome topics|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sallust}}
[[Category:86 BC births]]
[[Category:30s BC deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]
[[Category:1st-century BC historians]]
[[Category:1st-century BC Romans]]
[[Category:Roman Republican soldiers]]
[[Category:Golden Age Latin writers]]
[[Category:Latin historians]]
[[Category:Sallustii]]