CATON, PORTION MARK(Marcus Porcius Cato). The two most famous figures in Roman history are those who bear this name. Cato the Elder, also known as Cato the Censor (234 - c. 148 BC), politician, commander and writer, is best known for his severity of morals and adherence to the idea of the final destruction of Carthage. He is the great-grandfather of Cato the Younger, or Cato Uticus (95-46 BC), an aristocrat famous for stoic virtues and who became a symbol of the lost republican cause in the civil war.
Cato the Elder.
Cato the Elder was born in Tuscula in the Albanian mountains southeast of Rome, where his family owned an estate. As a military tribune, he participated in the 2nd Punic War, fought, in particular, in the Battle of Metaurus (207 BC). In 204 BC. Cato became a quaestor, i.e. as a finance official, and in this capacity accompanied the great commander Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus during the Roman invasion of Africa. Cato's delicacy in monetary matters irritated Scipio. From this trip, Cato brought Ennius to Rome, who was destined to become a great poet.
With the support of Lucius Valerius Flaccus, a representative of the ancient Roman nobility who owned an estate near the estate of Cato, Cato moved to Rome, where he put his oratorical talents at the service of his patron and at the same time began to gather his own adherents to begin the ascent of the traditional Roman nobility steps of power. In 199 BC. he was elected aedile, in 198 BC, as praetor, ruled Sardinia, where he fought against usury. In 195 BC. Cato became consul (the greatest success for homo novus, lit. " new person", I.e. "Upstart") and in this position he went to Spain, where he had to suppress the uprising, with which he coped excellently. As proconsul, Cato remained in Spain for one more year and organized a new province of Near Spain here. Upon his return, he was awarded a triumph, after which he successfully fought in 191-189 BC. in Greece against the king of Syria Antiochus III, under the command of Manius Acilius Glabrion.
In subsequent years, Cato often began to prosecute various kinds of offenses (among the Greeks and Romans, who did not know the institution of public prosecutors, this was considered the duty of every citizen). So, a certain commander demanded a triumph for battles, which, according to Cato, did not exist at all, another, being a proconsul, showed senseless cruelty towards the inhabitants of the province. Cato was also a major critic of Scipio Africanus and his brother Lucius on how they disposed of the spoils of war. In his criticism, Cato succeeded: Lucius was almost condemned, and Scipio himself retired.
In 184 BC. Cato was elected censor along with his political patron Valerius Flaccus. The competition at that time was extremely fierce, since a number of well-known applicants applied for the position, and some of them did not want to give in to the "upstart", whose ancestors had never held high positions in Rome. Cato (no one mentions his colleague) proved himself in this position so that he earned the nickname Censor. He subjected the list of senators to a merciless revision, excluding seven unworthy ones. He also sternly revised the class of horsemen. A law was passed limiting the spending on luxury (the Romans, like the Greeks, believed in the effectiveness of such regulations). In addition, the censors carried out the construction of a number of public buildings and laid new roads in which there was an urgent need. In particular, a huge sum of 1000 talents at that time was spent on the city sewage system.
Cato is best known for the role he played in the fate of Carthage. After being there as an ambassador in 153 BC, Cato was struck by the city's growing wealth and the potential threat this ancient enemy of Rome could once again become. The suggestion that Cato and other landowners wanted the destruction of Carthage for the sake of a monopoly in the wine and oil trade is not very convincing. Perhaps Cato feared that Carthage would fall into the hands of the energetic king of Numidia Masinissa, who in this case would himself become a rival of Rome. Be that as it may, Cato now concluded each of his speeches in the Senate with the words: "As for other things, I believe that Carthage must be destroyed" ("Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam"). It is believed that it was on his initiative that the Romans began the 3rd Punic War (149-146 BC), which ended with the destruction of Carthage.
Cato's biography is a typical biography of a Roman aristocrat of his era. Cato moved to Rome, because here a wider field of activity opened up before him, but his work Beginnings(not preserved) was devoted to the history of Italy rather than Rome. There is no need to oppose Cato to Scipio Africanus, as some authors do, who portray Cato as a reactionary and an admirer of antiquity, leading a movement hostile to Scipio, the progressive adore of Greek culture. In fact, Cato himself looked into the future, he shrewdly assimilated all the best in Greek civilization, no matter how the Greek politics of that time hated him. After thirty (and not at all in old age, as some sources report) Cato learned Greek. Treatise About agriculture(extant), a textbook on profitable housekeeping, compiled on Greek models, and even the few surviving fragments of Cato's speeches (Cicero had more than 150 of his speeches) reveal that he learned something from Greek rhetoric. The new courthouse, the basilica that Cato erected as censor, again shows a Greek influence. We can rely on the opinion of the next generations of Romans, who saw in Cato an admirable but quite familiar type of Roman.
Cato Utica.
The career of the great-grandson of Cato the Elder, who is often called Cato of Uticus, is a challenge to historians, because in an era of tricks and compromises, he managed to remain an impeccably honest person. In all his actions, Cato was guided by the principles of Stoic philosophy, irritating his colleagues, who believed that, as practical politicians responsible for the course of affairs, they could not afford such a luxury. "He speaks as if he lives in the state of Plato," complained his contemporary Cicero, "and not among the scum of Romulus" (meaning the Roman electorate).
In 67-66 BC. Cato served as a military tribune in Macedonia. He was then a quaestor (probably 64 BC). In 63 BC. the famous Catiline conspiracy against the Roman state was revealed. The conspirators' attempt failed primarily due to the courage and energy of the consul Cicero. During the debate about the punishment for senators convicted of conspiracy, Julius Caesar death penalty, veiled hinting at a possible revenge. But the uncompromising Cato prevailed, insisting on maximum severity, and the conspirators were executed. Lucius Licinius Murena, elected consul in the next 62 BC, was convicted of bribery of voters, and Cato tried to remove him by court. Cicero, who believed that Murena was necessary for the state as a consul, in a joking manner managed to convince the judges of the frivolity of the accusations (this speech of his has survived). By his principled position, Cato to some extent contributed to the birth of the "first triumvirate" (the union of Caesar, Crassus and Pompey), in 60 BC. actually came to power in Rome. In 59 BC. he, as the unchanging leader of the opposition, was removed from Rome and sent to annex Cyprus. Returning in 56 BC, Cato continued to fight the triumvirate. Now he has changed his tactics. Deciding that only Pompey could save Rome from dictatorship, he supported him in the elections to the consuls in 52 BC. Cato himself, who put forward his candidacy for the next term, failed. When in 49 BC. Caesar began active actions to seize power, Cato immediately joined Pompey, who opposed him. In 48 BC. Pompey was defeated, and Cato with the remnants of his army managed to cross to Africa, but in the battle of Thapsus (46 BC) they were defeated. Not wanting to accept defeat, Cato committed suicide in the city of Utica, which explains his nickname. Caesar regretted, probably sincerely, that Cato did not give him the opportunity to show mercy to him. Cicero wrote an essay Cato, which turned Cato in the eyes of future generations into an unyielding figure - a symbol of the hopeless cause of the Republicans. Caesar answered him polemical Anticaton(both works have not survived).
Literature Plutarch. Mark Cato.- In the book: Plutarch. Comparative biographies, t. 1.M., 1964
Plutarch. Cato the Younger.- In the book: Plutarch. Comparative Biographies, vol. 3, 1964
Trukhina N. N. Politics and politics« golden age» Roman Republic(II century BC.).
M., 1986
Max Porcius Cato the Elder is an ancient Roman politician, statesman, writer, whose work laid the foundations of Roman literary prose, a contemporary of Gaius Julius Caesar. He is called the elder because his great-grandson also bore the name Marcus Porcius Cato (the Younger). His fellow Roman writers gave him the nickname "Censor" for his extraordinarily zealous fulfillment of his duties. The biography of Cato the Elder, his deeds are quite well known, since many sources have survived in which he is mentioned.
Mark Porcius was a descendant of a plebeian family, was born in 234 BC. e. in Tuskula. In his youth he lived in the family estate of the Sabine, in 217 he entered the military service. It is known that in the battle with Hannibal he was repeatedly wounded, being a 20-year-old young man, he was a military tribune. In 199 BC. e. he got the post of aedile, the next year he was already praetor in the province of Sardinia, he did a lot to eradicate usury on the island. In 195 he was elected consul, entrusting the administration of Middle Spain, where he conquered many cities. Upon his return to Rome, a triumph awaited him. As a legate, he won the battle of Thermopylae with Antiochus.
Returning from the battlefield, Cato the Elder becomes a senator, actively participates in trials, in popular assemblies. As a senator, he spent a lot of effort to ensure that some of the generals were not awarded triumph. He loudly declared himself in the position of censor, which he received in 184 BC. e. He guarded the severity of morals very strictly, regardless of personality. Cato was a passionate denouncer of luxury, demanded the payment of large taxes for young slaves, women's jewelry, zealously watched that private interests did not interfere with the implementation of public interests.
One more characteristic feature his activity in the state, political arena was all sorts of resistance to foreign influence. Especially Mark Porcius was not indifferent to Hellenization and Carthage. His phrase went down in history, which he often uttered in the Senate: "Carthage must be destroyed." Because of his adherence to principles, the severity of his character, he had a lot of enemies and ill-wishers. In the biography of Cato the Elder, there is such an eloquent fact: he was called to trial 44 times, but they were never condemned, and Mark Porcius used to defend his honor himself.
The struggle for the purity of morals, a huge hostility to foreign interference contributed to the fact that Cato the Elder became a writer, gaining in this field no less fame than in the political. In an effort to instill in his son Mark his principles and knowledge, without alien influence, he wrote books for him, in particular, about the history of Rome ("Beginning"), about everyday affairs. His pen belongs to "Advice to the Son", which is considered to be the first Roman encyclopedia, in which Cato gave advice on medicine, rhetoric, agriculture, etc.
Mark Porcius Cato the Elder died in 149 BC. e.
