Episode 22. Cato the Elder: The Soul of the Old Republic

Works CitedPrimary SourcesCato, Marcus Porcius. De agricultura (On Agriculture). The only complete work that survives. Translated and edited by W. D. Hooper and H. B. Ash, Loeb Classical Library.Cicero. Cato Maior de Senectute. The idealized dialogue “On Old Age,” worth reading for the character of Cato as Cicero imagined him.Plutarch. “Life of Cato the Elder.” The essential primary biography. The Loeb Classical Library edition with Greek text and English translation is standard; the Penguin Classics edition is accessible.Secondary SourcesAstin, A. E. Cato the Censor. 1978. The standard modern scholarly biography.Astin, A. E. “Cato the Censor.” Cambridge Ancient History. A useful shorter treatment.Gruen, Erich. Studies in Greek Culture and Roman Policy. 1990. Challenges the anti-Hellenist caricature.