Editing Sallust (section)

== 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}}