The Good Book

by A. C. Grayling

  8. It is doubtless the part of a kind-natured man to keep even worn-out horses and dogs,

  9. And not only take care of them when they are young, but also when they are old.

  10. The Athenians turned their mules loose to feed freely, when they had done the hardest labour.

  11. The graves of Cimon’s horses, which thrice won the Olympian races, are yet to be seen close by his own monument.

  12. Old Xanthippus, too, entombed his dog, which swam after his galley to Salamis.

  13. We are not to use living creatures like old shoes or dishes, and throw them away when they are worn out;

  14. But if it were for nothing else, but by way of study and practice in humanity, a man ought always to habituate himself in these things to be kind.

  15. As to myself, I would not so much as sell my draught ox on the account of his age,

  16. Much less for a small piece of money sell a poor old man, and so chase him from where he has lived a long while,

  17. And the manner of living he has been accustomed to; and that more especially when he would be as useless to the buyer as to the seller.

  18. Yet Cato, for all this, boasted that he left that very horse in Spain, which he used in the wars when he was consul,

  19. Only because he would not put the public to the expense of transporting it home.

  20. Whether these acts are to be ascribed to the greatness or pettiness of his mind, let everyone argue as they please.

  Chapter 54

  1. Despite this, for his general temperance and self-control Cato surely deserves the highest admiration.

  2. For when he commanded the army, he never took for himself, and those that belonged to him, above three bushels of wheat for a month,

  3. And somewhat less than a bushel and a half a day of barley for his baggage-cattle.

  4. And when he became governor of Sardinia, where his predecessors had been used to require tents, bedding and clothes at the public expense,

  5. And to charge the state heavily with the cost of provisions and entertainments for a great train of servants and friends,

  6. The difference he showed in his economy was extraordinary.

  7. There was hardly anything he would charge to the public purse.

  8. He would walk without a carriage to visit the cities, accompanied only by a common town officer.

  9. Yet, though he was easy and sparing to all who were under his authority,

  10. He showed most inflexible strictness in what related to public justice, and was rigorous and precise in what concerned the laws;

  11. So that the Roman government never seemed more terrible, nor yet more mild, than under his administration.

  12. His very manner of speaking seemed to have such a kind of idea with it; for it was courteous, and yet forcible;

  13. Pleasant, yet overwhelming; facetious, yet austere; sententious, yet vehement:

  14. Like Socrates, in the description of Plato, who seemed to those about him to be a simple, blunt fellow,

  15. While in fact he was full of such gravity and matter as would even move tears, and touch the very hearts of his auditors.

  16. Being once desirous to dissuade the common people of Rome from their unseasonable and impetuous clamour for largesses and distributions of corn, Cato said:

  17. ‘It is a difficult task, O citizens, to make speeches to the belly, which has no ears.’

  18. Reproving, also, their sumptuous habits, he said it was hard to preserve a city where a fish sold for more than an ox.

  19. He had a saying, also, that the Roman people were like sheep; for they, when single, do not obey, but when all together in a flock, they follow their leaders:

  20. ‘So you,’ said he, ‘when you have got together in a body, let yourselves be guided by those whom singly you would never think of being advised by.’

  21. Discoursing of the power of women, he echoed a saying of Themistocles,

  22. Who, when his son was making many demands of him by means of the mother, said,

  23. ‘O woman, the Athenians govern the Greeks; I govern the Athenians, but you govern me, and your son governs you; so let him use his power sparingly, since, simple as he is, he can do more than all the Greeks together.’

  24. Another saying of Cato’s was that the Roman people did not only fix the value of such and such purple dyes, but also of such and such habits of life:

  25. ‘For,’ he said, ‘as dyers most of all dye such colours as they see to be most agreeable, so the young men zealously affect what is most popular with you.’

  26. He would say of men who continually desired to be in office that apparently they did not know their way around Rome,

  27. Since they could not do without beadles to lead them along its streets.

  28. He also reproved the citizens for always choosing the same men as their magistrates:

  29. ‘For you will seem,’ he said, ‘either not to esteem government worth much, or to think few worthy to hold it.’

  30. Pointing at one who had sold an inherited estate which lay near the sea, he pretended to express his wonder at this man’s being stronger than the sea itself;

  31. For what it washed away with much effort, he drank away with great ease.

  32. When the senate with a great deal of splendour received King Eumenes on his visit to Rome,

  33. And the chief citizens strove who should sit nearest the king, Cato regarded him with dislike;

  34. And when someone said to him that Eumenes was a good prince, and a friend to Rome:

  35. ‘It may be so,’ said Cato, ‘but by nature this same animal of a king is a kind of man-eater’;

  36. And added that there were never kings who compared with Epameinondas, Pericles, Themistocles, Manius Curius or Hamilcar Barca.

  Chapter 55

  1. Cato used to say that his enemies envied him because he got up every day before light, and neglected his own business to serve that of the public.

