Who is Cato the Younger?

Who was Cato the Younger?

Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis was born in Rome in 95 BC.

He is famed for his influence on the politics and politicians of early Rome, which was based on Cato’s strong Stoic affinity. He was a rare example of a politician who didn’t just talk relentlessly and do little else. Instead, Cato advertised his causes through action, in his way of doing political business and his way of living. This was particularly contrary to the practiced norm.

It’s not that Cato didn’t talk. He did. But because he did so sparingly, people tended to listen. Charismatic as he was, he’s a philosopher remembered more for what he did than what he said.

As the prolific Greek biographer Plutarch quotes him as saying:

I will begin to speak when I am not going to say what were better left unsaid.

Indeed, much of Cato’s story was extensively documented by Plutarch, in his Life of Cato, and his legend has been preserved by admirers from antiquity, through the Middle Ages, modernity, and right up to the present day.

Early Life

Cato the Younger’s life and times have been the subject of poems, books, and plays through the ages. This is in large part due to the stubbornness of his beliefs and how he fought for what he believed in.

Plutarch tells us that even from childhood, Cato displayed a “a nature that was inflexible, imperturbable, and altogether steadfast.” He had no interest in being flattered, was not easy to make laugh, nor quick to anger.

As a boy, Cato witnessed the Italian allies of Rome seeking Roman citizenship. One of them, Pompaedius Silo, a respected warrior, stayed with Cato’s uncle, Drusus. He asked Cato and his brother to persuade their uncle to support their cause. Cato’s brother agreed playfully, but Cato remained silent, staring fiercely.

To test him, Pompaedius lifted Cato out of a window, threatening to drop him unless he agreed. Yet, Cato showed no fear or response. Impressed, Pompaedius set him down and remarked that if Cato were a man, their cause would have no chance.

Cato was so admired that when the Roman general Sulla organized a game of Troja (a sacred equestrian game for boys), he chose two leaders. The boys accepted one, the son of Sulla’s wife, Metella, but rejected the other, Sextus, Pompey’s nephew, refusing to follow him. When Sulla asked who they wanted instead, they all shouted “Cato.” Even Sextus recognized Cato’s superiority and stepped aside.

Ascetic dedication

As Cato grew older, he developed a dedication to asceticism. Other ascetics may have been compensating for a preexisting cash flow problem, but Cato was very well-to-do. Having inherited a considerable fortune in his early years, he certainly could have afforded a more lavish lifestyle.

Yet, on account of his Stoic bent, he ate only enough to sustain him, subjected himself to all types of endurance and desensitisation practices, and maintained a strict exercise regime.

He was known for enduring sickness without complaint, for emerging barefoot and scantily clothed in the cold wind and rain, and generally being an exemplar of self-discipline.

Even though he had the means to feast and wear fine garments in purple and silk, he hit the streets with the energy gained from beggar’s fare and dressed in fashions of his own, usually a commando-style toga getup. It was his pleasure to attract the scorn and disapproval of passers-by, believing that he could learn far more from being the center of ridicule than from being ignored.

Cato the leader

Cato’s focus on doing what was right made him a natural leader. Plutarch says that he brought no enmity at all to his political disagreements. Rather, he was stubborn and immovable in political wrangling only when it came to protecting the public welfare, but when he had personal disagreements with his political opponents, he handled them humanely and calmly.

When he became a military leader in 67 BC, Cato refused to accept the privileges of the hierarchy. He slept in the same rough conditions as his soldiers and would never take a drink of water until his last subordinate had quenched their thirst. This type of attitude ensured Cato’s men remained loyal to him.

The Stoic poet Lucan, in his Roman epic poem Pharsalia, described Cato’s self-sacrificing leadership qualities beautifully:

Bearing his javelin, as one of them

Before the troops he marched: no panting slave

With bending neck, no litter bore his form.

He bade them not, but showed them how to toil.

Spare in his sleep, the last to sip the spring

When at some rivulet to quench their thirst

The eager ranks pressed onward, he alone

Until the humblest follower might drink

Stood motionless.

Rob Goodman and Jimmy Soni summarize the respect the Stoic earned from his subordinates in their book Rome’s Last Citizen:

For a senator-in-waiting, Cato’s unpretentious willingness to share hardship was mildly shocking. It won his men’s affection in a way that no Stoic lecture could have.

Goodman and Soni also detail how Seneca, the most powerful Stoic Rome had ever known when he was alive, was a huge admirer of Cato. In advising that people follow the example of a leader, Seneca said: “Choose therefore a Cato; or, if Cato seems too severe a model, choose … a gentler spirit.”

Cato was a staunch opponent of Julius Caesar and played a key role in Caesar’s Civil War (49–45 BC) on the side of the Optimates (the senatorial faction opposing Caesar).

When the war began, Cato supported Pompey and the Senate against Caesar. He was assigned to defend Sicily but, realizing he couldn’t hold it, joined Pompey in Greece. He fought at the Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC), where Pompey was defeated. Afterward, Cato regrouped with the remaining Optimates in Africa, helping to organize resistance from Utica.

Following their final defeat at the Battle of Thapsus (46 BC), Cato refused to surrender to Caesar. Instead, he committed suicide in Utica, choosing death over living under Caesar’s rule, cementing his legacy as a symbol of Republican resistance.

Cato the Stoic

Cato studied Stoicism under the philosopher Antipater of Tyre, devoting himself especially to ethical and political doctrines.

Plutarch says he was possessed with inspiration for the pursuit of every virtue, but, above all, the form of goodness that consists of rigid justice that will not bend to clemency or favor.

Ryan Holiday echoes this sentiment of dedication to virtue in his Lives of the Stoics:

Of all the Stoics, it was Cato who most actively practiced Aristo’s ideas about being indifferent to everything but virtue. Public opinion? Keeping up with appearances? His “brand”? Cato could have lived in great luxury, but he chose the Spartan life. And while there might have been a sliver of haughtiness to his demeanor, we are also told that his walks through the streets of Rome were filled with polite salutes to everyone he met and many unsolicited offers to help those in need. Reputation didn’t matter. Doing right did.

A lasting legacy

As mentioned, Cato significantly influenced ancient and modern thought through his steadfast commitment to Roman republicanism and Stoic principles.

Here are some examples.

Antiquity:

  • Cato’s unwavering adherence to traditional Roman values and his Stoic philosophy made him a paragon of virtue. His suicide was seen as a powerful statement against tyranny, inspiring both admiration and critique.
  • His death prompted various writings, including Cicero’s laudatory work Cato, and Julius Caesar’s rebuttal, Anti-Cato. Although Caesar’s work has not survived, its content is partially known through other sources.

Early Modern Period (1500–1800):

  • Cato became a symbol of republican ideals during the Enlightenment. Joseph Addison’s 1713 play, Cato, a Tragedy, portrayed him as a martyr for liberty, influencing political thought and leaders like George Washington.
  • The play’s themes of individual liberty versus tyranny resonated widely, leading to numerous performances and publications.

Late Modern Period (1800–1900):

  • Cato’s legacy continued in literature, with mentions in works like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, highlighting his enduring influence as a symbol of Stoic resolve and moral integrity.

Contemporary Media:

  • Cato appears in various modern works, including Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series and the television series Rome, reflecting ongoing interest in his life and principles.