Politician and writer Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder (his descendants were named the Elder, so as not to be confused with his great-grandson) was born in 234 BC. e. He was from the city of Tuscula, located a few tens of kilometers from Rome, and belonged to a plebeian family.
Military service
Cato could have been engaged in agriculture all his life, if it had not begun in 218 BC. e. At that time, Rome competed on equal terms with Carthage, whose commander Hannibal invaded Italy in a daring campaign. Due to the difficult situation of the republic, even the very young Cato the Elder was drafted into the army. He became a military tribune unusually quickly. For several years the young man served in Sicily. The well-known military leader Mark Claudius Marcellus was its immediate leader.
In 209 BC. e. Cato the Elder joined the military leader Quintus Fabius Maximus Kunktator. Then he ended up in the army of Caius Claudius Nero and in its ranks he took part in the Battle of Metaurus in Northern Italy. In this battle, the Romans utterly defeated the army younger brother Hannibal Gadrubal. A long campaign against Carthage allowed the talented Marcus Cato to gain recognition despite his artistic origins. V Ancient rome such nuggets were called "new people."
During the Second Cato period, he made a lot of useful acquaintances for his future career. For example, he became friends with Lucius Valerius Flaccus, who later became the praetor of the republic. Another factor in Mark's rise was the death of a large number of Roman aristocrats during the war. Especially many lives of representatives of the nobility took away in which Cato, fortunately, did not have time to take part.
204 BC e. became a turning point for Mark. On his 30th birthday, he was appointed quaestor of the commander Publius Scipio, who undertook the organization of the Roman invasion of North Africa, where the heart of the Carthaginian state was located, and for this it was called African. The army was to cross the Mediterranean from Sicily. During the preparation of a complex operation, Scipio quarreled with his assistant. According to one version of ancient historians, Cato the Elder accused the chief of a frivolous attitude towards the organization of the landing. Allegedly, the commander idly spent his time in theaters and scattered the money allocated by the treasury. According to another version, the reasons for the quarrels were deeper and consisted of a conflict between Scipio and Cato's patrons Flacks. One way or another, but the entire end of the Second Punic War, the quaestor spent in Sardinia. It is not known exactly whether he still visited Africa and whether he took part in the decisive battle at Zama. The opinions of ancient authors on this matter differ.
The beginning of a political career
In 202 BC. e. ended the Second Punic War. In a long-term conflict, Carthage nevertheless won and became hegemon in the west. Mediterranean Sea... The African rival retained its independence, but significantly weakened. With the coming of peace, Mark Cato the Elder moved to the capital. He soon embarked on a public political career. In 199 BC. e. a native of a plebeian family received the post of aedile, and a year later - praetor.
In a new status for himself, Cato the Elder moved to Sardinia, where, as a governor, he began to set up a new administration. On the island, the praetor became famous for clearing it of usurers. The official surprised ordinary residents by abandoning his entourage and carriage. With his atypical behavior for a magistracy, he demonstrated his own frugality in spending public money (this habit Cato kept until his death).
Consulate
Thanks to his outstanding public appearances and activities in Sardinia, the politician has become a serious figure in the capital itself. In 195 BC. e. Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder was elected consul. In the republic, this position was considered the highest in the entire bureaucratic ladder. Traditionally, two consuls were elected for a term of one year. Cato's partner was his longtime patron Lucius Valerius Flaccus.
After becoming consul, Mark immediately went to Spain, where an uprising of local Iberians, dissatisfied with the rule of the Romans, broke out. The Senate gave Cato an army of 15,000 and a small fleet. With these forces, the consul invaded the Iberian Peninsula. The rebels' protest was soon suppressed. Nevertheless, Cato's actions caused a mixed reaction in Rome. Rumors of his irrepressible cruelty reached the capital, which made the conflict with the Iberians even more aggravated. The main critic of Cato was for whom he once served as a quaestor. In 194 BC. e. this nobleman was elected the next consul. He demanded that the Senate withdraw Cato from Spain, but the senators refused to end the campaign. Moreover, they allowed the returning military leader to hold the traditional triumphal procession in the capital, which symbolized his personal great services to the state.
War against the Seleucids
A new challenge for Cato the Elder was the Syrian War (192-188 BC). Contrary to its name, it went to Greece and Asia Minor, where the army of the Seleucid state, created by the successors of Alexander the Great, invaded. Having defeated Carthage, the Roman Republic was now looking at the eastern Mediterranean and was not going to allow the strengthening of its direct competitor.
Mark Cato the Elder went to that war as a military tribune under the leadership of Manius Glabrion, who was then consul. On the instructions of his superior, he visited several Greek cities. In 191 BC. e. Cato took part in during which he occupied strategically important heights, which made a decisive contribution to the defeat of the Seleucids and their Aetolian allies. Mark personally went to Rome in order to inform the Senate of the long-awaited success of the army.
Critic of social vices
Once again settling in the capital, Cato the Elder began to speak frequently at the forum, in the courts and in the Senate. The main motive for his public speeches was criticism of the influential Roman aristocracy. Usually "new people", the first in their family to rise to significant government positions, tried to merge with representatives of the nobility. Cato behaved exactly the opposite. He regularly came into conflict with the nobility. As his victims, the politician first of all chose the opponents of his friends Flacks. On the other hand, he opposed the aristocracy in general, since, in his opinion, she was mired in excessive luxury.
Under the influence of this rhetoric, the teachings of Cato the Elder gradually took shape, later developed by a public figure in the pages of his writings. He considered the love of greed to be a vile innovation, from which the customs of the ancestors who lived modestly suffered. The orator warned his contemporaries that the love of wealth would be followed by mass shamelessness, vanity, arrogance, rudeness and cruelty, disastrous for the entire Roman society. Cato called aristocrats egoists who defended only own interests, while the glorious ancestors of the past worked primarily for the benefit of the state.
One of the reasons for the spread of vices of politicians called the influence of foreigners. Cato was a consistent anti-Hellenist. He criticized everything Greek, and, consequently, the apologists of this culture that spread in Rome (including the same Scipio Africanus). Cato's conservative ideas soon became known as the theory of moral decline. It cannot be said that it was this politician who invented it, but it was he who developed this teaching and made it fully completed. Among other things, Mark accused the Hellenophiles who were part of the country's military leadership of abusing their powers and insufficient attention to army discipline.
Conservative speaker
As a famous fighter for the purity of morals, Cato went to Greece several times, where he fought against local heretical cults. The most famous community included followers of Bacchus, who encouraged orgies, debauchery, and drunkenness. Cato mercilessly pursued such currents. At the same time, while in Greece, he did not forget about his political career. So the military took part in diplomatic negotiations with the uncompromising Aetolians.
Yet the political and economic views of Cato the Elder were increasingly dimmed by his conservative ideological lobbying. The most convenient way to influence society in this way was in the status of a censor. Cato tried to be elected to a high office in 189 BC. e., but the first pancake came out lumpy. Unlike other master's degrees, censors changed not once a year, but every five years. Therefore, the next chance the politician got only in 184 BC. e. Cato the Elder has long established himself as a radical conservative. Other applicants for the position had softer rhetoric. However, Cato persisted: he insisted that Roman society needed a serious internal shake-up.
The main rival of the former consul was the brother of Scipio Africanus, Lucius. Mark decided to attack his opponent by attacking a more famous relative. On the eve of the elections, he persuaded Quintus Nevi, who served as a tribune, to accuse Scipio of high treason. The essence of the claims was that the commander, allegedly because of a bribe, agreed to conclude a soft peace treaty with Antiochus of Syria, which harmed the international interests of the republic.
Censorship
The public maneuver of Cato the Elder succeeded. Scipio's brother was defeated. Cato became the censor from the plebeians, and his friend Lucius Flaccus took a similar position from the patricians. This position conferred several unique powers. Censors monitored morals, exercised financial control over state revenues, monitored the receipt of taxes and taxes, supervised the maintenance and construction of important structures and roads.
Cato the Elder, whose years of life (234-149 BC) fell on an important era for the formation of Roman law, won the elections, having behind his back a program to improve the government from all sorts of vices. The censor began to implement it, barely having time to take office. "Recovering" primarily boiled down to the expulsion of politicians who were in conflict with Cato from the Senate. Mark made another Flakk (Valerius) a princeps. Then he carried out exactly the same revision in the ranks of the horsemen. Many of the censor's ill-wishers were excluded from the privileged class of equites, including the brother of Scipio the African, Lucius. Cato himself clashed with the cavalry since the days of his Spanish campaign, when it was the cavalry that turned out to be the weak link in the army.
The expulsion from the nobility of members of ancient aristocratic families became a flagrant event for high society. Cato the Elder, whose biography was an example of a "new man", encroached on the privileges of many Romans, which aroused their undisguised hatred. As a censor, he monitored the population census and was able to demote fellow citizens in their property class. A significant number of the wealthy inhabitants of the empire lost their social position. By bringing down his decisions on them, Cato looked at how the Roman was doing his household correctly.
The censor significantly increased taxes on luxury and domestic slaves. He tried to raise government revenues and reduce spending on aristocrats. By changing the contracts concluded with tax farmers, Cato bailed out a significant sum of money. These funds were used to repair the city's sewerage system, lining stone fountains and building a new basilica on the forum. Also, the censor was one of the initiators of the new electoral legislation. According to Roman tradition, the winning candidates for the top magistracy positions held festive games and giveaways. Now these handouts to voters have come under strict new regulations. Cato made so many enemies that he was sued 44 times, but he never lost a single case.
Old age
After the end of the term of his censorship, Cato took up the arrangement of his own large estate and literary activity. Interest in public life he, however, did not lose sight. Some of his public appearances and ventures periodically reminded contemporaries of the former censor.
In 171 BC. e. Cato became a member of the commission investigating the abuses of the governors in the Spanish provinces. The orator continued to stigmatize vices and moral degradation. Many of his censorship laws, however, were canceled during his retirement. Cato continued to be a fierce anti-Hellenist. He advocated the termination of contacts with the Greeks, urged not to receive their delegation.
