Cato the Elder (Marcus Porcius Cato) lived from 234-149 BCE. He was a speaker, politician, and Roman writer. A talented commander, administrator and statesman. He was called Censor (Censorius), Wise (Sapiens), Ancient (Priscus) or the Elder to distinguish him from his great-grandson. His great-grandson was Cato the Younger.
- “[…] it is a good plan to dip into their literature,1 it is not worth while to make a thorough acquaintance with it. They are a most iniquitous and intractable race […] shall bestow its literature upon Rome it will mar everything”
- latin: [bonum sit illorum litteras inspicere, non perdiscere; vincam nequissimum et indocile esse genus illorum (…) quandoque ista gens suas litteras dabit, omnia conrumpet]
- description: fragement of letter from Cato the Elder to his son, in which he is unfavorable about the Greeks, but at the same time appreciates them.
- source: Pliny the Elder, Natural history, XXIX.7
- “Furthermore, I consider that Carthage must be destroyed”
- latin: [Ceterum censeo Karthaginem esse delendam]
- description: Cato the Elder, an implacable enemy of Carthage, ended all speeches in the Roman Senate with such words.
- source: Plutarch, Marcus Cato 27, 1
- “Well done, for when shameful lust has swollen the veins, it is suitable that young men should come down here rather than fool around with other men’s wives”
- description: spotting a young man coming out of a brothel.
- source: Horace, Satirae
- “To each his own”
- latin: [Suum cuique]
- description: words referring to the old Greek rule of law, which in Plato’s work “Republic”, are described as “justice is when everyone minds his own business”.
- source: Cato the Elder, De Natura Deorum, III, 38
- “When those folk [Greeks] give us their writings they will corrupt everything. All the more if they send their doctors here”
- latin: [vincam nequissimum et indocile genus illorum, et hoc puta vatem dixisse: quandoque ista gens suas litteras dabit, omnia conrumpet, tum etiam magis, si medicos suos hoc mittet]
- source: Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 29.5
- “Between the mouth and the morsel”
- latin: [Inter os atque offam (multa intervenire possunt)]
- description: firstly quoted by Aristotle. In the Latin version, quoted by Gellius as a fragment of the speech of Cato the Elder.
- source: Gellius, Noctes Atticae, XIII, 17, 1
- “Beautiful woman is like a gilded pill – pleasing to the eyes, bitter to the lips”
- “Moreover, I consider that Carthage should be destroyed”
- latin: [Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam]
- description: words of Cato the Elder, with which he ended all of his speeches in the Roman senate. Often quotes also as “Carthago delenda est”.
- source: Florus, Epitome of Roman History I, 31
- “Grasp the subject, the words will follow.”
- latin: [Rem tene, verba sequentur]
- source: Gaius Julius Victor, Ars Rhetorica
- “All mankind rules its women, and we rule all mankind, but our women rule us”
- description: about prevalent domination of women; source is in greek.
- source: Plutarch, Apophthegmata regum et imperatorum
- “Thieves who have robbed private individuals spend their lives in prison and chains, and public thieves in gold and purple”
- latin: [Fures privatorum furtorum in nervo atque in compedibus aetatem agunt, fures publici in auro atque in purpura]
- source: Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae XI, 18, 18
- “Buy not what you want, but what you have need of; what you do not want is dear at a farthing”
- latin: [Emas non quod opus est, sed quod necesse est. Quod non opus est, asse carum est]
- description: a farthing was a quarter of an old British penny, so Cato meant that if you buy something you don’t want, a farthing would be too much to pay for it.
- source: Seneka the Younger, Epistles, 94
- “Grasp the subject, the words will follow”
- latin: [Rem tene, verba sequentur]
- description: suggestions for orators.
- source: Julius Victor, Art of Rhetoric
- “Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise”
- source: Plutarch, Life of Cato, 9
- “I would much rather have men ask why I have no statue, than why I have one”
- greek: [‘μᾶλλον γὰρ,’ ἔφη, ‘βούλομαι ζητεῖσθαι, διὰ τί μου ἀνδριὰς οὐ κεῖται ἢ διὰ τί κεῖται’]
- source: Plutarch, Cato, 19:4
- “I would much rather have men ask why I have no statue, than why I have one”
- source: Plutarch, Life of Cato, 19:4
- “The pursuits of commerce would be as admirable as they are profitable if they were not subject to so great risks: and so, likewise, of banking, if it was always honestly conducted. For our ancestors considered, and so ordained in their laws, that, while the thief should be cast in double damages, the usurer should make four-fold restitution”
- source: Cato the Elder, De Agri Cultura
- “When you have decided to purchase a farm, be careful not to buy rashly; do not spare your visits and be not content with a single tour of inspection. The more you go, the more will the place please you, if it be worth your attention. Give heed to the appearance of the neighbourhood, – a flourishing country should show its prosperity. “When you go in, look about, so that, when needs be, you can find your way out”.”
source- source: Cato the Elder, De Agri Cultura
- “When you have arrived at your country house and have saluted your household, you should make the rounds of the farm the same day, if possible; if not, then certainly the next day. When you have observed how the field work has progressed, what things have been done, and what remains undone, you should summon your overseer the next day, and should call for a report of what work has been done in good season and why it has not been possible to complete the rest, and what wine and corn and other crops have been gathered”
source- source: Cato the Elder, De Agri Cultura
- “The accounts of money, supplies and provisions should then be considered. The overseer should report what wine and oil has been sold, what price he got, what is on hand, and what remains for sale. Security should be taken for such accounts as ought to be secured. All other unsettled matters should be agreed upon. If any thing is needed for the coming year, it should be bought; every thing which is not needed should be sold. Whatever there is for lease should be leased”
source- source: Cato the Elder, De Agri Cultura
- “These are the duties of the overseer: He should maintain discipline. He should observe the feast days. He should respect the rights of others and steadfastly uphold his own. He should settle all quarrels among the hands; If any one is at fault he should administer the pun