Sallust

The mechanics of the conspiracy, in its waning days, were as follows: agents of Catiline's were to murder the consul, Cicero, who had discovered and publicly revealed Catiline's initial plot. Other agents were to set fire to several parts of Rome. Armies in Italy, Spain and Mauritania, recruited earlier by Catiline and his agents, would then "strike."

What was supposed to follow is clear only through Catiline's speeches and Sallust's hints; Catiline might have assumed the powers of consul or dictator, offices through which he could order legislation to cancel debts and issue proscriptions. Sallust and, of course, Cicero agree that Catiline meant to destroy the Republic. --Howard Sauertieg, Sallust's Republic: The Conspiracy of Catiline, A glance at the late Roman Republic (1997)


Recommended reading:
by Sallust at Reading Rat