Catiline

[kat-l-ahyn]

noun

1. Lucius Sergius Catilina, 108?–62 b.c., Roman politician and conspirator.

Catiline

/ ˈkætɪˌlaɪn, ˌkætɪlɪˈnɛərɪən /

noun

1. Latin name Lucius Sergius Catilina. ?108–62 _bc , Roman politician: organized an unsuccessful conspiracy against Cicero (63–62)

Other Word Forms

• Catilinarian adjective

Example Sentences

Randall name-checks philosophers — Hegel, Kant, Nietzsche, Plato, Marcus Aurelius — he misunderstands to his advantage and drops references to the Catiline Conspiracy and the Battle of Actium to make base actions sound important and dignified.

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“As to Burr there is nothing in his favour,” Hamilton observed, then went on: “His private character is not defended by his most partial friends. He is bankrupt beyond redemption except by the plunder of his country. His public principles have no other spring or aim than his own aggrandizement....If he can he will certainly disturb our institutions to secure himself permanent power and with it wealth. He is truly the Catiline of America.”

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By accusing Burr of being Catiline, Hamilton was making the ultimate accusation, for Catiline was the treacherous and degenerate character whose scheming nearly destroyed the Roman Republic and whose licentious ways inspired, by their very profligacy, Cicero’s eloquent oration on virtue, which was subsequently memorized by generations of American schoolboys.

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The recurrent pattern in Burr’s political behavior that caught Hamilton’s eye, however, made him eminently vulnerable to the Catiline charge.

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This was the decision that caused Hamilton to repeat his earlier characterizations of Burr as the unprincipled American Catiline, which in turn generated the newspaper reports containing the offensive word “despicable.”

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