In 152 BC. e. Cato went to Carthage. The embassy to which he entered was to consider the border dispute with Numidia. After visiting Africa, the former censor was convinced that Carthage began to conduct a foreign policy independent of Rome. Quite a long time has passed since the Second Punic War, and the longtime enemy, despite his epochal defeat, began to raise his head again.
Returning to the capital, Cato began to urge his compatriots to destroy the African power before it recovered from a long crisis. His phrase "Carthage must be destroyed" has become an international phraseological unit, which is used in speech today. The militarist Roman lobby got its way. The Third Punic War began in 149 BC. e., and in the same year died the aged 85-year-old Cato, who never lived to see the long-awaited defeat of Carthage.
"To son Mark"
In his youth, Cato was remembered by his contemporaries as a brilliant military leader. In adulthood, he took up politics. Finally, closer to old age, the speaker began to write books. They reflected pedagogical ideas Cato the Elder, who sought to explain to his contemporaries the need to combat the decline in morals not only through public speeches, but also with the help of literature.
In 192 BC. e. the politician had a son, Mark. Cato was personally involved in the upbringing of the child. When he grew up, his father decided to write for him "Instruction" (also known as "To the son of Mark"), which outlined his worldly wisdom and the history of Rome. This was the first literary experience of Cato the Elder. Modern scholars consider the "Instruction" to be the earliest Roman encyclopedia, which contained information on rhetoric, medicine and agriculture.
"About agriculture"
The main book that Cato the Elder left behind is "On Agriculture" (also translated as "On Agriculture" or "Agriculture). It was written around 160 BC. e. The work was a compilation of 162 recommendations and tips for managing a rural estate. In Rome they were called latifundia. The vast estates of the nobility were centers of grain growing, winemaking and olive oil production. Slave labor was widely used in them.
What did Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder advise his contemporaries in his work? The treatise "On Agriculture" can be divided into two structural parts. The first is carefully composed, but the second is chaotic. It mixes recommendations of all sorts from traditional medicine to culinary recipes. The first part, by contrast, is more like a systematically compiled textbook.
Since the book was intended specifically for rural residents, there is no very basics in it, but rather specific tips are listed, the author of which was Cato the Elder. The economic thought of his work is to rank the profitability different types farms. The writer considered vineyards to be the most profitable enterprise, followed by irrigated gardens, etc. At the same time, the low profitability of grain was emphasized, which Cato the Elder dwelled on in detail in his work. Quotations from this book were then often used by other ancient authors in a variety of works. Today, the treatise is considered a unique literary monument of antiquity, since it describes better than any other source rural life the antique world of the 2nd century BC e.
"Beginnings"
Beginnings is another important work by Cato the Elder. "About agriculture" is known in to a greater extent due to the fact that this book has been preserved in its complete form. The "beginnings" have come down to us only in the form of scattered fragments. It was a seven-volume book devoted to the history of Rome from the founding of the city to the 2nd century BC. e.
Cato the Elder, whose theory of book organization turned out to be innovative, founded a style that became popular with subsequent researchers of the past. He was the first to decide to abandon the poetic form and move on to prose. Moreover, his predecessors wrote historical works in Greek, while Cato used exclusively Latin.
The book of this author differed from the works of the past in that it was not a dry chronicle and a listing of facts, but an attempt at research. All these norms, typical for modern scientific literature, were introduced into use by Cato the Elder. Taking photographs of events, he offered the reader their assessment, relying on his favorite theory of the fall in the morals of Roman society.
Dull
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2) Salonia
2) Marcus Porcius Cato Salonian (from his second marriage)
Mark Porcius Cato at Wikimedia Commons
Mark Portius Caton(lat. Marcus porcius cato, also called “ Senior», « Censor", or " Censorium"; 234-149 BC BC) was an ancient Roman politician and writer, known as an innovator of Roman literature and a conservative fighter against vice and luxury.
He came from an ignorant plebeian family, rose during the Second Punic War under the patrician family of Valerie Flakkov. He gained fame for public speeches in which he denounced the dominance of the aristocracy and the general decline of morality. In 195 BC. e. reached the consulate, in 184 BC. e. became a censor. In the last position, he expelled some of his opponents from the Senate and from the equestrian class, and also carried out radical reforms that limited the spending of the Romans on luxury goods and improved the state budget. Later he continued to defend his views, speaking in the Senate and at the forum, but began to devote more time to literary activity. In his declining years, Cato visited Carthage, which was gaining strength again, and after his return began to resolutely convince those around him of the need to destroy this city; the saying “Carthage must be destroyed!” is widely known. He died shortly after the start of the Third Punic War.
His treatise "Agriculture" (or "On Agriculture") is the oldest surviving prose work in Latin and an important source on the history of agriculture, economics and everyday life. The surviving work in fragments of "The Beginning" is the first historical writing in Latin in prose. His other works have survived only in small fragments.
Biography
Origin, birth, childhood
Ruins of the ancient theater in Tuskula
Marcus Porcius Cato was born in 234 BC. e. in Tuskula (currently near ancient city is the commune of Monte Porzio Catone, or Mount Portia Cato). From the testimony of Plutarch and Titus Livy, another date is deduced - 239 BC. e., however, some of Plutarch's testimonies contradict themselves, and modern researchers consider the first dating as almost uncontested.
Cato came from the plebeian family of Porcii, whose ancestor, according to ancient etymology, was engaged in breeding pigs (lat. porcus- pig). The ancient writers disagree about the full name of Cato. Kognomen (third part of the name) Cato, according to Plutarch and Pliny the Elder, was given to him during his lifetime for a sharp mind (this etymology is consistent with the Roman tradition of endowing people with cognomen according to the most obvious features of their character and appearance). At the same time, the version is probably fictitious that at birth the cognomen of Cato was "Priscus" ( Priscus- "Ancient"). Cato's ancestors are unknown by name, and therefore exact time the adoption of the cognomen is unknown. Cicero also mentions a nickname (agnomenes is the fourth part of the name) Sapiens("Wise"), allegedly given to him in old age. Several other variants of agnomen are known - "Censor" (a more correct, but less common form in the literature - "Censorium", Censorius), "Elder" and "Orator". M.E. Grabar-Passek indicates that the fourth part of the name appeared later, when in the middle of the 1st century BC. e. his great-grandson and full namesake turned out to be one of the most famous politicians of his time, as a result of which the need arose to distinguish between the two Catoans. According to another version, and nomen Porcius, and cognomen Cato- words are not from Latin, but from the Etruscan language. By ethnic origin, the Porcian clan, according to various versions, was either indigenous Latin, or Etruscan, or Sabine.
There is no unity among researchers on the position of the Porcian family at the time of Mark's birth, although all sources and modern authors agree that his family did not belong to the nobility - the ruling elite of the Roman Republic. The main biographer of Cato, Plutarch, confines himself to pointing out the antiquity of the family and the absence of glorified ancestors. He also mentions Mark's great-grandfather, who served in the cavalry, and in one of the wars five horses died under him (service in the cavalry was not available to the poor).
Second Punic War
Cato spent his childhood in the Sabinsky region, engaged in agriculture on his father's estate (M.E. Grabar-Passek believes that the estate was in Samnia). In 218 BC. e. with several victories of Hannibal, the Second Punic War began, and Mark fell into the active army. The beginning of the service of Cato is considered to be 217 or 216 BC. e. In the Battle of Cannes, he almost certainly did not participate. Unusually early, in 214 BC. BC, Cato achieved the position of a military tribune, although traditionally taking this magistracy required 5 or even 10 years of military experience. Until about 210 BC e. Cato served in Sicily under Mark Claudius Marcellus.
Around 209 BC e. Cato served under Quintus Fabius Maximus the Kunktator. Plutarch dates to this period his acquaintance with the teachings of the Pythagoreans in southern Italy. V.A.Kvashnin refers to 207 BC. e. second military tribunate of Cato, although earlier the author of the classic collection "Magistrates of the Roman Republic" T. Broughton found no evidence of his re-tenure this year. This year Cato served in the army of Caius Claudius Nero and took part in the Battle of Metaurus. In times of war, the talented Cato was able to rise quickly.
Traditionally, Mark is perceived as a new person ( homo novus), who made his way solely thanks to his own talents, and not family acquaintances. However, Valery Maxim testifies that his father had connections in Rome. Perhaps Cato's parents were on good terms with other branches of the Porcian family, whose representatives were magistrates several times and who could help a talented relative. Plutarch and Cornelius Nepos report that the young Cato was patronized by a neighbor, Lucius Valerius Flaccus, from an influential patrician family. At the same time, the sources of their union are not clearly reflected in the sources. Plutarch begins his exposition of the biography of Cato not with participation in the Punic War, but with the protection of the interests of the Sabine peasants in court; Cornelius Nepos speaks of visits to the Roman Forum (at the advice of Flaccus) before the story of the Punic War. However, the rapprochement between Mark and Lucius (apparently, they were the same age) is more likely during the Second Punic War. After the Battle of Cannes, in which the entire flower of the Roman nobility perished, the surviving aristocrats patronized the talented ordinary youth. The latter had to make up for the losses of the Roman elite, occupying previously inaccessible high positions. Some researchers believe that around 210 BC. e. Cato returned for some time to his estate, where, among other things, he was received from the Flacks. This hypothesis partly explains the inconsistency of chronology in Cornelius Nepos and Plutarch.
