Around 90 BC, a Roman boy hung by his ankles from a high window and said nothing. The boy was Cato, somewhere between four and seven years old. The man holding him was the warlord Pompaedius Silo, who wanted the child to support his political cause. Cato stayed silent and showed no fear. Silo gave up. So Plutarch tells it, writing more than a century after Cato died. That boy grew into a Stoic, someone who believed virtue is the only true good. He walked barefoot, refused to flatter anyone, and spoke the plain truth to the powerful. His memory was like iron, and so was his stubbornness. This is the story of how that stubbornness made him the great enemy of Julius Caesar, and of a final night when a pardon from Caesar awaited him. Why would a man choose death over a pardon?
Cato the Younger: The Stoic Who Defied Caesar
Cato the Younger refused to live under Caesar's pardon and chose death at Utica in April 46 BC.
The Boy at the Window
Part of
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Cato the Younger refuse a pardon from Julius Caesar?
Cato believed he could not live in a world where one man granted pardon to others. Accepting mercy from Caesar would have made him a tool of Caesar's propaganda. He chose to end his own life at Utica in April 46 BC instead.
What happened when Caesar tried to arrest Cato in 59 BC?
Cato spoke until sunset to block Caesar's land law, so Caesar ordered his lictors to drag him to prison. The senators rose and followed Cato out in silence. Caesar had to release him to avoid losing the support of the elite.
How did Cato influence the American Revolution?
Joseph Addison's play Cato was the most popular drama of the 18th century and portrayed Cato resisting Caesar's usurping arms. In May 1778 George Washington staged it for his troops at Valley Forge despite a ban on theatrical performances. He quoted the play in private letters for over forty years.
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