What was going on: Plutarch, writing over a century later, opens his life of Cato with his boyhood. Cato lost both parents and grew up with his brother and sisters in the home of their uncle Livius Drusus, a leader in Rome's public affairs.
From childhood, it is said, he was stubborn, calm and unshakeable. He was cold to flatterers and even tougher with anyone who tried to scare him.
We are told that from his very childhood Cato displayed, in speech, in countenance, and in his childish sports, a nature that was inflexible, imperturbable, and altogether steadfast. He set out to accomplish his purposes with a vigour beyond his years, and while he was harsh and repellent to those who would flatter him, he was still more masterful towards those who tried to frighten him.
Plutarch, describing him, over a century later. Plutarch, Life of Cato the Younger 1.2, translated by Bernadotte Perrin (1919)
, Italy
Spartacus leads a slave revolt across Italy
Escaped gladiators led by Spartacus raise an army of slaves and beat several Roman armies before Crassus crushes them. Plutarch says the young Cato served in the war as a volunteer.
When the servile war was in progress, which was called the war of Spartacus, Gellius was commander, while Cato took part in his campaign as a volunteer, for the sake of his brother; for his brother Caepio was a military tribune.
What was going on:Rome, 63 BCE. The consul Cicero faces Catiline, who planned to seize power by force, in the Senate. Catiline had come anyway; no senator would greet him, and the senior men left his bench empty. Cicero skipped the formal business and turned straight on him.
Why it matters: Cicero's speech here, the First Catilinarian, is the most famous speech in Latin literature.
Catiline, when will you stop abusing our patience? How long will your madness keep mocking us? When will your reckless swagger end?
When, O Catiline, do you mean to cease abusing our patience? How long is that madness of yours still to mock us? When is there to be an end of that unbridled audacity of yours, swaggering about as it does now?
His own words, in a speech to the Senate. Cicero, Against Catiline 1.1, translated by C. D. Yonge (1856)
What was going on: The Senate in Rome, 63 BCE. The consul Cicero has exposed Catiline's plan to seize power by force, and Catiline himself has come to the meeting. With guards posted across the city, Cicero speaks straight to him.
Why it matters: Scholars disagree about its weight: one called it among the best known and least significant episodes in Roman history, while others stress that it jolted the Republic into action.
What times we live in! The Senate knows all this, the consul sees it, and still this man is alive. He even comes into the Senate.
Shame on the age and on its principles! The senate is aware of these things; the consul sees them; and yet this man lives. Lives! aye, he comes even into the senate.
His own words, in a speech to the Senate. Cicero, Against Catiline 1.2, translated by C. D. Yonge (1856)
What was going on:Rome, 63 BCE. The consul Cicero is denouncing Catiline in the Senate for plotting to seize power by force. He says that putting Catiline to death would leave the other plotters in Rome, while his leaving would draw them out of the city with him.
Why it matters: Catiline's response to this first speech was to withdraw from the city and join an uprising in Etruria.
The consul orders an enemy to leave the city. Are you being exiled? I am not ordering it. But if you want my advice, I advise it.
The consul orders an enemy to depart from the city. Do you ask me, Are you to go into banishment? I do not order it; but, if you consult me, I advise it.
His own words, in a speech to the Senate. Cicero, Against Catiline 1.13, translated by C. D. Yonge (1856)
What was going on:Rome, 63 BCE. The consul Cicero has denounced Catiline, who planned to seize power by force, and Catiline has left the city to join his army. Cicero calls the people into the forum and gives them this speech.
Why it matters: Scholars disagree about its weight: one called it among the best known and least significant episodes in Roman history, while others stress that it jolted the Republic into action.
He is gone, he has left, he has vanished, he has rushed out. That monster can no longer plot against this city from inside its walls.
He is gone, he has departed, he has disappeared, he has rushed out. No injury will now be prepared against these walls within the walls themselves by that monster and prodigy of wickedness.
His own words, in a speech to the people. Cicero, Against Catiline 2.1, translated by C. D. Yonge (1856)
What was going on:Rome, 3 December 63 BCE. The Senate had just thanked Cicero and voted to hold Lentulus and the other plotters around Catiline. Cicero then went to the Forum to tell the people everything: how he had uncovered the plot and what the Senate had decided.
Why it matters: Cicero's efforts to suppress the conspiracy, which he reports here, earned him the honorific father of the fatherland, though he lived thereafter in fear of trial or exile.
Romans, today you see the republic, your lives, families and this beautiful city saved from fire and sword, by the gods and by my work and risks.
You see this day, O Romans, the republic, and all your lives, your goods, your fortunes, your wives and children, this home of most illustrious empire, thus most fortunate and beautiful city, by the great love of the immortal gods for you, by my labours and counsels and dangers, snatched from fire and sword, and almost from the very jaws of fate, and preserved and restored to you.
His own words, in a speech to the people. Cicero, Against Catiline 3.1, translated by C. D. Yonge (1856)
What was going on:Rome, 63 BCE: the consul Cicero, who exposed Catiline's plot to seize power, speaks to the Senate again. He tells the senators to stop sparing him and look to the Republic, and says his brother is there grieving and his wife and daughter are afraid.
