Cato the Younger 43
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fterwards Pompey and his party, finding that he could never beeither persuaded or compelled to favour their unjust designs,endeavoured to keep him from the senate, by engaging him inbusiness for his friends, to plead their causes, or arbitrate in ‘their differences, or the like, he quickly discovered the trick, and_ to defeat it, fairly told all his acquaintance that he would never meddle in any private business when the senate was assembled.Since it was not in the hope of gaining honour or riches, nor ' out of mere impulse, or by chance that he engaged himself in politics, but he undertook the service of the state as the proper _ business of an honest man, and therefore he thought himself_ obliged to be as constant to his public duty as the bee to the honeycomb. To this end, he took care to have his friends andcorrespondents everywhere, to send him reports of the edicts, _ decrees, judgments, and all the important proceedings that ar" v=: Se atl _ passed in any of the provinces. Once when Clodius, the sedi- tious orator, to promote his violent and revolutionary projects, _ traduced to the people some of the priests and priestesses (among * whom Fabia, sister to Cicero’s wife, Terentia, ran great danger4 > 2 3 g te 2 Cato having boldly interfered, and having made Clodius appear _ so infamous that he was forced to leave the town, was addressed,- when it was over, by Cicero, who came to thank him for what- he had done. “ You must thank the commonwealth,” said he,- for whose sake alone he professed to do everything. Thus he- gained a great and wonderful reputation; so that an advocate in a cause, where there was only one witness against him, toldthe judges they ought not to rely upon a single witness, though _ it were Cato himself. And it was a sort of proverb with many people, if any very unlikely and incredible thing were asserted,to say, they would not believe it, though Cato himself shouldaffirm it. One day a debauched and sumptuous liver talking inthe senate about frugality and temperance, Anzus standing up,cried, “‘ Who can endure this, sir, to have you feast like Crassus,build like Lucullus, and talk like Cato.” So likewise those whowere vicious and dissolute in their manners, yet affected to be - grave and severe in their language, were in derision called Catos. At first, when his friends would have persuaded him to standto be tribune of the people, he thought it undesirable; for thatthe power of so great an office ought to be reserved, as thestrongest medicines, for occasions of the last necessity. Butafterwards in a vacation time, as he was going, accompaniedwith his books and philosophers, to Lucania, where he had lands with a pleasant residence, they met by the way a great many
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