In 204 BC. e. (according to another version, in 205 BC) Mark became a quaestor for the commander Publius Cornelius Scipio, who was preparing to invade Africa. In Sicily, in preparation for the crossing, Cato fell out with his commander. According to Plutarch, Mark accused Scipio of not being serious enough about the preparation of the landing and of excessive spending: according to him, the commander spent a lot of time in theaters, and the soldier indulged in generous cash giveaways. With these accusations, Cato allegedly even arrived in Rome, although the latter statement is clearly fictitious. According to another opinion, Plutarch did not quite accurately convey the content of the quarrel, the reasons for which, moreover, lay in the disagreements on the foreign policy of Rome between one of Cato's patrons Fabius Maximus (a friend of Valerie Flackov) and Scipio. It is not known for certain whether Cato crossed over to Africa and whether he participated in the Battle of Zama: in historiography, there is a full range of opinions on this issue. V last years During the Second Punic War, Cato was in Sardinia and returned to Rome no later than 202 BC. BC, bringing with him the poet Ennius. In the same year, Cato gave a speech on the issue of irregularities in the selection process of the plebeian aediles, which was one of his first attested public appearances.
Rise (190s BC)
Scipio African
In 199 BC. e. Cato became a plebeian aedile, and the next year a praetor. Mark spent the entire praetor in the province of Sardinia, dealing mainly with administrative matters. According to Plutarch, he “ never demanded any expenses from the Sardinians and walked around the cities on foot, not even using a cart, accompanied by a single minister who carried his dress and a libation bowl to the gods". In addition to freeing the province from the maintenance of the governor's retinue, Cato also expelled all the usurers from the island. Some researchers believe that it was after the praetor, and not after the questura, that Cato brought Ennius to Rome.
Gaining fame for his public appearances and actions in Sardinia, Mark was elected consul for 195 BC. BC, and his colleague was the patron and ally of Lucius Valerius Flaccus. Around the same time, a discussion broke out in Rome around the law of Oppius ( lex Oppia), carried out during the Second Punic War as part of the austerity policy. This decree limited spending on luxury for women: they were forbidden to wear colorful clothes, own more than half an ounce of gold (14 grams) and use carts in the capital for religious purposes only. Livy retained Cato's speech in support of the preservation of the Oppian law (its authenticity is being questioned), but under pressure from noble matrons and their husbands, the law was canceled.
Soon after taking office, Cato traveled to the province of Near Spain, where an Iberian revolt against Roman rule began. The main source of information about this campaign - Titus Livy - probably used the autobiographical works of Cato himself and, in particular, the speech De consulatu suo("About your consulate"). Cato was assisted in the Spanish campaign by his political allies: Publius Manlius became his assistant, and Appius Claudius Nero, the praetor Appius, became the governor of Far Spain. At the disposal of Cato, the Senate handed over 2 legions, 800 horsemen, 15 thousand auxiliary troops and 25 ships, and, taking into account the detachments of his assistants, he had large forces. After Cato's invasion of the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula and the Battle of Emporia, the Romans undertook several expeditions to subdue the rebellious communities. Although the surviving sources testify rather to the victory of Cato, some researchers (in particular, T.A. Scipio also expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the actions of Mark. The eminent commander became consul in 194 BC. e. and demanded the immediate withdrawal of Cato from the provinces, but the senators did not support him. Despite Scipio's objections, the Senate nevertheless granted Cato the right to conduct a triumphal procession in Rome. According to Plutarch, Cato allegedly boasted that he took more cities in Spain (about 400) than he spent there days. Mark distributed a significant part of the war booty among his legionaries, although earlier he accused Scipio of corrupting the soldiers by his generous cash distributions to the soldiers. His gifts - 270 aces to each legionnaire - were considered very large at that time, and were surpassed only by the distribution of Scipio to his soldiers at the end of the Second Punic War. Cato himself, by his own assurance, did not take anything from the booty, although he probably set aside some of the money for the construction of the sanctuary of the Virgin of Victoria ( Victoria virgo) in Rome. Shortly before returning to Italy, Cato restored the work of the iron and silver mines or organized new ones, thanks to which the treasury revenues from the province increased.
After returning to the capital in 194 BC. e. Cato may have been a legate to Titus Sempronius Long in Cisalpine Gaul, where he fought against the Boyi and Ligurs. Another evidence of Mark's activities in 194-193 BC. e. - about the war in Thrace - not very believable. In 191 BC. e. Cato participated in the Syrian war against Antiochus III as a military tribune (according to another version based on information from Libya, he was a legate) in the army of the consul Manius Acilius Glabrion. Fulfilling the orders of the commander, Cato visited several Greek cities. At the Battle of Thermopylae, Cato performed a maneuver that predetermined the victory of the Romans over the Syrian troops and their Aetolian allies. At night, he led selected troops to the strategically important heights occupied by the Aetolians and drove them off the hills. After the battle, Cato went to Rome to report victory.
After returning to Rome, Cato often made speeches in the Senate, at the forum and in courts, condemning the noble politicians on various occasions. In Roman history, there were many "new people" who were the first in the family to rise to the consulate, but traditionally they tried to merge with the nobles, using the patronage of one of the noble families. Cato, who collaborated with Valerius Flacca, went on the offensive against the aristocracy, and his targets were mainly opponents of his patrons (primarily Cornelia Scipione and their allies). Cicero considers the choice of powerful enemies deliberate: in his opinion, Cato purposefully began to feud with influential nobles in order to win glory for his kind. Another target of Cato was new vices that penetrated the environment of the Roman aristocracy ().
Censorship and Reform (180s BC)
A year after returning from Greece, Cato took part in the election of censors in 189 BC. e. Of the six candidates, Glabrion was the most popular, having recently celebrated his triumph and given many gifts to the Romans. Cato accused his former commander of squandering the spoils of the war with Antiochus. Two tribunes brought Glabrion to trial, and Cato witnessed and pointed out that some of the gold and silver vessels that he had seen in Greece had disappeared by the time of the triumphal procession. In response, Glabrion brought Mark to trial for perjury. When the recent triumphant withdrew from his candidacy under pressure from Cato, the charges against him were dropped. However, by his actions against his recent commander, Mark could alienate the voters, and other people were elected as censors. Thanks to Cato's determined struggle with the most influential nobles, the ranks of his supporters in the Senate expanded. Among them there were almost no former consuls and representatives of the most influential families, and the majority were senators who reached only the office of praetor or junior magistrates. In addition, Mark continued to be supported by Valeria Flacchi and their allies.
In 189 BC. e. Cato returned to Greece, where he was sent as a legate to participate in negotiations with the Aetolians. In 186 BC. e. Cato participated in the persecution of adherents of the orgiastic cult of Bacchus, who were accused of secret night gatherings, encouraging debauchery and massive drunkenness, as a result of which there was a surge in crime. Fragments are known from Cato's speech "On the Conspiracy" ( De coniuratione), which condemned bacchanalia.
Soon, elections for censors were held for 184 BC. e. - unlike other master's degrees, censors were not elected annually, but usually once every five years. Other candidates prepared for the vote in their own way: Lucius Cornelius Scipio, brother of Scipio Africanus, just now fulfilled a long-standing vow to organize games for the people; a similar event was organized by Marc Fulvius Nobilior. A total of nine censorship positions were claimed by nine people - five patricians and four plebeians, including Cato. By this time, Mark was considered a very radical politician, and his opponents in their campaign speeches promised moderate censorship. Cato did not deny his radicalism, but, on the contrary, convinced the people of the need for an immediate purification of morals. Plutarch describes his performance as follows:
“Cato, not showing the slightest acquiescence, but openly, from the oratorical rostrum denouncing those mired in vice, shouted that the city needed a great cleansing, and urged the Romans if they were sane, to choose a doctor not the most cautious, but the most decisive, that is, himself, and from the patricians - Valery Flacca. Only with his help, he hoped in earnest to deal with the effeminacy and luxury, cutting off the heads of these hydra and cauterizing the wounds with fire. "
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Romans. Frescoes from Villa Boscoreale, 1st century BC e. - 1st century A.D. e. |
Before the elections, Cato, through a figurehead - the tribune of Quintus Nevius - accused the largest commander of Scipio Africanus of high treason. According to the prosecution, Scipio ended the war with Antiochus on extremely lenient conditions because of a bribe given to the general by the king, and as a result of the release of his son from captivity without ransom. Through an attack on the commander, Cato hoped to divert the sympathies of the voters from his brother Lucius, who participated in the elections.
In the end, Cato won the election with Lucius Valerius Flaccus and immediately set about implementing his reform program aimed at "improving the state." However, Mark began his censorship by settling old scores. So, Cato excluded seven senators from the list of members of this body, including Lucius Quinctius Flamininus, brother famous commander, and Manilius (or Manlius; apparently a supporter of Scipio Africanus). The reason for the expulsion of the first senator, according to two slightly different versions, was the execution of the Gaul to please his mistress or lover. The reason for the exclusion of Manilia was a violation of an ancient custom: he allegedly kissed his wife in the presence of his daughter. In addition, Cato made his colleague and ally Valerius Flaccus instead of Titus Quinctius Flamininus the princeps (a senator who was the first to be given the right to express his opinion on the issues under consideration). The censors then inspected the equestrian estate and expelled many of them, including Lucius, the brother of Scipio Africanus. However, there is an assumption that the cleansing of the riders was not of a political nature, but pursued exclusively military goals. According to D. Kinasta, Cato during the Spanish campaign of 195 BC. e. faced the relative weakness of the Roman cavalry. This campaign, according to the German researcher, revealed the need to cleanse the class of horsemen from the Romans, who, for various reasons, could not make up an effective cavalry. Many of the victims of Cato belonged to the nobility by birth, and the unceremoniousness of the censorship became, as N. N. Trukhina notes, "a flagrant violation of the unwritten privileges of the nobility." Soon the censors carried out a census of the population and property (census), which also distinguished itself by its severity. In particular, Cato demoted many Romans in the property class, whose estates were not properly processed.