Why it matters: In this fourth speech Cicero laid the ground for others, chiefly Cato, to argue for executing the conspirators, and after their combined efforts the Senate vote shifted in favour of execution.
If something happens to me, I will die calm and ready. Death cannot shame a brave man, come too soon for a consul, or make a wise man miserable.
…if anything does happen to me, I shall fall with a contented and prepared mind; and, indeed, death cannot be disgraceful to a brave man, nor premature to one of consular rank, nor miserable to a wise man.
His own words, in a speech to the Senate. Cicero, Against Catiline 4.3, translated by C. D. Yonge (1856)
What was going on:Rome, 63 BCE, as Plutarch tells it. Cicero took the plotters around Catiline to the prison one by one, leading Lentulus first through the Forum, and had each put to death. That evening crowds lit lamps and cheered him home.
Why it matters: Executing the conspirators without trial came back on Cicero: he was exiled in 58 BCE, though recalled the next year.
Seeing plotters in the forum still hoping the men were alive and could be rescued, he shouted that they had lived: the Roman way of saying someone is dead.
And seeing that many members of the conspiracy were still assembled in the forum in ignorance of what had been done and waiting for night to come, with the idea that the men were still living and might be rescued, he cried out to them with a loud voice and said: They have lived. For thus the Romans who wish to avoid words of ill omen indicate death.
As Plutarch tells it, over a century later. Plutarch, Life of Cicero 22.2, translated by Bernadotte Perrin (1919)C
What was going on:Rome, 63 BCE, as Plutarch tells it. The Senate is debating the fate of the Catiline plotters, with Cato and Caesar locked in argument. A note is brought in to Caesar; Cato says it has to do with the plot and tells him to read it aloud, so Caesar hands it to him.
Why it matters: The story of Cato mistaking Servilia's love letter for evidence is famous; if historical, it may show how suspicious Cato was of Caesar.
The note turned out to be a love letter from his sister to Caesar. He threw it to Caesar, called him a drunk, and went on with his speech.
But when Cato had read the note, which was an unchaste letter from his sister Servilia to Caesar, with whom she was passionately and guiltily in love, he threw it to Caesar, saying, Take it, thou sot, and then resumed his speech.
As Plutarch tells it, over a century later. Plutarch, Life of Cato the Younger 24.2, translated by Bernadotte Perrin (1919)
, Rome
Caesar, Pompey and Crassus join forces
Caesar reconciles the two most powerful men in Rome, Pompey and Crassus, and the three work together to get what each wants. Historians later call it the First Triumvirate.
This policy was to reconcile Pompey and Crassus, the most influential men in the city.
What was going on:Rome, 59 BCE. As Plutarch tells it, over a century later, Cato had just given way and sworn an oath Caesar wanted, and Caesar, elated, brought in a law to divide almost all of Campania among the poor and needy.
Only Cato spoke against the law, and Caesar had him dragged off to prison. He kept talking on the way, urging people to stop laws like this.
No one spoke against the law except Cato, and him Caesar ordered to be dragged from the rostra to prison. Cato did not any the more remit his bold utterances, but as he walked along discoursed about the law and advised the people to put a stop to such legislation.
As Plutarch tells it, over a century later. Plutarch, Life of Cato the Younger 33.1, translated by Bernadotte Perrin (1919)
, Gaul
Caesar begins the conquest of Gaul
As governor, Caesar fights the peoples of Gaul for eight years and brings the whole country under Rome. He tells the story himself, in the third person.
All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in our Gauls, the third.
What was going on: These are the opening lines of Caesar's own account of his war in Gaul, which he fought as governor from 58 BCE and wrote up himself, in the third person. He begins by mapping the land and its peoples, river by river.
Why it matters: The opening phrase is frequently quoted, and the book has long been a mainstay in Latin instruction due to its simple, direct prose.
Gaul is split into three parts, each held by a different people. They all differ in language, customs and laws.
All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in our Gauls, the third. All these differ from each other in language, customs and laws.
His own words. Caesar, The Gallic War 1.1, translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn (1869)
What was going on: Plutarch, writing over a century later, describes Cicero's exile, 58–57 BCE. Sailing from Brundisium, he was driven back by a counter-wind, set out again and put in at Dyrrhachium, where, it is said, an earthquake struck as he was about to land.
Many visited him and Greek cities sent envoys, yet he spent most of his time in grief, gazing toward Italy like a heartbroken lover.
But although many people visited him out of goodwill, and the Greek cities vied with one another in sending him deputations, still, he passed his time for the most part in dejection and great grief, looking off towards Italy like a disconsolate lover,
Plutarch, describing him, over a century later. Plutarch, Life of Cicero 32.4, translated by Bernadotte Perrin (1919)
, Britain
Caesar crosses the sea to Britain
Caesar takes two expeditions to Britain. He wins battles and takes hostages but leaves no army behind. He writes that his eagle-bearer led the men off the ships.
Leap, fellow soldiers, unless you wish to betray your eagle to the enemy. I, for my part, will perform my duty to the commonwealth and my general.
