Page "Cato the Elder" Paragraph 42

* Under the Roman Empire a collection of about 150 political speeches by Cato existed.

In these he pursued his political policies, fought verbal vendettas, and opposed what he saw as Rome's moral decline.

Not even the titles of all of these speeches are now known, but fragments of some of them are preserved.

The first to which we can give a date was On the Improper Election of the Aediles, delivered in 202 BC.

The collection included several speeches from the year of his consulship, followed by a self-justifying retrospect On His Consulship and by numerous speeches delivered when he was Censor.

It is not clear whether Cato allowed others to read and copy his written texts ( in other words, whether he " published " the speeches ) or whether their circulation in written form began after his death.