Finally, the censor initiated new laws to limit spending on luxury goods and domestic slaves by sharply increasing taxes levied at each census. As a result, clothing, carts, women's jewelry and household utensils, which were estimated at 1,500 denarii (at the beginning of the 2nd century BC, this amount was 15,000 asses) and more, were levied the same tax as if they were worth in ten times more. A similar method of levying taxes was applied to all slaves bought for more than 1,200 denarii, which hit primarily the owners of domestic servants, but not the owners of slaves in agriculture and industry. From the evidence of ancient sources that rarely covered economic issues, the principle of levying the tax is unclear: either those households where all property was estimated at more than 15 thousand aces were taxed tenfold (in this case, not only rich Romans, but also a significant part of the "middle class"), or each item was taxed separately, and only the rich paid for their most expensive things. In addition, the censor, according to Plutarch, raised the usual property tax, but Titus Livy mixes this type of tax with the aforementioned luxury tax. In any case, the principle of levying property tax is also unclear.
The censor went to great lengths to reduce government spending and increase revenues. During the censorship, he revised contracts for tax dealers (publicans) in the direction of increasing their contributions. The publishers complained about Cato, who reduced their profits, in the Senate, but he still signed contracts on new conditions, and he did not allow all those who complained to be paid. Porcius revised government contracts for the repair of buildings to reduce the amount paid, and all illegally built buildings on public land ( ager publicus) and ordered to destroy illegal connections into state water pipelines and aqueducts. The censor was also active in construction. In particular, with the money raised from the renegotiation of the ransom contracts, he laid the foundations of the basilica in the Roman forum (known as the Basilica of Portia), repaired the city's sewerage system, and lined the fountains with stone.
In 181 BC. e. Cato supported the adoption of the Babius-Cornelius law against election violations ( lex Baebia-Cornelia de ambitu), which strictly regulated the distribution of gifts and the organization of festive games by candidates during the pre-election period.
Post-censorship activities
Carthage's plan shortly before destruction
Although the censorship cemented Cato's fame, he made many enemies because of the fight against the nobles. According to Pliny the Elder, he was brought to trial 44 times, but never convicted.
In adulthood, Cato began to expand the land holdings inherited from his father by buying new plots and organizing agricultural production there. According to VI Kuzishchin, the advice on choosing an estate at the beginning of the treatise "On Agriculture" is based on the personal experience of Cato acquiring new plots. Apparently, the possessions of Cato were not a single compact latifundia, but a number of separate estates and several plots of leased state land ( ager publicus). The area of the latter hardly exceeded the traditional limit of 500 yugers (125 hectares). In addition, Plutarch reports that, by his old age, Cato began to engage in usury, despite the ban on this type of activity for senators ().
In 171 BC. e. Cato became a member of a special commission to investigate the violations of the governors in Spain - Marcus Titinius, Publius Fury Phil, Guy Matiena. The last two, following the investigation and trial, were convicted of malfeasance, and Mark Titinius was acquitted, and Cato made speeches in court as a prosecutor. Although his harsh laws against luxury were effectively abolished during Cato's lifetime, he continued to stigmatize the vices of his contemporaries. As before, Cato was wary of the spread of Greek culture in Rome (see sections and). When in 155 BC. e. an embassy headed by the philosopher Carneades arrived in Rome from Athens, Cato demanded that they be sent home as soon as possible: the ambassadors allegedly corrupted the Roman youth with Greek philosophy.
In the late 150s (according to various versions, in 153 or 152 BC) Cato went to Carthage as part of the embassy to arbitrate the dispute between Carthage and Numidia about the disputed territory. The inclusion of such a distinguished senator in the embassy attested to the importance of the mission. The border dispute was not settled (the Carthaginians refused to accept the mediation of the Romans), but the ambassadors saw firsthand that the new, independent foreign policy of Carthage had a serious foundation in the form of the restored economic power of the enemy capital. After returning to Rome, Cato began to actively lobby for the early start of war with Carthage until the complete destruction of this city. The most famous episode of this campaign was the famous phrase “ Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam"(" Besides, I believe that Carthage should be destroyed "), which he repeated, speaking in the Senate on any issue. Mark's main opponent on this issue in the Senate was Scipio Nazica Korkul, a relative and son-in-law of Scipio Africanus.
In 150 BC. e. Cato is referred to as an augur, but he certainly joined this priestly college earlier. Died Cato in 149 BC. e., shortly after the start of the Third Punic War.
Literary activity
Creativity overview
Returning from the fronts of the Second Punic War and becoming involved in political activities, Cato began to compose speeches for public speaking and was one of the first in Rome to publish them. Cicero knew about 150 of Cato's speeches, but small fragments of about 80 of them have survived to this day. In ancient times, the letters of Mark were also known.
After the birth of his first son, Mark personally taught him to read and write for pedagogical needs, compiled a historical essay, writing it in "large letters." Subsequently, Cato became acquainted with many Greek writings on various topics and, under their influence, created several serious works. In total, about eight of them are known:
- "Agriculture" (in the original - "On Agriculture", or De agri cultura; less often De re rustica) - a collection of tips for managing an agricultural estate. The work has survived to this day, and this is the earliest known at present prose works in Latin;
- "Beginning" ( Origines) - the history of Rome and Italy, the first prose work of this genre in Latin. Fragments have survived;
- An encyclopedic composition for his son. The exact name is unknown, conventionally referred to as "To the son" ( Ad filium) or "To the son of Mark" ( Ad Marcum filium Model of a rural villa of the 2nd-3rd centuries AD e. and households with her. Ahrweiler, Germany
"On Agriculture" ( De agri cultura; in translations into Russian, usually "Agriculture") - a list of 162 tips and tricks for managing the economic life of a rural estate. The composition, preserved in its entirety, is extremely heterogeneous in structure. After a carefully crafted introduction and 60 first tips, 102 recommendations are almost unrelated to each other on completely different topics - from recipes for pies to folk recommendations for repositioning dislocations. There are three main versions explaining the chaotic order of the second half of the work: either the text spoiled by late insertions and revisions has survived, or the surviving work is not the original treatise, but a separate collection of Cato's comments, or the work is Mark's "notebook" was not intended to be published.
According to M. Albrecht, the first part of the essay clearly borrows the form of a Greek textbook. Although Cato, in the introduction, speaks primarily of the moral benefits of farmer labor, many practical advice are aimed at increasing income and minimizing costs. Cato often repeats advice in different words twice, and one of the recommendations four times. However, most of the tips repeated are important. The target audience of the Roman author is not city dwellers who occasionally visit their estates, but farmers. That is why, according to M. Ye. Sergeenko, the essay does not set out the basic principles of agriculture: farmers, unlike townspeople, do not need explanations about the plowing technique or the method of drying figs (figs). It was the farmers who were interested in Mark's individual advice on increasing the profitability of their estates compared to traditional farming methods. The censor also drew up a well-known "scale of profitability" for different types of agriculture, from which far-reaching conclusions about the low profitability of grain production were often drawn. However, some researchers believe that this scale is not entirely understood and put oil farming on the first place in the list of the most profitable occupations. The order of enumeration of Cato is considered by M. Ye. Sergeenko to be due to chance. In the opinion of V.M.Smirin, Cato's list does not list profitable sectors of the economy in the order of their profitability, but only those that make it possible to transfer the economy to self-sufficiency.
"Beginnings"
Main article: Beginnings (Cato)
In the essay "Beginning" ( Origines) in seven books, Cato outlined the history of Rome from the founding of the city to the middle of the 2nd century BC. e. This work was written by Mark already in adulthood. According to one version, the essay ended with a description of the events of 156 BC. e., and according to another version, the presentation was brought up to 149 BC. e. Accordingly, there is no consensus about the time of its compilation and publication.
The censor became an innovator in Roman historiography. First, he became the first famous author who decided to present events in Latin and prose: his predecessors (as well as his contemporaries) wrote either in Greek or in poetic form. In prose in Latin, the Roman pontiffs composed the Great Annals (the official chronicle of the Roman Republic), but Cato broke with the tradition of dry and formal priestly writing. A significant part of the work was not a chronicle, but a systematic study. Second, the Elements are strongly influenced by the genre of highly developed Greek historiography. In particular, Cato borrowed a description of the history of cities and regions, landscape sights, etymology of ethnonyms and toponyms.
In the Beginnings, Cato transferred his political views to history. As a result, the pampered morals of his contemporaries were condemned in his work, and Cato radically got rid of the inevitable dominance of the names of aristocrats (among them there are many opponents of Mark and their ancestors) on the pages of his history: he did not name the names of officials and commanders. At the same time, great attention was paid to Rome's allies in Italy. These features allow modern researchers to talk about Cato's understanding of the people as the creator of history.
The "beginnings" have survived to this day only in small passages, but they are usually preserved in the form of a retelling.
Style
All of his works Cato wrote in Latin, although the language of culture and science in the Mediterranean (and even in southern Italy) was Greek. However, after the Second Punic War, the Roman Republic no longer needed writings that convinced foreigners of the antiquity of the Latin tribe and the rich history of Rome in their language. Instead, there was a demand for compositions for internal use, which, in particular, were to express the new identity of the regional empire.
The style of Cato's writings differs markedly from the Latin of the golden age and later writings. Mark used different vocabulary and style depending on the genre (public speaking, history, farming advice). Cato's speeches were characterized by lightness, grace, the use of various means of expression, and were full of well-aimed statements. At the same time, young Roman rhetoric did not yet have a large selection of oratorical techniques, and the methods of decorating Cato's speech are very monotonous. Nevertheless, in ancient times, when the texts of his speeches were known in full, the Censor was considered the predecessor of Mark Tullius Cicero in oratory.
Style " Origines", Judging by the surviving fragments, is rather abrupt, and it is compared with the Greek logographers - the predecessors of the" father of history "Herodotus. However, in historical prose Certain poetic elements are found in the censor. The work is characterized by an abundance of obsolete words (archaisms), which are often used for solemn purposes. Cato sometimes uses the archaic practice of doubling vowels, uses several synonyms in a row, introduces formulas from religious and legal use into the narrative. Some statements are of a “common people” character, puns and aphoristic statements were not isolated.
