Cicero, consul in 63 B.C.E., has discovered Catiline's plans to overthrow the Roman republic. Having found out that Catiline is organizing his conspirators for an imminent move, he summons an extraordinary meeting of the senate on 7 November of that year — which Catiline himself would have attended — and unmasks the plot before the assembled group in an electrifying speech. By this he succeeds in convincing the Senatethat the danger is real; amid the fracas, Catiline actually gets up and leaves the Senate House. For the rest of his life Cicero referred proudly to the way in which he "saved the Republic" by facing down Catiline.

In the name of heaven, Catilina, how long do you propose to exploit our patience? Do you really suppose that your, lunatic activities are going to escape our retaliation for evermore? Are there to be no...