Catiline Explains It All



Catiline, what's new?

Thanks to the help of folks just like you, the page on the real Catiline is now available in French and Italian. I'd like to add other languages, so please let me know if you want to contribute a translation of that page.

Why Bellum Catilinae?

When I was in the eleventh grade I went to a used bookstore downtown and saw the Bellum (not the Coniuratio, which is the more common title) and bought it. It was my first honest-to-god Latin text, and the opening sentence, which graces my home page, leapt off the paper at me. It was quite a thrill for a high-schooler -- "omnis" as an accusative plural! So real Latin was not as rigorous as my teachers said! The book was the right size and color to pass as a Bible, and I would cart it off on Sundays and no one around me could gainsay my reading The Word in the original Latin (!). It remains one of my favorite Latin works.

What is the plan?

Bellum Catilinae is a privately supported, non-judgmental listing of sites relating to the Classics, in strict English alphabetic order ignoring spaces and punctuation. Listings are by the official name of the institution, insofar as we can determine that. Preference is given to sites which actually put you in touch with other classicists, or which make direct access to research materials. Sometimes less obviously helpful sites are listed. Geographical hints are supplied, where confusion arises. There is currently a strong bent toward philology, without prejudice against history or archaeology (Clodia is an historian, so I have to mind my manners).

I started out searching here for classics departments. Then, using the university sites as a foundation, I turned my attention to research sites. Now, I'm checking out the other lists. When that's done, I'm not sure what I'll do. Run the general search engines, I guess.

Every few months I stop and go back through all the pages looking for missing links. I would appreciate being informed of any sites I have missed. Notify Catiline of additions or corrections to the list.

Reload pages each visit, or at least each week! These sites are routinely updated. I get up at 0345 every morning and work on the page for a little over an hour, then drive one hour to the gym to excercise for two hours, then work until 1700 and then drive another hour back home to Clodia and little Catiline.

Catiline, get a life!

Don't I know it!

Who is the audience?

All classicists, regardless of their experience level, though I am partial to the primary and secondary schoolers and to the adults with an informal, passing interest. Part of the reason for the Catiline schtick is to emphasize the need to restructure our thinking in the field, to empower the young classicists, to encourage their interest in the field and help them become adult classicists.

And what about those adults who never went on with their classics studies? Or who are just now getting interested (like one of my fellow programmers)? Who speaks to them, besides Catiline?

So the idea is to provide an open plaza for all classicists to gather at and, I would hope, exchange ideas and the love of the classics. As Sallust said, "It behooves all men who wish to rise above the other animals to work to their utmost to avoid passing through life in silence like cattle, which Nature has fashioned face-down and enslaved to their stomachs."

Where are the translations?

Not here, as a general rule. I do make exceptions, as for the Twelve Tables, which is not generally available to the little classicists. It is my belief that you will be able to find a translation into the language of your choice without too much trouble. I see no reason to force English or any other modern language on the person who wants to learn to love classical literature. Besides, you really need to learn Latin and Greek.

What else won't I find here?

Those photos, for one. You know the ones I mean. Neo-classical art, literature and religion for another. I try to be inclusive, but I do draw the line at outlandish ideas, such as "The Iliad Was Written By Elvis." Everyone knows he wrote the Odyssey. And, although I hate to dispute the good folks at Keele University, and although it breaks my heart to leave out a good site, I just don't see that Beer in Cyberspace has a direct link to the Classics. Indirect, sure; you should see Clodia put down the suds! You won't find medieval or patristic links here, for all that they are interesting, and tangentially related to the classics. But in the interest of keeping the site merely bloated, and not impossibly large, I've cut them out. Nor will you find rewritings of the Classics to fit someone's notion of what the communists used to call "political correctness." So you won't find any ethnic Greeks suddenly become black, nor men become women, nor straights become gays. If you want such Orwellian reworkings of history and literature, God knows they're out on the web, but I'm not going to point you to them.

Pages that spam visiters and trip off multiple web browsers are malicious and will not be listed here. Get a life, spammers!

Catiline, where'd the maps go?

I've done some cleanup on the pages, and added new links, as always. Had to get rid of the maps. IPA (my ISP) has a limit on what I can upload for you, and I wanted to make room for some new things. Besides, those maps didn't seem to be very popular. Look on the Perry-Castaneda Library page (listed under Maps) for the color originals. They're very nice.

Catiline, my favorite link is now missing -- what gives?

One of the following has happened: You'll also see that I'm very tolerant of links that look dead, the ones I mark "gone." Many pages are run by students, and they disappear during the summer, only to reappear in the fall. Be patient and they will often come back to you.

What are these errors and what do all those messages mean?

This site may go offline from about 1600 GMT Saturdays until about 0400 GMT Sundays, and again from 2200 GMT Sundays until about 0800 GMT Mondays for maintenance. When using these links, you may encounter temporary errors. The phrase "document contains no data" almost always indicates a temporary error in transmission; try again immediately. The phrase "server does not have a DNS entry" usually means that your server has not yet made contact with the destination server; try again. The phrases "socket not connected" and "server not responding" mean that the destination server (my ISP) is temporarily out of order or busy; try again later. Messages indicating that URLs listed on this site are not available usually mean that I am rearranging the pages; try again after an hour. The ominous message "Forbidden" means that you have caught me in flagrante delicto changing a page. Try again in a few minutes.

Why is the Bellum so plain?

I am trying to remain within the limits of HTML 2, for the convenience of the maximum number of visitors. I've started putting out some graphics, but I want to avoid slowing down the main pages with images. Besides, graphics take up a great deal of disk space, and I have a fairly small allowance from my ISP.

Where did you get those little flags in the Universities page?

I made them. Feel free to use them as you need. It would be nice if you gave me credit, and included a link to my page.

What does KAI TA LOIPA mean?

It's classical Greek and means the same thing as et cetera: "and the rest."

Where is the Ridge, anyway?

Well, it's almost certainly not on your map, so I'll give you some directions. We're east of Lizard Lick and west of Truth Or Consequences, south of Crazy Woman and north of Two Egg. In fact, we're pretty close to Toad Suck. Does that help? And yes, those are real town names.

Catiline, who are you?

As you have noticed, I dislike saying who I am really. I would hate for you to follow me down some path because you think I'm the Great Professor So-and-so. I'd also hate for you to reject me because I'm not the Great Professor So-and-so. Otherwise, it doesn't matter, does it? All that matters is whether or not I'm giving you the straight stuff.

How can I make one of these pages?

First, get yourself an Internet Service Provider (ISP) who will give you space for a home page (mine is free with access to the Net). Then get one of the many good books on HTML, and check out these sites

I currently maintain the page with vi under Linux, believe it or not. The banner at the top is printed in C19 typeface from Callifonts (POB 224891, Dallas, TX 75222, phone 214-504-8808); C19 appears to be based on a third century manuscript of Vergil.

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