Cato, Marcus Porcius << KAY toh, MAHR kuhs PAWR shee uhs >> the Younger (95-46 B.C.), was a soldier and government official of ancient Rome. He became a Stoic philosopher and was a stubborn conservative in politics. He often considered principles more important than compromise. In 65 B.C., Cato became quaestor (treasurer) and helped reform the treasury. As a tribune (elected leader), he backed Cicero against Catiline and opposed the First Triumvirate. In 54 B.C., he became praetor (magistrate).
When Pompey and Julius Caesar quarreled, Cato supported Pompey. When the news of Pompey’s defeat at Pharsalus in 48 B.C. reached him, Cato fled to North Africa. There he received command of the defense of Utica. After the defeat of Pompey’s forces at Thapsus in 46 B.C., Cato committed suicide by stabbing himself. He became a hero to those who idealized the dying Roman Republic. He was the great-grandson of the Roman statesman Cato the Elder.
See also Caesar, Julius ; Cato, Marcus Porcius, the Elder ; Cicero, Marcus Tullius ; Stoic philosophy ; Triumvirate .
