Download Cato the Elder Essay - 2010

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Kimberly Schuster
Bergen, Downer, Ibrahim
English 10- 2, Latin 2- 7, History MWF
10 November 2010
Cato the Elder: A Great Roman Politician
“Carthago delenda est.” (“Carthage must be destroyed.”) These were the words of
Marcus Cato, commonly known as Cato the Elder. Motivated by power over wealth, Cato the
Elder made significant impacts in the senate and military despite earning numerous adversaries.
Cato certainly played an important and virtuous figure in Rome at the time as well by setting an
example for many. Although at the time he was an unknown person, where people weren’t sure
of what he could accomplish as a “novus homo” (a “new man”), but eventually the Roman
people came to respect him. Cato’s work is still used today by many historians and he will be
remembered forever for his name was permanently engraved into Roman history.
Cato had many important factors that led him to make many of his decisions. In his early
years, Cato would often visit the old cottage of his idol, Manius Curius, who was a great Roman
warrior and took pride in his accomplishments rather than the success’ worth of gold. Plutarch
states in Marcus Cato that “he [Manius Curius] dismissed them, saying that a man whom such a
meal satisfied had no need of gold, and for his part he thought that a more honorable thing than
the possession of gold was the conquest of its possessors. Cato would go away with his mind
full of these things, and …would increase the labors of his hands and lop off his extravagancies”
(Plutarch 3). It was in this mindset that Cato spent the rest of his life: living frugally and
virtuously. He never seemed to have interest in fancy robes or money of any sort. This would
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appear much throughout Cato’s life and would act as a great influence to many of Cato’s actions.
He also had stern opinions and believed strongly in Roman tradition by punishing those who
didn’t follow. For example, he dismissed a man in the senate named Manilius who kissed his
wife in broad daylight where at the time, appeared scandalous to Cato and many of those who
also pushed the belief of Roman tradition (Churchill 99). Cato’s desire to take initiative was
great but often rushed, especially against opponents like Scipio and the Greeks. This want of his
later led to hardships not only for his enemies, but for Rome as well. Cato did eat with his slaves,
but he did not treat them well, one of the only things that Plutarch and others didn’t quite like
about him saying, “I regard his treatment of his slaves like beasts of burden, using them to the
uttermost, and then, when they were old, driving them off and selling them, as the mark of a very
mean nature, which recognizes no tie between man and man but that of necessity” (Plutarch 6).
So although Cato’s personality was very tied into frugality, the worth of the things given to him
was never truly seen by him. With these facts in mind, one can use the knowledge of Cato’s
background to build onto his character and his later achievements, much like those he
accomplished in the military.
Cato’s military accomplishments served to be an important stepping stone for Cato’s later
life in the Senate and far after. Plutarch states in Marcus Cato, “with threatening speech and
harsh cries he would advance upon the foe,” because he, “rightly thought…that often-times such
action terrifies the enemy more than the sword” (Plutarch 3). This one of Cato’s winning
strategies that he applied when subduing the Spanish uprising. At the time, when the revolt was
beginning, Rome quickly sent Cato to calm the people. For the duration of his time there, he
conquered more than four hundred Spanish towns, which was said to be more than the amount of
days he had spent in Spain. In these triumphs, Cato gave his men the money won, took minimal
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pay as a commander, and put his virtue ahead of his reputation, once again demonstrating his
great frugality. When he was in charge of a certain militia, he “took for himself and his retinue
not more than three Attic bushels of wheat a month, and for his beasts of burden, less than a
bushel and a half of barley a day” (Plutarch 11). Not to mention it was very handy when Cato
could make his own meals and have such a small army for quick use and much control over.
Cato’s time in the military gave Rome control over many new provinces which led him to spend
a lot of his time in politics later to further his career.
