So far we have seen in him the successful soldier and the vigorous statesman. As an orator, an agriculturist, an historian, he was scarcely less celebrated. When yet living on his Sabine farm, he had been in the daily habit of appearing in the petty courts of the neigh bourhood as the able advocate of his friends ; afterwards at Rome he was one of the most distinguished orators in the forum ; and as many as 150 of his orations were preserved and admired for many ages. As a writer on agriculture, he is still known by his work entitled De Re Rustics,' which, however, is certainly not in the form in which he wrote it. The language is not sufficiently antiquated for the age in which he lived ; and besides this, there is abundant evidence that several parts of the work are lost, particularly the dedication to his son. The work, as we have it, consists of very brief directions for the management of a farm, and for economical housekeeping, from the buying of an estate to a charm for curing oxen and a receipt for cheesecakes. It is in this work that he lays down the principle, which excites the just indignation of Plutarch, the duty of selling off old oxen, old waggons, and old slaves. (§ 2.) Of his historical work but a few fragments remain. It was entitled Origines,' and according to the life of Cato, which passes under the name of Cornelius Nepos, the first book treated of the Roman monarchy, the second and third of the origin of the chief cities of Italy, the fourth and fifth of the first and second Punie wars; the sixth and seventh continued the history down to the prxtorship of Galba above mentioned. In the latter part
of his history ho enlarged upon his own achievements without any affectation of modesty. This history was written at the close of his life, so that Livy is guilty of an anachronism in making the tribune L. Valerins quote the ' Origines ' against the author at the time when Cato was consul. (Liv. xxxiv. 5.) Cato was twice married. By his first wife he had a son, Marcus, who married a daughter of L /Emillus Paulus, the sister of the second Scipio Africanus, and died while praetor during his father's lifetime. His second wife was Salonia, by whom he had a son, surnamed from his mother This son was the grandfather of Cato Uticensis.
The character of Cato is boldly drawn by Livy in the 40th chapter of his 39th book. He was indeed, as Livy calls him, a man of iron body and iron soul, " ferrei prope corporis animique." The chronology of the life of Cato is tolerably certain, notwithstanding the errors of Livy, Plutarch, Vslerius Maximus, and Cornelius News. See Clinton's Feat' His historical fragments are printed at the end of Cores 'Sallust ;' they have been also published by Krause in his Fragments veterum Historicorum Romanorum,' Berolini,1833 ; and separately by Lion, under the title Catoniana,' Gott., 1826. The fragments of his ' Orations' are given by Meyer in his Oratorum Romanorum Frag menta,' Turici, 1842. The 'De Ro Rustica' is found in Gesner's and in Schneiderli collection of Latin works on that subject.