41. Ceterum mos partium popularium et senatus factionum,[241] ac deinde omnium malarum artium paucis ante annis Romae ortus est otio atque abundantia earum rerum, quae prima mortales ducunt.[242] Nam ante Carthaginem deletam populus et senatus Romanus placide modesteque inter se rem publicam tractabant, neque gloriae neque dominationis certamen inter cives erat; metus hostilis in bonis artibus civitatem retinebat. Sed ubi illa formido mentibus decessit, scilicet[243] ea, quae res secundae amant, lascivia atque superbia incessere. Ita, quod in adversis rebus optaverant otium, postquam adepti sunt, asperius acerbiusque fuit. Namque coepere nobilitas dignitatem, populus libertatem in libidinem vertere, sibi quisque ducere, trahere, rapere. Ita omnia in duas partes abstracta sunt, res publica, quae media fuerat, dilacerata. Ceterum nobilitas factione magis pollebat, plebis vis soluta atque dispersa in multitudine minus poterat. Paucorum arbitrio belli domique agitabatur, penes eosdem aerarium, provinciae, magistratus, gloriae triumphique erant; populus militia atque inopia urguebatur; praedas bellicas imperatores cum paucis diripiebant; interea parentes aut parvi liberi militum, uti quisque potentiori confinis erat, sedibus pellebantur.[244] Ita cum potentia avaritia sine modo modestiaque invadere, polluere et vastare omnia, nihil pensi neque sancti habere, quoad semet ipsa praecipitavit. Nam ubi primum ex nobilitate reperti sunt, qui veram gloriam injustae potentiae anteponerent, moveri civitas et dissensio civilis quasi permixtio terrae[245] oriri coepit. [241] 'The custom of (forming) parties among the people, and of factions in the senate;' the people are divided into _partes_, the senate into _factiones_; the latter evidently implies intriguing combinations. [242] 'From the abundance of those things which mortals deem of the first importance.' _Prima_ is used substantively, and with it the relative pronoun (_quae_) agrees. Sallust might have said _quas--primas_. [243] _Scilicet_, 'naturally,' is used here as an adverb. See Zumpt, S 271. [244] The annexation of small free farms to the adjoining large estates, is described by all the ancient authors as the cause of the great misery of the Roman state, and, as Sallust remarks, it was facilitated by the absence of many of the free citizens who were serving in the armies; for their fathers or children, who were left behind, were easily induced to sell their small farm to a wealthy and powerful neighbour. For force was certainly not always applied, and _pellere_ here signifies 'to displace,' rather than 'to expel.' The large estates thus formed were called _latifundia_. [245] _Permixtio terrae_ is said figuratively, as is indicated by _quasi_, 'a chaos--a mixture of elements.'