What was going on: In 55 BCE, with only a short part of summer left, Caesar has just come back to Gaul after eighteen days across the Rhine. Writing of himself, he says he decided to cross to Britain because it had sent help to his enemies in almost every war with the Gauls.
Why it matters: No information about harbours or landing-places was available to the Romans before these expeditions, and it is likely the intelligence gathered was later used by Claudius in planning his landings.
Even if there was too little of the season left for a war, just landing on the island would teach me about its people, harbours and landing places.
…even if the time of year should be insufficient for carrying on the war, yet he thought it would be of great service to him if he only entered the island, and saw into the character of the people, and got knowledge of their localities, harbors, and landing-places, all which were for the most part unknown to the Gauls.
His own words, writing of himself as 'Caesar'. Caesar, The Gallic War 4.20, translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn (1869)
What was going on: On Caesar's first landing in Britain, his warships have pushed the enemy on the shore back a little, but his men hesitate to jump into the deep sea. Caesar tells it himself, writing of himself in the third person.
Why it matters: Caesar achieved no significant gains in Britain, but simply landing there was a notable feat, and a propaganda victory he chronicled in his Commentaries.
The soldier carrying the legion’s eagle shouted for the others to jump unless they wanted to lose it to the enemy, then leapt from the ship himself.
…he who carried the eagle of the tenth legion, after supplicating the gods that the matter might turn out favorably to the legion, exclaimed, "Leap, fellow soldiers, unless you wish to betray your eagle to the enemy. I, for my part, will perform my duty to the commonwealth and my general." When he had said this with a loud voice, he leaped from the ship and proceeded to bear the eagle toward the enemy.
His own words, writing of himself as 'Caesar'. Caesar, The Gallic War 4.25, translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn (1869)
What was going on: On his second trip to Britain in 54 BCE, Caesar pauses his story to describe the island: its size, the people of Kent who live much like the Gauls, and inland people who live on milk and meat and dress in skins. Soon after, his cavalry clash with British horsemen and chariots.
Why it matters: Caesar's accounts are the earliest surviving significant eyewitness descriptions of Britain's people, culture and geography, effectively the start of the island's written history, or at least its protohistory.
The Britons all dye themselves blue with woad, which makes them look more frightening in battle. They wear their hair long.
All the Britains, indeed, dye themselves with woad, which occasions a bluish color, and thereby have a more terrible appearance in fight. They wear their hair long, and have every part of their body shaved except their head and upper lip.
His own words. Caesar, The Gallic War 5.14, translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn (1869)
, Alesia
Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar at Alesia
Caesar surrounds the Gallic leader Vercingetorix in the hill town of Alesia and beats off a relief army. The Gauls hand Vercingetorix over.
They surrender Vercingetorix, and lay down their arms.
What was going on:Alesia, 52 BCE: Caesar has the Gallic leader Vercingetorix shut inside this hill town. The Gauls inside decide that everyone too old or sick to fight must leave, while a Gallic relief army arrives and camps on a hill nearby. Caesar tells it himself.
Why it matters:Alesia marked the end of Gallic independence in what is now France and Belgium. It is considered one of Caesar's greatest military achievements and a classic example of siege warfare.
The townspeople were sent out with their wives and children. Weeping, they begged the soldiers to take them as slaves and feed them. I posted guards and refused them.
The Mandubii, who had admitted them into the town, are compelled to go forth with their wives and children. When these came to the Roman fortifications, weeping, they begged of the soldiers by every entreaty to receive them as slaves and relieve them with food. But Caesar, placing guards on the rampart, forbade them to be admitted.
His own words, writing of himself as 'Caesar'. Caesar, The Gallic War 7.78, translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn (1869)
What was going on:Alesia, 52 BCE. Caesar's army has beaten off the Gauls, who flee their camp. Caesar writes that the next day Vercingetorix told his council he would let them hand him to the Romans, dead or alive, and envoys were sent to Caesar.
Why it matters:Alesia marked the end of Gallic independence in what is now France and Belgium. It is considered one of Caesar's greatest military achievements and a classic example of siege warfare.
They sent envoys to me. I ordered their weapons and leaders handed over, sat in front of my camp, and they gave up Vercingetorix.
Embassadors are sent to Caesar on this subject. He orders their arms to be surrendered, and their chieftains delivered up. He seated himself at the head of the lines in front of the camp, the Gallic chieftains are brought before him. They surrender Vercingetorix, and lay down their arms.
His own words, writing of himself as 'Caesar'. Caesar, The Gallic War 7.89, translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn (1869)C
What was going on: As Plutarch tells it, over a century later: around 50 BCE the Senate argued over Caesar's command. Cato warned that Caesar himself was the danger. Caesar's friends demanded that Pompey also give up his armies and provinces, or Caesar would not give up his.
Now, Cato shouted, what I warned you about is happening. The man is finally using force, with armies he got by cheating the state.
Now shouted Cato, those things are come to pass which I foretold to you, and the man is at last resorting to open compulsion, using the forces which he got by deceiving and cheating the state.
As Plutarch tells it, over a century later. Plutarch, Life of Cato the Younger 51.5, translated by Bernadotte Perrin (1919)