Language " De agri cultura»The least homogeneous. The introduction to the essay is carefully finished, and the individual tips are written in dry and clear language. Sentences are usually short and verbs are usually used in imperative mood future tense, as in Roman laws: “ make the following as a rule ...» ( sic in animo habeto), « sacrifice so that the oxen are healthy, bring it like this ...» ( votum pro bubus, uti valeant, sic facito). It is not uncommon for Cato to use Greek technical terminology in horticulture or cooking. Sentences are usually short. " These are the duties of a wilik. Establish good order. Observe the holidays. Do not take someone else's hands, protect yours carefully» ( Haec erunt vilici officia. Disciplina bona utatur. Feriae serventur. Alieno manum abstineat, sua servet diligenter). However, there are also sequences of several unusually long phrases for the ear (in ancient times, books were intended primarily for reading aloud), followed by one or more short sentences... Through this alternation, the Censor tries to impress readers and listeners in his other works as well.
Family
Cato was married twice. His first wife in 194-193 BC. e. became Licinia from a noble family, who gave birth to the son of Marcus Porcius Cato, later nicknamed "Licinian". Plutarch mentions that Mark himself raised his first son, refusing the services of a slave teacher. The eldest son, who had established himself as a talented lawyer, died around 152 BC. e., having been elected to the post of praetor, but not having time to take office.
Around 155 BC e. Licinia died, and soon the elderly Cato married 15-year-old Salonia, the daughter of his client, who worked for him as a scribe. Soon, despite the difference in age, they had a child. Pliny the Elder mentions 80-year-old Cato as one of the oldest men who have had children. The second son, like the first, was also named Mark, but to differentiate with his half-brother and father, he received the nickname "Salonian". Salonian's grandson was Marcus Porcius Cato ("the Younger" or "Uticus"), one of the most famous Roman politicians of the mid-1st century BC. e.
Personality. Views
Anonymous epigram on Cato
And dead Cato
with hair of red and gray eyes,
who pricked everyone with hurtful words,
Queen Persephone does not want to take to hell.Plutarch wrote down a Greek translation of a Latin epigram, from which it follows that Cato had red or reddish hair, and his eyes were gray or blue (the Greek word γλαυκόμματος describes all light shades of the iris color).
Cato not only defended the traditions of the ancients ( mos maiorum) in the Senate and in public speaking on the forum, but also tried to stick to them in his personal life. However, his moral character was not perfect. So, he very freely interpreted patriarchal customs regarding marriage: according to Cato, a woman who has betrayed her can be killed without trial, but the husband has every right to change his wife, since it is not prohibited. His contemporaries also reprimanded him for his second marriage (), when 80-year-old Cato married 15-year-old Salonia, the daughter of his client. Finally, Cato was known for his stinginess: although over time Mark became rich, he nevertheless traded in the market himself, his house was not plastered, and there was not a single vase among the utensils. In his old age, Cato often indulged in usury, which was forbidden for senators, skillfully evading formal prohibitions and restrictions. In addition, Cato did not hesitate to give dubious testimony in court against his political opponents.
The attitude of the Censor to the Roman religion was rather ambiguous. In Agriculture, he gave advice on reciting prayers to the gods and generally followed traditional agricultural cults. However, he also demanded that the estate manager not consult with various fortunetellers (while the Censor himself was a member of the priestly college of augurs - fortune-tellers on the behavior of animals and on celestial phenomena).
Mark's sale of the elderly and sick slaves as unnecessary and useless did not find understanding among the ancient authors. " You can not treat living things the same way as with sandals or pots, which are thrown away when they are leaking from a long service and become unusable.", Plutarch remarked on this occasion. V " De agri cultura Cato gives many advice on the exploitation of slaves, who are characterized as cruel and skillful. Mark tried to inflate and maintain feuds between his slaves so that they would not unite against their master. He also kept all the servants in his house, not allowing them to go out, and also required them to either work or sleep. At the same time, it is known that Licinia breastfed not only the son of the Censor, but also the children of slaves.
Cato and Greek culture
There are many opinions, often contradictory, about Cato's relationship to the Greeks and their culture. In historiography, assessments range from Cato's hatred and contempt for the Hellenes to the interpretation of Cato's criticism as an inevitable product of the close acquaintance of two civilizations: according to A. Estin, Cato selectively considered the Greek cultural heritage adapting some of the achievements of Hellenic culture to Roman needs and denying the value of others.
Despite the rejection of a number of achievements of Greek culture, Cato did not feel hostility towards the Greeks themselves. In addition, he sometimes defended the interests of Hellenic cities, if it was beneficial to Rome: for example, in 167 BC. e. he made a speech in the Senate in support of Rhodes. Already in adulthood, he learned Greek language(Apparently, his teacher was Annius), although when communicating with the embassies of Hellenic cities, he preferred to speak through an interpreter. The censor read Greek literature, and it had a serious influence on his later works: in the Elements, in addition to borrowing the genres of Hellenistic historiography (), he derived the etymology of Roman and Italian ethnonyms and place names through the Greek language.
Cato disliked the achievements of Greek medicine: in his opinion, Greek doctors took an oath to harm all non-Greeks and even kill them instead of treating them. In his treatise On Agriculture, Cato wrote down several recipes from Roman folk medicine. These were medicines for people and animals, magic conspiracies and recommendations for performing sacrifices for a speedy recovery. It is also known about the organization by Cato of a kind of home "hospital" for people and livestock, where his recommendations were implemented. At the same time, the Greek Plutarch sarcastically notes that the first wife and eldest son of Cato, on whom he applied his recipes, died before him.
Decline theory
From the very beginning of his political career, Cato in his speeches touched upon the spread of "vile innovations" ( nova flagitia), because of which the customs of the ancestors were in danger ( mos maiorum- the custom of the ancestors; sometimes mores maiorum, in plural). In the hierarchy of these shortcomings, Cato put the passion for luxury in the first place, followed by greed, vanity, shamelessness, debauchery, rudeness, arrogance and cruelty. At the heart of all vices, according to Cato, were individualism and the desire to defend personal interests, while the customs of the ancestors were based on "the good of the state." Cato associated the spread of these vices with foreign influence, and his main goal during the censorship of 184 BC. e. became suppression. Although the theory of moral decline dates back to long before Cato, it is he who is considered to be the first to consistently use it in politics.
The target of Cato's attacks most often became the Nobili, especially the supporters and relatives of Scipio Africanus, among whom there were many Hellenophiles. Mark saw in their style of commanding the troops an abuse of authority and insufficient attention to the discipline of soldiers.
Memory of Cato
Antique era
Cato's harsh laws against luxury were actually abolished during his lifetime, but in the 1st century BC. e. the theory of "moral decline" again became relevant (among the main adherents of this idea is the historian Guy Sallust Crisp). Many politicians subsequently returned to the adoption of laws against luxury, despite their ineffectiveness, including Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Gnaeus Pompey the Great, Gaius Julius Caesar, Octavian Augustus.
For descendants, Cato was known primarily as a bright personality, a fighter against luxury and vices, the embodiment of the old Roman virtues, and his writings were destined for a more difficult fate (about their influence). In addition, Cato was often associated with the final destruction of Carthage. In the era civil wars in the 1st century BC. e. the Romans began to perceive the time after the Second Punic War as the "golden age" of the Roman Republic, and Cato as an exemplary politician. For Cicero, the name Cato was synonymous with the old, almost forgotten mores of the ancestors ( mos maiorum): he mentioned him in his speeches almost every time he mentioned the bright past. He dedicated to him the dialogue "Cato, or about old age" ( De senectute), but his image in this work is not entirely historical: as M. Ye. Grabar-Passek believes, in the image of Cicero Cato - “ a wise old man,<…>praising life in the bosom of nature and the delights of old age”, Which does not correspond to other information from other sources, depicting an extremely active person who considered old age“ ugly ”. The personality of Cato was highly regarded by the historian Titus Livy. At the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. e. archaized Latin came into vogue, due to which attention to the personality of the Censor and to his writings increased sharply. The creativity and personality of the ancient author were revered, among others, by the emperors Adrian and Marcus Aurelius, as well as the mentor of the latter, the famous rhetorician Fronton. The latter once suggested erecting a monument to the Censor in every city.
In ancient times, two biographies of Cato were created - authorship of Cornelius Nepos and Plutarch. The composition of Nepot did not survive, instead of it came a short curriculum vitae as part of his own collection. The composition of Plutarch has survived to this day in its entirety. Other important sources about the life of Cato are the writings of Mark himself (primarily, fragments of speeches preserved by other authors), as well as the works of Polybius, Titus Livius and Mark Tullius Cicero.
Influence on Roman literature
The speeches of Cato, recorded and published by him, survived throughout ancient times, but the admirer of the Censor, Cicero, complained that they were not well known. Influence " Origines"In the first years after publication it was not great: Roman authors were guided not by the very specific work of the Censor, but by the" Annals "of Fabius Pictor. However, the use of Latin for writing essays quickly spread. In the middle of the 1st century BC. e. The Principles were not highly regarded, although this work had a noticeable influence on the prominent historian Guy Sallust Crispus. However, this influence is usually reduced to only Sallust's interest in the archaic style. In the future, interest in the Censor increased, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Ovid, Verrius Flaccus, Vellei Paterculus, Pliny the Elder, the commentator of Virgil Servius, Macrobius and Aulus Gellius knew his "Principles" (thanks to the latter author, many fragments of the work have survived). Some of them also read Mark's speeches.
Treatise " De agri cultura”, Offering only a few tips to increase profitability and focusing on a medium-sized farm, very soon ceased to satisfy the needs of Roman farmers, who expanded their farms and increased their profitability. Already in the 140s BC. e. the fundamental work of the Carthaginian Mago in 28 books was translated into Latin, which later became the handbook of Roman agronomists. Nevertheless, the encyclopedic scholars Mark Terentius Varro and Pliny the Elder, who also wrote about agriculture, knew and cited the work of Cato.
