us immaturo interitu, res Romanae, Latinaeque literae fecerunt.
Utinam non tam fratri pietatem, quam patriae praestare voluisset.
Eloquentia quidem nescio an habuisset parem: grandis est verbis,
sapiens sententiis, genere toto gravis. Manus extrema non accessit
operibus ejus; praeclare inchoata multa, perfecta non plane. Legendus
est hic orator, si quisquam alius, juventuti; non enim solum acuere,
sed etiam alere ingenium potest._ _De Claris Orat._ s. 125, 126.

[e] This is the celebrated Marcus Portius Cato, commonly known by the
name of Cato the censor. He was quaestor under Scipio, who commanded
against the Carthaginians, A.U.C. 548. He rose through the regular
gradations of the magistracy to the consulship. When praetor, he
governed the province of Sardinia, and exerted himself in the reform
of all abuses introduced by his predecessors. From his own person, and
his manner of living, he banished every appearance of luxury. When he
had occasion to visit the towns that lay within his government, he
went on foot, clothed with the plainest attire, without a vehicle
following him, or more than one servant, who carried the robe of
office, and a vase, to make libations at the altar. He sat in
judgement with the dignity of a magistrate, and punished every offence
with inflexible rigour. He had the happy art of uniting in his own
person two things almost incompatible; namely, strict severity and
sweetness of manners. Under his administration, justice was at once
terrible and amiable. Plutarch relates that he never wore a dress that
cost more than thirty shillings; that his wine was no better than what
was consumed by his slaves; and that by leading a laborious life, he
meant to harden his constitution for the service of his country. He
never ceased to condemn the luxury of the times. On this subject a
remarkable apophthegm is recorded by Plutarch; _It is impossible_,
said Cato, _to save a city, in which a single fish sells for more
money than an ox._ The account given of him by Cicero in the Cato
Major, excites our veneration of the man. He was master of every
liberal art, and every branch of science, known in that age. Some men
rose to eminence by their skill in jurisprudence; others by their
eloquence; and a great number by their military talents. Cato shone in
all alike. The patricians were often leagued against him, but his
virtue and his eloquence were a match for the proudest connections. He
was chosen CENSOR, in opposi