Cato the Younger Summary and Analysis

Cato the Younger was a Roman statesman at the time of the triumvirate of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus. He was a wealthy man, but lived a life of intentional austerity. He served in various political offices in Rome and gained a wide reputation for his honesty and integrity, despite his severe behavior and open condemnation of the widespread corruption that was common in Roman politics.

As a boy, Cato demonstrated a natural aversion to tyranny, Plutarch suggests. His close attention to the law, his extreme care in accounting for public funds, and his condemnation of bribery and corruption made him unpopular but respected out of fear. His name became a synonym for honesty and integrity.

Plutarch depicts Cato has having a cutting political acumen. Although his warnings were often ignored or dismissed by his fellow politicians, he...