Since in the 1st century A.D. e. many words from the writings of Cato were no longer entirely clear, Verrius Flaccus collected and explained their meanings in a separate work "On the dark expressions of Cato" ( De obscuris Catonis). This work has not survived, but he was attracted by Festus to compile his dictionary. In addition, many grammarians used his writings as a source of archaic words and expressions. In the II century A.D. e. the famous antique dealer Aulus Gellius no longer noticed the difference between the meanings of the words properare(hurry up, with a negative connotation) and festinare(hurry up, with a positive connotation) that Cato spoke of.
Cato in historiography
Since the 19th century, several monographs and many articles have been written about Cato. His literary activity was also worthy of special consideration; critical texts of his works were also published, and their translations into modern languages and compilation of speech fragments ().
V historical science there is no consensus about the political orientation of Cato: his activities are often assessed as democratic (H. Scallard and others), although some authors (in particular, D. Kynast) completely deny the existence of a single line in domestic policy, reducing the main contradictions between the supporters of Scipio and Cato to the opposition of the Hellenophile and Hellenophobic orientations in culture and foreign policy... A. Astin considers the evidence of ancient authors about Cato's enmity with the Roman aristocracy to be highly exaggerated; according to the historian, Mark's goal was the opposite - to integrate into the ranks of the nobles. T. Mommsen considers Cato the leader of the "reform party", who was supported by the Italic peasantry.
By the middle of the 20th century, both in historiography and in popular science literature, an inaccurate opinion was formed about Cato as a carrier of retrograde ideas, a consistent Greek hater and an imperialist. In 1944, Enzo Marmorale (Italian. Enzo Marmorale) published the work "Cato the Younger", republishing it after five years. In the same year 1949, the second monograph on Cato by Francesco della Corte appeared in Italy. The reviewers considered both of these works to be well-disposed towards the object of study, and the views of the authors on the Censor, in the opinion of the reviewers, differed from the prevailing views that did not always correspond to reality. While both authors agree that the Censor's attitude towards the Greeks was far from dismissive, and they also highly appreciate Mark's oratory ability and his attachment to the land, they disagree on their assessment of the Beginnings. Marmorale considers this work trivial and full of anecdotal stories, and Corte notes his significant contribution to the development of Roman historiography. The last researcher also believes that the "Elements" were written in two stages. Around 170 BC e., according to the Italian scholar, Cato wrote the first three books of the composition under the strong influence of Xenophon and Herodotus, and towards the end of his life he, focusing already on Polybius, supplemented his work with a description of later events. The reviews note the clearly artificial character of the depiction of Cato in the work of Marmorale as an "anti-fascist" and "fighter for freedom" due to the current political situation, and Scipio, respectively, as an imperialist and ideological predecessor of Caesar. According to the reviewer J. Swan, both works suffer from insufficient disclosure of the historical context within which Cato lived and acted.
In 1954, Dietmar Kinast published the monograph Cato the Censor: His Personality and His Time (German. Cato der Zensor: Seine Persönlichkeit und seine Zeit ; reprinted in 1979). The German author paid much attention to considering the relationship of Cato to Greek culture, arguing that Cato was not against new influences as such, but only opposed blind imitation of everything Greek. He also considers the question of possible acquaintance with Polybius and his writings, but refrains from far-reaching conclusions on this matter. Finally, the German researcher sees Cato as a specialist in international relations in the Mediterranean region (hence - a lot of speeches and an active position on foreign policy issues). This allowed the author to suggest that in the light of a good knowledge of the international situation, the insistent demand for the destruction of Carthage was the result of cold calculation. In general, the reviewers praised Kinasta's work, which emphasized the contradictory nature of the life and work of Cato, although they noted insufficient disclosure of some issues; however, in the 70s, the insufficient depth of Kinast's work was already noted.
In 1978, Alan Astin (another version of the transcription of the surname - Astin; Eng. Alan astin) published a biography of Cato the Censor. The author devoted much attention - almost half of the 371-page book - to the study of Cato's oratory career and his literary activity. The British scholar, in particular, considers Cato's enmity with Scipio to be exaggerated and denies Mark's hostility to Greek culture. The author also avoids excessive use of the prosopographic approach, popular in the middle of the 20th century, for the analysis of political events. The reviewers highly appreciated this work, although they noted repeated repetitions of the same theses, not quite a logical structure of the work and excessive caution of conclusions.
In Russian-language literature, with the exception of Sedergolm's essay mid XIX century, there is no generalized biography of Cato, but a number of works illuminate a significant part of his life and work. The monograph “Politics and Politics of the“ Golden Age ”of the Roman Republic (II century BC)” by N.N. Trukhina contains a brief biography of Cato and an examination of the issue of his political orientation. Reviewers O. V. Sidorovich and A. L. Smyshlyaev highly appreciated this work in general and the coverage of Cato's biography in particular, but at the same time pointed out the excessive idealization of the Censor. In their opinion, the negative touches to the image of Cato in the book are partially conveyed in a favorable light for him, and some of his shortcomings are not mentioned at all. In 2004, V. A. Kvashnin published on the basis of his Ph.D. thesis the monograph "State and Legal Activity of Mark Porcius Cato the Elder", in which the political career of the Censor is examined in detail, but his literary activity is not touched upon. In addition, T.A. Bobrovnikova turns to the consideration of the personality of Cato in the popular science biography of Scipio Africanus.
Editions and translations
- Latin texts: "On agriculture" and fragments of speeches
- Fragments of speeches Mark Portia Cato... / Per. N.N. Trukhina. // Trukhina N. N. Politics and politics of the "Golden Age" of the Roman Republic (II century BC). Resp. ed. I. L. Mayak. M .: Publishing house of Moscow State University. 1986.184 pp. 172-182.
"Agriculture":
- Mark Porcius Cato... Agriculture. / Per. and comm. M. E. Sergeenko with the participation of S. I. Protasova. (Series "Literary Monuments"). Resp. ed. I. I. Tolstoy. M.-L .: Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1950.220 pp. 4000 copies.
- reprints: M .: Ladomir, 1998; SPb .: Nauka, 2008.
- The treatise "On Agriculture" was published in the "Loeb Classical Library" series under No. 283.
- In the Collection Budé series: Caton... De l'agriculture. Texte établi, commenté et traduit par R. Goujard. 2e tirage 2002. LVI, 364 p.
"Beginnings":
- Peter H. Historicorum Romanorum reliquiae. Vol. I. Leipzig, 1906. P. 55-97.
- In the Collection Budé series: Caton... Les Origines. Fragments. Texte établi, traduit et commenté par M. Chassignet. 2e tirage 2002. LXVII, 179 p. ISBN 978-2-251-01332-9
In times Punic Wars when the Romans got acquainted with the Greek culture, their way of life, morals, their concepts changed very much, and it could be feared that if a strong barrier to foreign influence was not opposed, then ancient customs and institutions would completely fall, simplicity, moderation, the ability to endure hardships, strict morality will disappear, being replaced by vicious pleasures that attract youth, which learns to them, learning the knowledge of civilized, but pampered foreigners, that Rome, the destroyer of Carthage, the conqueror of the Greek world, will become exhausted, being subjected to the same relaxing effect of pleasures, spoiled by the same vices that produced the moral and political decline of the Greeks. Therefore, it is natural that the conservative party came out against the adherents of Greek education, innovators, trying to preserve the ancient customs that glorified Rome, to block the fashionable, educated with his love for grace and pleasure from access to the promised land. This party, headed at first by the famous Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder, began to fight for the old national exclusivity against the new cosmopolitanism. Love for Greek education, art, literature, for the various pleasures of the graceful Greek way of life manifested itself initially in the circle of the highest aristocracy. Therefore, it is not surprising that the fight against Greek culture was raised by the Democratic Party. In her opposition to this closed circle of noble and powerful people, she began to defend the ancient Roman severity, simplicity, sharp national exclusivity, striving to eliminate all foreign influences, and especially Greek ones.
Head of the Roman patrician of Otricoli, often called the "portrait of Cato the Elder" (Rome, Torlonia Museum)
At the head of the aristocratic party were Scipions and Flaminins, people high education imbued with an enthusiastic love for the Greek civilization. The foremost fighter of the party of commoners was Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149), called, in contrast to his grandson Cato Uticus, Cato the Elder. He was a native of Tuscula, a man of low birth, who had risen to the rank of consul thanks partly to his own energy, partly to the assistance of his neighbor on the estate, an adherent of antiquity, an honest nobleman Lucius Valerius Flaccus and other influential aristocrats. Having accomplished many glorious deeds in Africa, Spain, Macedonia, Cato received a triumph, and finally, in spite of the resistance of the optimates, this "new", ignorant man was elected censor.
Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder was extremely active, had iron health and throughout his long life tirelessly fought against new concepts and, as it seemed to him, moral corruption connected with them. He attacked their adherents mercilessly as his personal enemies. As an 85-year-old man, Cato the Elder was still fighting in the popular assembly against new concepts. He spoke boldly, witty, knew the laws very well, was a brave warrior who knew how to command and obey, distinguished himself in any war, or commanding legions, or fighting with spear and sword in the ranks of ordinary warriors. A strict guardian of ancient Roman discipline, an implacable enemy of all who weakened it to gain the love of the people and soldiers, a just, active ruler of the provinces, a man of a simple lifestyle, Cato the Elder attacked extravagance, extortion, injustice, selfishness, greed optimates who ruled the provinces, and tax farmers.
He enjoyed great respect, strong influence, especially due to the fact that all his life he was an exemplary Roman landowner and householder, excellently led on his estate Agriculture, kept all the household in strict order. Marcus Porcius Cato made buildings cheap and well, successfully engaged in profitable commercial speculations, deftly took advantage of all sorts of opportunities to gain profit, lived sparingly and modestly, loved, according to the old Italian custom, to have fun with his clients, and in his way of life represented a sharp contrast to extravagance, splendor, the grace of the people who were the subject of his attacks.
