When Cato was a child, one could see he would be different one day. He was extremely stubborn and could not tolerate obvious signs of injustice.
He was only 13 years old when he questioned the Roman general and dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla’s harsh methods and violations of laws and regulations.
Once he became aware of how Sulla seized power by force in the year 82 BC and proclaimed himself dictator, Cato asked his teacher why no one had killed the brutal Roman general yet.
According to the Greek philosopher, biographer, and essayist, Plutarch, the teenager Cato whispered to his teacher Sarpedon: “Why does nobody kill this man?” “Because,” said he, “they fear him, child, more than they hate him.” “Why, then,” replied Cato, “did you not give me a sword, that I might stab him, and free my country from this slavery?” Sarpedon hearing this, and at the same time seeing his countenance swelling with anger and determination, took care thenceforward to watch him strictly, lest he should hazard any desperate attempt. ” 1
At the time, one could already see Cato was going to be a determined man with enormous willpower.
Born in 95 BC in Utica, Africa (now in Tunisia), Marcus Porcius Cato, also known as Cato of Utica or Cato the Younger, was a very conservative Roman senator. He struggled to preserve the Roman Republic against power seekers like Julius Caesar, whom he hated more than anything.
Maybe it was his unusual personality or the fact that he was immune to bribes and fought to uphold Roman traditions that contributed to later authors’ glorifying accounts of his reign. To many, Cato the Younger represented a model of virtue.
In time, Cato the Younger showed he was suitable for becoming a man of great political importance.
Cato’s grandfather Cato The Elder (234 BC – 149 BC), was famous for his conservative and anti-Hellenic policies. On numerous occasions, Cato the Younger demonstrated his strong will to maintain the old Roman traditions.
In 78 BC, when Sulla died, Romans wanted to wipe out the memory of his dictatorship. City officials wanted to remove a pillar that stood in the way in the large assembly hall Basilica Porcia, but Cato, who was 18 years, showed up and protested. Defending the pillar erected by his grandfather Cato the Elder, Cato argued the structure had stood there for hundred years, and there was absolutely no reason to change it.
Bronze bust of Cato the Younger from the Archaeological Museum of Rabat, Morocco. Found in the House of Venus, Volubilis. Credit: Prioryman – CC BY-SA 3.0
His speech made an impression, and it was decided not to remove the pillar.
Walking around with his long hair and unshaven face, some could easily mistake him for a cave dweller, but Cato didn’t bother with his appearance, and he was undoubtedly not vain.
Cato the Younger consciously asserted his old Roman virtue by wearing his toga without a tunic, and “he became accustomed to enduring heat and snow with his bare head and to moving on foot without a vehicle,” writes the historian Plutarch.
Cato The Younger Was An Honest Leader In A Corrupt Age Cato the Younger’s political career started in 65 BC, a turbulent period in the history of ancient Rome.
The Roman population was divided. The underclass had become poorer, with even more debt and many populists demanded radical social and political changes.
Cato the Younger had just returned to Rome after finishing his military commission in Macedon and a personal journey in the Middle East.
At 28, Cato the Younger was elected as quaestor, a position that provided him with knowledge of the Roman tax code. Cato soon discovered that former men in the post office had made a lot of money by accepting bribes to erase some debts, which was unacceptable to him.
Representation of a sitting of the Roman senate: Cicero attacks Catiline, from a 19th-century fresco in Palazzo Madama, Rome, house of the Italian Senate. Credits: Public Domain – Read more: Ancient Roman Government Structure And The Twelve Tables
“Once elected quaestor, Cato, in his first act, stabbed straight at the heart of the bureaucracy. He summarily fired all clerks and assistants whom he judged unfit for office or guilty of corruption. It was the kind of wholesale housecleaning that made headlines – and drew out the long knives of the career of clerks. Who did this young man think he was? What didn’t he understand about the compact between the elected and the appointed? This sort of thing was especially appalling from a son of the establishment that had so benefited from the energies and exertions of the bureaucracy.
