Page "Cato the Younger" Paragraph 33

Cato is remembered as a follower of Stoicism and was one of the most active defenders of the Republic.

The Roman interpretation of Stoicism was somewhat at odds with that of the Greeks.

Although Greek Stoicism generally argued against participation in public affairs, the Romans were able to incorporate Stoic teachings into their civic framework.

Cato's high moral standards and incorruptible virtue gained him several followers – of whom Marcus Favonius was the most well known – as well as praise even from his political enemies, such as Sallust ( one of our sources for the anecdote about Caesar and Cato's sister ).

Sallust also wrote a comparison between Cato and Caesar ( Cato's long-time rival-Caesar was praised for his mercy, compassion, and generosity, while Cato for his discipline, rigidity, and moral integrity ).

One should however consider which of these men Sallust found the more appealing.

After Cato's death, both pro-and anti-Cato treatises appeared ; amongst them Cicero wrote a panegyric, entitled Cato, to which Caesar ( who never forgave him for all the obstructions ) answered with his Anti-Cato.

Caesar's pamphlet has not survived, but some of its contents may be inferred from Plutarch's Life of Cato, which also repeats many of the stories that Caesar put forward in his Anti-Cato.

Plutarch specifically mentions the accounts of Cato's close friend Munatius Rufus and that of the later Neronian senator Thrasea Paetus as references used for parts of his biography of Cato.

Whilst Caesar proclaimed clemency towards all, he never forgave Cato.

This stance was something that others in the anti-Caesarian camp would remember, including Cato's nephew and posthumous son-in-law Brutus.