At the same time, Cato the Elder was able to acquire such a versatile knowledge that he wrote excellent treatises on agriculture, on which the greatness of Rome was based, and on the history of the Italic peoples (Origines). In his wonderful "Guide" for his son, briefly, without unnecessary subtleties, clearly and at the same time thoughtfully, Cato outlined the rules that a "good man" (vir bonus) and the necessary " good man»Oratorical, medical, agricultural, military, legal information. Already an old man, Cato the Elder studied the Greek language in order to take weapons from the books of the Greeks themselves to fight against the fashionable trend and pass on to his compatriots on native language worldly wisdom of Greek thinkers.
Marcus Porcius Cato showed all his energy and moral rigor as a censor. He acted against the new trend so harshly that his censorship remained forever memorable, and the habit was formed to add the name Censorius - "Censor" to his name. His censorial severity was directed against the adherents of new concepts among the optimates, and especially against the Scipios.
Cato the Elder even after continued to show adamant severity regarding new concepts and their representatives. At his request, representatives of Greek philosophy, academician Carnead, Peripatetic Critolai and the Stoic Diogenes, who were sent by the Athenians to Rome to plead with the case of the city of Oropa belonging to Attica (155) and began to lecture on philosophy and oratory. Schools were also closed oratory founded in Rome by Greek teachers. Cato armed himself against Greek medicine and Greek doctors, praised the ancient treatment of diseases with home remedies and sympathetic remedies, said that he and his wife owed their longevity and good health to this manner of treatment. Cato ardently demanded the eradication of foreign mystical cults in Italy with their voluptuous holidays, armed himself against debauchery brought into Italy from the East and from Greece, he wished that Gladiator fights and battles with animals, so that the love for old, folk entertainments, country farces in buffoonery attire and cheerful country dances would be renewed. Cato the Elder fought against the growing luxury, thought to curb it with taxes on its objects and prohibitions, and, when he was a censor, subjected some of the most important optimates to punishment for spoiling manners by their example.
"Cato the Elder" from Otricoli. Profile view
In particular, Marcus Porcius Cato attacked the name of the Scipions. He was the real instigator of the charge against Scipio Africanus the Elder and his brother Lucius for withholding government money. As a censor, Cato expelled Lucius Scipio from the equestrian class, and struck out from the list of senators Lucius Quinctius Flamininus, the brother of the liberator of Greece, accusing him that he, being consul, he personally killed a noble prisoner in the camp near Placencia, wishing to deliver one of his comrades debauchery, late to see a gladiatorial fight, a pleasure to watch a man die from a mortal wound. The winner of Hannibal, Scipio the Elder, was accused by Cato of concealing government funds. He excluded six more people from the number of senators. Manilia, the former praetor, Cato punished for the fact that he hugged his wife with an adult daughter.
The optimates, indignant at the audacity of Cato the Elder, restored the estate rights of the persons punished by him. The Senate declared unprofitable for the state and canceled the contracts concluded by Cato with contractors of state buildings and tax farmers; at the request of the optimists, the tribunes accused him before the people's assembly of abuse of censorship, and the people imposed two fines on him. But Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder remained formidable to the optimists: they were shy when a warrior covered with scars, a favorite of the villagers, raised in the Senate or in the forum a powerful voice against the apostates from antiquity, the perverters of the people: the commoners liked the rustic tone of his speeches.
Cato the Elder was not a shrewd statesman, and his character did not have a moral loftiness. He attacked the results of facts, not understanding their reasons, on trifles, on the actions of people he personally hated, he extolled the old days, boasted of his merits, indiscriminately amazed everything new. Cato did not have high moral aspirations, was often carried away by personal motives of enmity towards people whom he mercilessly persecuted, thinking only about insulting them as caustically as possible, and here he forgot all justice; He saw the only salvation for the state in the omnipotence of the Senate and strict police measures, without which, in his opinion, Rome would be brought to ruin by new customs and increasing disrespect comitium to the will of the Senate. But he delayed the damage to public life for several decades, relentlessly attacking the increasing luxury, extravagance, extortion, disregard for laws, defending old customs and legal order. No doubt, through his influence, the Senate ruled that eastern kings no entry to Rome. Cato found that these pampered rulers and their courtiers exert a harmful influence on the morals of citizens by their debauchery and extravagance.
Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder was a fighter for the interests of an honest and prosperous middle class against the arrogant aristocracy, tried in every possible way to increase the number of free farmers in Italy, fussed about the distribution of land to the villagers in the deserted areas, about the founding of agricultural colonies. He constantly thought about practical benefits and rendered great services to the state and society with his long-term political activity, so that the Romans of the next generations saw in him an exemplary statesman of old times.
Cato the Elder knew how to cheaply build structures necessary for the state, and he built them very well. He oversaw the construction of a colonnaded building in the Roman forum, which became the model for many other such buildings, called basilicas and serving as tribunal halls - the shape of the basilica was introduced into Roman architecture by Cato. He also took care of the construction of dams, bridges, canals, water pipes; he forbade the nobles to spend on the irrigation of their gardens the water brought to Rome for drinking by the population. Cato said: whoever steals from a private person, they put on chains, and whoever steals from the state, they put on purple.
But social and literary activity did not prevent Cato the Elder from carefully managing the household; it was even his main occupation. He believed that being a good householder was more important than being a famous senator. We have survived Cato's treatise On Agriculture, introducing us to his household and rural activities; the picture of life, represented by this work of Marcus Porcius Cato, characterizes the way of life of the entire class of Roman landowners of old times. Cato the Elder was a tough householder who kept his wife and children under strict control. He himself taught his son all the necessary, in his opinion, knowledge, not wanting his son to learn from slaves, from whom he could acquire bad habits. Cato taught his son to ride, swim, fight with a sword, taught him to endure the heat, cold, all kinds of hardships and labors; taught him reading, knowledge of laws; he wrote in order to give his son guidance that would give him the opportunity to walk on his father's path.
Cato the Elder speaks ill of women; severely condemns them for vanity, for panache. They are only necessary evil for him, necessary in order to have children. When choosing a wife, one should look, he says, not so much at money as at the fact that she should be from a good family. Marcus Porcius Cato observed the upbringing of children strictly, he was careful not to embarrass the child's innocence with indecency in deeds or words. He never hugged his wife in front of his daughter. Cato the Elder was severe towards his slaves. They did not dare to leave his house without asking them to talk to strangers about household chores; for their misdeeds he punished them himself with a whip. All luxury was banished from the house of Cato: he had neither carpets, nor elegant furniture, or dishes; food was simple and in moderation; the usual drink was water, into which vinegar was sometimes added for taste. But Cato was not averse to treating fellow neighbors; at these dinners he sat for a long time, there was wine on them, there was a cheerful conversation - he liked to joke here. WITH clients Cato the Elder behaved easily, in the old-fashioned way, like an older relative with younger ones. He loved that the villagers would gather in his Sabine estate and entertain themselves with games, cheerful conversation, in the chill in summer, by the fireplace in winter. When Marcus Porcius Cato married in his old age, he took himself a wife; daughter of one of his clients. He was arrogant and merciless in dealing with optimates, who despised him for the ignorance of the family; but he was friendly with the commoners, they always had access to him and went to him trustingly. With the right lifestyle and the ability to work tirelessly from morning to night, Cato the Elder, even with many political pursuits, found time to carefully manage his personal affairs, and he still had leisure time for friendly conversations and literary activities.
The main occupation of Mark Porcius Cato the Elder was agriculture, especially the cultivation of olive plantations, vineyards and sheep breeding. He proved at every opportunity that agriculture is the best thing to do. But he was a calculating man, therefore he did not lose sight of other profitable deeds. Cato was a participant in the companies of the capitalists who carried out sea trade, took over state taxes, took contracts for the army and navy. To reduce the risk, he was always a participant in several campaigns, so that the loss on any one case was not heavy for him, and the total profit from all cases was enormous. The Elder Cato bypassed the laws that prohibited senators from trading and participating in farms, substituting some Latina or a freed man in his documents instead.
He was especially eager to engage in the slave trade. Cato paid a good price for strong slaves fit for the field, and kept them like draft animals until they grew old and weak; then he sold them so as not to feed them. The Romans of ancient customs, like Marcus Porcius Cato, did not consider the captives sold into slavery as their fellow human beings, looked at them like draft animals, and treated them like that. So that the slaves could not come to an agreement and raise a riot, Cato the Elder quarreled them among themselves. He trained them like dogs or horses and allowed them to live in pairs with female slaves, finding that the cheapest way to increase their numbers. The cruelty that Cato often displayed proves that he was a stranger to humane education. For example, in Spain, he cold-bloodedly destroyed 400 villages and ordered the killing of 600 deserters given to him. The slave, who enjoyed the confidence of Cato, made a purchase without his permission, and when it was revealed, he was so horrified by the fate that his master would subject him that he himself took his own life.
There is news that Cato the Elder had green (i.e. gray) eyes and red hair. The historian Druman describes his appearance as follows: he was ugly, but his appearance corresponded to his character. Cato the Elder was tall and well built; his figure showed that he worked hard and endured a lot of hardships. His gaze was terrible, his voice so loud that it could be heard far away even in the noise of the battle. Nature gave Marcus Portia Cato an iron health, and he tempered him with work and temperance. Having married a second time by an old man, he, like Masinisse, gave birth to a son.
In the struggle against the spirit of the times, Cato the Elder often fell into contradiction with himself. He drove the usurers out of Sardinia when he was the ruler of this province, and he himself took part in the profitable speculations of the usurers. Cato preached purity of morals, and he himself had a concubine and traded in the children of slaves, bought for dirty debauchery. He preached honesty, while he himself engaged in dishonest speculation. Therefore, the merit of Cato the Elder is that he pointed out the ulcers of society; but he did not heal them. Marcus Porcius Cato was only a torch that illuminated the abyss.
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