Cato, though, was oblivious to any backlash. What was there to know besides the fact that the law had been broken? Still, as with his military command, he matched strictness with softness when appropriate. In the course of his audit, he found that a number of clerks had erred not willfully but out of ignorance of the law. These, he tutored in the rules and responsibility of the treasury. If they were willing to accept his tutelage, he was ready to keep them at their jobs. If not, they would be shown a swift exit. ” 2
A rivalidade de Catão e César começa no Senado A retidão de Catão chamou a atenção e, em 63 aC, ele foi eleito tribuno do povo. No Senado Romano, Catão, o Jovem, conheceu Júlio César, a quem ele desprezava. Olhando pelos olhos de Cato, Júlio César deve ter sido um pouco palhaço. Catão, o Jovem, seguiu os princípios do estoicismo e foi moderado em todos os aspectos de sua vida. Ele adotou um estilo de vida ascético com exercícios rigorosos, consumia apenas a comida necessária e bebia o vinho mais barato do mercado. Ele era um homem privado e as festas não estavam em sua agenda.
Estátua de Júlio César em Roma. Crédito: Adobe Stock – james_pintar
Para um homem como Catão, o Jovem, a extravagância de Júlio César deve ter sido terrível, e não faltaram divergências entre os dois.
Catão, o Jovem, ficou naturalmente muito irritado quando Júlio César foi eleito um dos dois cônsules de Roma em 59 aC. Foi o cargo mais influente da república. E Cato alertou que as pessoas estavam abrindo caminho para um tirano, mas poucos ouviram.
A oposição de Cato a Pompeu, César e Marco Licínio Crasso ajudou a formar sua coalizão no chamado Primeiro Triunvirato que foi quebrado em 54 aC, simultaneamente com a eleição de Cato como pretor.
Catão, o Jovem, tentou obter um consulado em 51 aC Os cônsules romanos geralmente tomavam o poder por meio de intimidação, suborno e show business. Cato, o Jovem, não fez tal coisa, o que provavelmente é o motivo pelo qual ele não conseguiu se tornar cônsul.
Catão, o Jovem, cometeu suicídio heroico estóico. Júlio César reuniu sua XIII Legião e declarou guerra a Roma. Enquanto César atacava e derrotava seu antigo aliado, Pompeu, Cato fugiu para Utica, mas entendeu que este era o começo do fim.
Em abril de 46 aC, chegou a notícia de que o ex-cônsul Metelo Cipião e seu exército que defendia Utica haviam caído. Cato encorajou os poucos romanos em Utica a defender a cidade, mas eles logo perceberam que não tinham chance contra o exército de Júlio César e pediram para deixar a cidade condenada. Seu desejo foi concedido.
Quando o filho de Cato lhe pediu para desistir, ele recusou: “Eu, que cresci em liberdade com o direito de falar livremente, não posso mudar no outono da idade e aprender a ser escravo”, explicou, segundo o autor Dion Cássio.
Na mesma noite, Cato, o Jovem, pegou sua espada e se esfaqueou no estômago, mas não morreu imediatamente. Quando seus parentes o encontraram, chamaram um médico que costurou a ferida. Assim que Cato recuperou a consciência, ele rasgou a ferida novamente com suas últimas forças e morreu.
Cato que acabou com sua vida tornou-se “o modelo solenemente reverenciado e muito imitado do heróico suicídio estóico.
Foi assim que o Cato mais jovem escolheu encenar seu fim e como os outros o comemoraram. Isso explica por que os oponentes políticos dos imperadores, que receberam ordens de se matar ou mesmo foram executados, pensaram e provavelmente pensaram em si mesmos como seguindo o grande estóico Catão na morte. 3
Quando Júlio César ouviu a notícia, gritou: “Cato, eu te ressinto pela tua morte, como tu terias me ressentido pela preservação da tua vida.
Source : 2st.qirdar.com
