[Cicero referred to Cato in many of his works, often making the earlier orator a character in ethical dialogues. In the excerpt below, Cicero praises Cato's skills as an orator.]

Cato's speeches are almost as numerous as those of the Athenian (to whom, however, I believe that some are wrongly attributed). I call Lysias Athenian because he was certainly born and died at Athens, although Timaeus,¹ by a sort of Licinian and Mucian law,² ascribes him to Syracuse instead. Between Lysias and Cato there is a certain resemblance. Both are penetrating, elegant, clever and concise. But as regards reputation the Greek has been considerably more fortunate. He has a very definite body of supporters. They are men who cultivate a slim rather than an ample oratorical structure and, within the bounds set by good health, even favour leanness. True, Lysias himself often displays an effective muscular vigour. Yet his style as a whole belongs to the plain variety. And, as I have said, he has his admirers, who derive satisfaction from this stark style.

As for Cato the elder, surely none of our orators today reads him, or knows anything about him at all. And yet, heavens above, what a man! To Cato as citizen, senator, general, I am not now referring. All we are considering here is Cato the orator. I can think of no one who deals out a more impressive compliment, whose words of censure, conversely, are more biting, who expresses what he thinks more penetratingly, who presents a demonstration or an explanation with greater acuteness. He delivered more than a hundred and fifty speeches—judging by those that I myself have discovered and read. Both in style and content, they are packed with brilliance. Choose from them the passages that seem to you most worthy of note and praise. You will find in them everything that is best in an orator. And take his Origins, too: they display every ornament and splendour of eloquence that you could wish. Yet Cato is short of admirers. Many centuries ago, the same was true of Philistus of Syracuse,³ and even of Thucydides. For they displayed an epigrammatic and sometimes too pointedly concise brevity which became eclipsed by the lofty, high-flown manner of Theopompus.⁴ The same thing had happened to Lysias, whom Demosthenes superseded. And in just the same way the excessively elevated diction of subsequent writers has overshadowed Cato.

Some people find the early period of Greek literature deeply satisfying, and admire its simplicity, which they describe as Attic. That the same quality is to be found in Cato, however, they are completely unaware. Their models are Hyperides⁵ and Lysias. Excellent, but why do they not model themselves on Cato? Their admiration for the Attic style makes excellent sense—though I only wish they imitated its life-blood, and not just its bones! However, their intention deserves praise. But I still say, why, in that case, do they adore Lysias and Hyperides, while they know nothing about Cato at all? True, his phraseology is rather archaic, and some of the words he uses are somewhat uncouth. Yes, because that is how people spoke in those days. Change that—which he could not have done at his time—insert rhythm, and rearrange his words and fasten them together to make what he has to say run more smoothly (which even the early Greeks never managed to do), and you will not be able to find anyone whom you can set above Cato.

The Greeks believe that language is beautiful if you modify your terminology by what they call "tropes", and employ the forms of epigrammatic expression which they describe as figures of speech. Now Cato was quite remarkably rich and distinguished in both these kinds of ornament. Certainly, I realize that he did not yet possess the polish an orator ought to have, and that a higher degree of perfection has to be aimed at. Nor is that so remarkable, seeing that from the standpoint of our own epoch he is so outstandingly antique that nothing of an earlier date which is worth reading exists at all. But the fact is that in ancient periods every other form of art was held in greater honour than this single art of eloquence….

Notes

¹ Timaeus of Tauromenium (c. 356-260), Greek historian.

² The Lex Licinia Mucia of Lucius Licinius Crassus and Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex (95) set up an inquiry into aliens who were claiming to be citizens, relegating to the place of their birth non-Roman Italians who by long residence had assumed Roman citizen rights.

³ Historian (c. 430-356).

⁴ Historian from Chios (born c. 378).

⁵ Athenian orator (389-322).