  2. He would also say that he had rather be deprived of the reward for doing well, than not to suffer punishment for doing ill;

  3. And that he could pardon all offenders but himself.

  4. The Romans having sent three ambassadors to Bithynia, of whom one was gouty, another had his skull trepanned and the third seemed little better than a fool;

  5. Cato, laughing, said that the Romans had sent an embassy which had neither feet, head nor heart.

  6. He used to assert that wise men profited more by fools, than fools by wise men;

  7. For that wise men avoided the faults of fools, fools would not imitate the example of wise men.

  8. He would profess, too, that he was more taken with young men that blushed, than with those who looked pale;

  9. And that he never desired to have a soldier that moved his hands too much in marching, and his feet too much in fighting; or snored louder than he shouted.

  10. Ridiculing a fat overgrown man: ‘What use,’ said he, ‘can the state turn a man’s body to, when all between the throat and groin is taken up by belly?’

  11. A man who was much given to pleasures desired his acquaintance, whereupon Cato begged his pardon, saying he could not be friends with a man whose palate was of a quicker sense than his heart.

  12. He would likewise say that the heart of a lover lived in the body of another;

  13. And he said that in his whole life he most repented of three things:

  14. One was that he had trusted a secret to a woman;

  15. Another, that he went by water when he might have gone by land;

  16. The third, that he had remained one whole day without doing any business of moment.

  17. Addressing an old man who was committing some vice, he said:

  18. ‘Friend, old age has of itself blemishes enough; do not add to them the deformity of vice.’

  19. Speaking to a tribune who was reputed a poisoner, and was very keen to bring in a certain law:

  20. ‘Young man,’ cried he, ‘I know
not which would be better, to drink what you mix, or confirm what you would put up for a law.’

  21. Being reviled by a fellow who lived a profligate and wicked life:

  22. ‘A contest,’ replied he, ‘is unequal between you and me; for you can hear ill words easily, and can as easily give them;

  23. ‘But it is unpleasant to me to give such, and unusual to hear them.’

  24. Such was the way Cato expressed himself, in sayings that are memorable.

  Chapter 56

  1. Being chosen consul with his friend Valerius Flaccus, Cato was given the government of that part of Spain which the Romans call Hither Spain.

  2. As he was engaged in pacifying some of the tribes by force, and negotiating with others, a large army of barbarians attacked him,

  3. So that there was danger of being disastrously driven from those territories.

  4. He therefore called upon his neighbours, the Celtiberians, for help.

  5. They demanded two hundred talents, and everybody thought it intolerable that Romans should pay barbarians for aid;

  6. But Cato said there was no discredit in it; for if they won, the barbarians would be paid out of the enemy’s purse;

  7. But if they lost, there would be nobody left either to demand or to pay the reward.

  8. However, he won a convincing victory, and all his subsequent affairs went well.

  9. By his command the walls of all towns east of the River Baetis were demolished in a single day;

  10. There were a great many of them, full of brave and warlike men.

  11. Cato himself says that he took more cities – four hundred of them – than he stayed days in Spain.

  12. And though the soldiers had gathered much booty in the fights, yet he distributed a pound of silver to each of them,

  13. Saying it was better that many Romans should return home with silver, than a few with gold.

  14. For himself he says he took nothing beyond what he ate and drank.

  15. ‘I do not fault those who seek booty,’ he said, ‘but I had rather compete in valour with the best than in wealth with the richest, or with the most covetous in love of money.’

  16. He kept not only himself but his servants from taking booty.

  17. One of them, called Paccus, bought three boys from among the captives.

  18. When Paccus learned that Cato had heard this, he hanged himself rather than face Cato’s wrath.

  19. Cato sold the boys, and gave the price to the public exchequer.

  Chapter 57

  1. Scipio the Great was Cato’s enemy, and wishing to limit his achievements and take Spanish affairs into his own hands,

  2. He arranged to be appointed his successor there; and, making all haste, put an end to Cato’s authority.

  3. But Cato, taking with him a convoy of five cohorts of foot, and five hundred horse to attend him home,

  4. On the way overthrew the Lacetanians, and finding six hundred Roman deserters hiding among them, had all the deserters beheaded;

  5. Scipio pretended indignation at this, but Cato, in mock disparagement of himself, said,

  6. ‘Rome would become great indeed, if men of higher birth never allowed men of lower birth [meaning himself] to advance the honour of the city.’

  7. The senate voted to change nothing established by Cato in Spain,

  8. So the Spanish government passed under Scipio to little purpose and in idleness, diminishing Scipio’s credit rather than Cato’s.

  9. Nor did Cato, who received a Triumph from the senate, slacken the reins of virtue, as many do,

  10. Who strive more for vainglory than honour, so that having attained the highest honours they pass the rest of their life in idleness, quitting public affairs.