Cato, thanks to his achievements and his acquaintances, rose to the top as a consul where
Cato changed much for the Roman citizens. He made new laws that prevented people from
getting free water from public places and raising taxes for those with too many luxuries. Cato
befriended those in the Senate that he found to be good role models, like his already good friend
Valerius Flacchus and Fabius Maximus who was also in the senate. Cato’s friends were very
important to him and he stood up for them when needed. In one case “he did not hesitate to
oppose the great Scipio, a youthful rival of Fabius...” (Plutarch 15). It wasn’t long after Cato’s
opposition, that he too became an adversary of Scipio’s as well. Nonetheless, Fabius was grateful
for Cato’s action and the two remained as great friends. Valerius, using his vast amount of
influence, brought many positions in the senate and military for Cato. Those positions brought
much influence to Cato like becoming military tribune, quaestor, then consul with him and
afterwards censor” (Plutarch 10). Valerius certainly made Cato’s name known and he became an
immensely popular person despite his plebian status thanks to Valerius. Many historians like
Plutarch that studied Cato knew of Valerius’ influence on him and his positions, but Cato helped
himself in the rising of most of his power. He was arguably one of the best speakers in the senate
at the time and even received at great compliment from Plutarch to Cato about his speeches
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which he described as graceful, powerful, pleasant and compelling…and sententious and
belligerent. (Plutarch 13). In the Senate, Cato put his great oratorical ability to use, where his
speeches greatly affected many of the Senate’s decisions like the Third Punic War which he said
to have instigated due to his popular quote: “Carthago delenda est” at the end of every speech
made, no matter the topic. There was one man who always disagreed with Cato on destroying
Carthage named Scipio Africanus.
One of Cato’s greatest rivals was Scipio Africanus, the same Scipio who defeated the
almost unbeatable Carthaginian General, Hannibal. It was stated in Cato and Scipio Africanus, a
book all about the two’s rivaly where Cato, because he didn’t like Scipio’s lavish use with his
money where he eventually “returned to Rome to join Fabius Maximus in prosecuting Scipio
before the Senate” (James Rubel 163). Knowing Cato was a very frugal man, this was a huge
conflict between the two. So even in the beginning, Cato highly disliked Scipio, even though at
the time, he was Cato’s major, the Quaestor he served under. The two continued a system of
arguing and trials against each other and even each other’s family, like Scipio’s younger brother,
for much of their time in the senate. Regardless, Cato continued his job in the senate rather
smoothly and didn’t let the intense rivalry affect anything but Scipio, as he concentrated on his
job which greatly impressed many Romans.
Cato, in another conflict of beliefs, didn’t like kings and Greeks. He highly disliked kings’
extravagancies and in Plutarch’s work, Cato replied to an unknown person after their defense of
a king’s help to Rome “Granted, but the animal known as king is by nature carnivorous”
(Plutarch 31). He stated “carnivorus”, meaning he found their love of money and extravagancies
also too extreme. Cato also had a great dislike of Greek things and people so he dealt with the
Athenians through an interpreter. He could have spoken to them directly, knowing Greek, but he
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followed his Roman ways and mocked those who were lost in admiration of anything that was
Greek (Plutarch 44). Cato was suspicious of not only Carthage, but Greeks like Socrates and
Hippocrates. Cato was suspicious of the teachings of medicine from all Greeks, so he simply
wrote his first book about medical cures for his own family rather than following the Greek’s
ways. This later encouraged him to write more books like De Agri Cultura which was one of the
only books written in Latin and about farming of the ancient Romans, a big help to many
historians wanting to know about agriculture at that time. Cato’s enemies and those he disliked
pushed him forward when following Roman virtue, and through it, he was able to create a better
foundation for his opinions and reason.
Cato was certainly a great Roman with his numerous accomplishments in everything he
did in life and he demonstrated it through his frugal character. Even though at times, the worst
was brought out in him, especially through those he disliked and fought to gain control over, he
wouldn’t let it affect the more important matters and continued his virtuous way of life. Through
his good qualities, he gained many useful allies, especially those in the senate which helped him
become censor where he gained his other nickname “Cato the Censor”. Regardless of
personality and all the ways to describe him, Cato was a remarkable Roman who made many
great advances for Rome because of his comrades with great influence and even his enemies
with equally great influence.
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Works Cited:
Churchill, Bradford J. "The Lucky Cato and His Wife." Phoenix 55.1/2 (2001): 989-107.
Print
Ruebel, James S. "Cato and Scipio Africanus." The Classical World 71.3 (1977): 161-73.
Print.
Bonner, Stanley F. Education in Ancient Rome. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of
California, 1977. Print.
Plutarch. "Marcus Cato." Ed. Bernadotte Perrin. (1914). Print.
Cicero, Tullius M. "Cato the Elder: On Old Age." Ed. William Amistead Falconer.
(1923). Print.