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The Ancient World: Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Societies

Cato the Censor

Also known as: Marcus Porcius Cato; Cato the Elder

Born: 234 bce; Tusculum, Italy

Died: 149 bce; Rome

Related civilization: Republican Rome

Major role/position: Statesman, orator, historian

Life: One of the most influential statesmen, orators, and Latin prose writers in second century bce Rome, Cato (KAY-toh) the Censor was born to a plebeian family. He espoused traditional Roman values (mos maiorum) and the conservative ideals of the hardworking farmers and military men he considered the cornerstone of Roman greatness. As military tribune in the Second Punic War (218-201 bce), he impressed the patrician Lucius Valerius Flaccus. His political career culminated in the consulship (195 bce) and censorship (184 bce), which he shared with Valerius Flaccus. As censor, his harsh attacks against offenders of traditional Roman moral values were remembered for generations and earned him the name censorius (“the censor”). Cato was an outspoken opponent of the trend toward adopting Greek practices in Rome and continually attacked the Scipio family, the leading philhellenes of the day.

The Patrician Torlonia bust thought to be of Cato the Elder.

CWEP_Cato_the_Censor.jpg

Cato was among the first important writers of Latin prose, and he aided the development of Latin poetry by bringing the poet Quintus Ennius to Rome (203 bce). He wrote the first history of Rome in Latin, the Origines (lost work, 168-149 bce), published at least 150 of his speeches, wrote the treatise De agricultura (c. 160 bce; On Agriculture, 1913), and issued other works on military science, law, medicine, and rhetoric, including an encyclopedia for his son. His pithy maxims were compiled into a book after his death.

Influence: After his death, Cato became the archetype of the traditional, conservative Roman statesman, inimical to things Greek; this characterization led to simplistic and unfortunate stereotypes of the early Romans. His descendant Cato the Younger lived through the end of the Roman republic, and their sternly moralizing styles were frequently compared.

See also: Cato the Younger; Ennius, Quintus; Punic Wars; Rome, Republican.

—Robert W. Cape, Jr.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
"Cato The Censor." The Ancient World: Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Societies, edited by Shally-Jensen Michael, Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CWEP_0553.
APA 7th
Cato the Censor. The Ancient World: Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Societies, In S. Michael (Ed.), Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CWEP_0553.
CMOS 17th
"Cato The Censor." The Ancient World: Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Societies, Edited by Shally-Jensen Michael. Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CWEP_0553.