  11. But he, as if entering public life for the first time and thirsting after achievements,

  12. Exerted himself; and would give up neither his civil nor his military service.

  13. He assisted Tiberius Sempronius, as his lieutenant, when the latter went to Thrace and the Danube;

  14. And, in the role of tribune, went with Manius Acilius into Greece against Antiochus the Great,

  15. Who, after Hannibal, more than anyone struck terror into the Romans.

  16. For having reduced once more under a single command almost the whole of Asia,

  17. And having subdued many warlike barbarian nations, Antiochus longed to conquer Rome,

  18. As if it alone was the only thing worth having as an enemy to fight against him.

  19. So he came into Greece pretending that it was to free it from Rome.

  20. Manius sent ambassadors to the different Greek cities,

  21. And Titus Flamininus quieted most of the troublemakers in them who supported Antiochus, without much difficulty.

  22. Cato likewise brought over Corinth, Patrae and Aegium, and spent much time at Athens.

  23. It is reputed that he made an oration in Greek, expressing his admiration of the ancient Athenians,

  24. And signifying that he came with pleasure to see the beauty and greatness of their city.

  25. But this is a fiction, for he spoke to the Athenians through an interpreter, though he was able to speak Greek;

  26. But he wished to observe the usage of his own country, and laughed at those who admired nothing but what was Greek.

  27. He professed to believe that the words of the Greeks came only from their lips, while those of the Romans came from their hearts.

  Chapter 58

  1. Antiochus occupied the narrow passages about Thermopylae, added palisades and walls to the natural fortifications of the place,

  2. And camped there, thinking he had done enough to divert the war;

  3. And the Romans, indeed, seemed wholly to despair of forcing the passage.

  4. But Cato, calling to mind the circuit which the Persians made to attack that place, went out at night, taking part of the army.

  5. While they were climbing, the guide missed the way, and wandering along impracticable and precipitous paths, the soldiers were filled with anxiety.

  6. Cato, perceiving the danger, commanded the rest to halt, and taking with him one Lucius Manlius, an expert mountaineer,

  7. Advanced with much labour and danger, in darkness without moonlight, among wild olive trees and steep crags,

  8. There being nothing but precipices and darkness before their eyes, till they found a little pass which they thought led to the enemy camp.

  9. They marked some rocks and returned to fetch the army.

  10. The way still proved difficult, but at dawn they at last saw the enemy trenches at the foot of the rock.

  11. Here Cato halted his forces, and commanded the most reliable troops, the Firmans, to stay by him, saying,

  12. ‘I desire to take one of the enemy alive, to find out the number, discipline, order and preparation of the enemy;

  13. ‘But this feat must be an act of great quickness and boldness, such as that of lions, when they dart upon a timorous animal.’

  14. The Firmans darted down the mountain and dispersed the enemy guards, capturing one.

  15. From him Cato quickly learned that the rest of the forces lay in the narrow passage around the king,

  16. And that those who kept the tops of the rocks were six hundred choice Aetolians.

  17. Heartened by the smallness of the enemy’s number and their carelessness, Cato drew his sword and fell upon them with a great noise of trumpets and shouting.

  18. The enemy, perceiving them thus tumbling upon them from the precipices, flew to the main body, disordering everything there.

  19. As Manius was forcing the defences below, pouring his forces into the narrow passages,

  20. Antiochus was hit in the mouth by a stone which knocked his teeth out, making him feel such excessive pain that he turned away with his horse;

  21. Nor did any part of his army withstand the shock of the Romans.

  22. But there seemed no reasonable hope of flight where all paths
were so difficult, winding among deep marshes and steep rocks.

  23. The fugitives crowded and pressed together in the narrow ways,

  24. Destroying one another in their terror of the Roman swords.

  25. Cato was never sparing of his own praises, and seldom shunned boasting of his exploits;

  26. Which quality he seems to have thought the natural accompaniment of great actions.

  27. With these particular exploits against Antiochus he was highly pleased.

  28. He wrote that those who saw him that day, pursuing and slaying the enemies,

  29. Were ready to assert that Cato owed not so much to the public, as the public to Cato;

  30. He adds that Manius the consul, coming hot from the fight, embraced him for a great while, when both were all in a sweat,

  31. And cried out with joy that neither he himself, nor all the Romans together, could make him a sufficient recompense.

  32. After the fight Cato was sent to Rome, to be the messenger of it;

  33. And his news of the victory filled the whole city with joy and celebrations,

  34. And the people with the belief that they were invincible on every sea and land.

  Chapter 59

  1. Such are all the eminent actions of Cato in military affairs. In civil affairs his chief interest was law and order.

  2. He prosecuted many, and he would assist in other prosecutions, and even tried to prosecute Scipio;

  3. But unsuccessfully, by reason of the nobleness of Scipio’s family and the real greatness of Scipio’s mind, which enabled him to resist all calumnies.

  4. But joining with the accusers against Scipio’s brother Lucius, he succeeded in obtaining a sentence against him,

  5. Which condemned him to the payment of a large fine; though Lucius was saved by the interposition of the tribunes of the people.

  6. Cato himself did not escape with impunity, for if he gave his enemies the least chance he was often in danger of being prosecuted himself.

  7. He is reported to have escaped at least fifty indictments; one when he was eighty-six years old drew from him the saying that it was hard for him,

  8. Who had served one generation of men, to plead before another.

  9. Neither did he make this the last of his lawsuits;