_Cat._ 4, 'Mihi a spe, metu, partibus rei publicae animus liber erat.'
So _Hist._ i. fr. 6.
His leaning to the popular party, however, has been shown above.
3. His speeches do not always suit the speaker or his audience, and
are not historical. Thus the speech of Catiline (_Cat._ 20) does not
suit his audience and is not authentic, and that of Marius (_Iug._ 85)
is too learned for the speaker.
4. His prefaces have little to do with what follows. Cf. Quint. iii.
8, 9, 'C. Sallustius in bello Iugurthino et Catilinae nihil ad
historiam pertinentibus principiis orsus est.'
5. He is too fond of hackneyed moral maxims and trite sayings. Thus:
_Cat._ i, 'Sed nostra omnis vis in animo et corpore sita est,' etc.
_Iug._ 2, 'Nam uti genus hominum compositum ex corpore et anima est,
ita res cunctae studiaque omnia nostra corporis alia, alia animi
naturam secuntur.'
His tone is that of a severe moralist.
_Cat._ 3, 'Sed ego adulescentulus initio sicuti plerique studio ad rem
publicam latus sum, ibique mihi multa advorsa fuere. Nam pro pudore,
pro abstinentia, pro virtute audacia, largitio, avaritia vigebant,'
etc.
As this moralizing did not fit in with the facts of his life he was
censured for it, as shown above.
_Sallust's authorities and models._--Besides the authorities mentioned
above, he used a _breviarium rerum omnium Romanarum_ prepared for him
by the grammarian Ateius (Sueton. _Gramm._ 10). He is said to have
borrowed phrases from Cato.
Quint. viii. 3, 29, 'Nec minus noto Sallustius epigrammate incessitur:
"Et verba antiqui multum furate Catonis,
Crispe, Iugurthinae conditor historiae."'
The similarity of Sallust's style to that of Thucydides, whom he tried
to emulate, was remarked by the ancients.
Quint. ix. 3, 17, 'Ex Graeco vero translata vel Sallustii plurima,
quale est "volgus amat fieri"' [_Iug._ 34, a poor instance, and
wrongly quoted]. Cf. _Cat._ 6, 'magisque dandis quam accipiundis
beneficiis amicitias parabant,' and Thuc. ii. 40, 4, οὐ γὰρ
πάσχοντες εὖ ἀλλὰ δρῶντες κτώμεθα τοὺς φίλους: _Iug._ 73, 'in
maius celebrare,' and Thuc. i. 10, 3, ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον κοσμῆσαι.
Sallust's popularity is shown by the numerous references to him,
particularly in Quintilian. Cf. Quint. x. 1, 101, 'At non historia
cesserit Graecis, nec opponere Thucydidi Sallustium verear'; § 102,
'immortalem illam Sallustii velocitatem.' Cf. also Martial, xiv. 191,
'primus Romana Crispus in historia.' Tacitus is the most important
writer influenced by Sallust. For imitations cf. Tac. _Agr._ 37, where
part of the description of a battle is modelled on _Iug._ 101. Cf.
also _Cat._ 43, 'facto non consulto in tali periculo opus esse,' and
Tac. _Hist._ i. 62, 'ubi facto magis quam consulto opus esset.'
CATULLUS.