Plutarch · c. AD 46-after 119
Life of Cato the Younger
ΚάτωνPlutarch's Life of Cato the Younger follows Marcus Porcius Cato, the great-grandson of Cato the Censor, from his childhood under Sulla to his death by his own sword at Utica at the age of forty-eight. It covers his strict private habits, his offices as quaestor, tribune and praetor, his opposition to Pompey, Caesar and the corrupt politics of his day, his mission to Cyprus, and his last stand in Africa after Pharsalus. It is paired with the Life of Phocion.
Contents · 22 passages
- 1.1–3.6Cato's childhood: Pompaedius Silo, Sulla's house and his brother Caepio1294 words
- 4.1–7.3Cato as a young man: priest of Apollo, Stoic studies and austere habits989 words
- 8.1–11.4Cato's army service, the Stoic Athenodorus and the death of Caepio1157 words
- 12.1–15.4Cato's journey through Asia: the mistaken welcome at Antioch, Pompey and Deiotarus1267 words
- 16.1–18.5Cato as quaestor: reforming the treasury and the clerks1290 words
- 19.1–21.6Cato in the senate, as tribune, and the prosecution of Murena1243 words
- 22.1–25.5Cato, Caesar and the execution of the conspirators; Servilia's note and Marcia1316 words
- 26.1–29.4Cato against Metellus Nepos at the temple of Castor and Pollux1413 words
- 30.1–31.5Pompey asks for Cato's nieces, and Cato blocks Pompey and Caesar825 words
- 32.1–34.4Caesar's consulship, the oath to the land law and Clodius sends Cato to Cyprus1088 words
- 35.1–38.3Cato in Cyprus: Ptolemy, the royal treasure and the lost accounts1359 words
- 39.1–42.5Cato's return to Rome and the election fraud of Pompey and Crassus1298 words
- 43.1–45.4Trebonius' law, Cato's praetorship and the dispute with Pompey1424 words
- 46.1–48.5Favonius and the games; Cato's support for Pompey as sole consul1024 words
- 49.1–50.3Cato's failed consular campaign507 words
- 51.1–52.5Caesar's Gaul, Cato's warnings and the marriage to Marcia784 words
- 53.1–55.3Cato in Sicily, with Pompey at Dyrrhachium, and the aftermath of Pharsalus1106 words
- 56.1–58.7Cato's march across Libya with the Psylli and the defence of Utica1192 words
- 59.1–61.4The news of Thapsus and the three hundred at Utica1131 words
- 62.1–65.5Cato and the horsemen at Utica; Cato arranges the escape of the senators1531 words
- 66.1–69.3Cato's last evening: supper, Plato's dialogue on the soul and the missing sword1158 words
- 70.1–73.4The death of Cato at Utica, Caesar's reply and Cato's son and daughter1067 words
More by Plutarch
English translation by Bernadotte Perrin (1919). Original text: Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 8, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1919 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus).
Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.
Cite This Text