Cato (was Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: [HPforGrownups] ADMIN: HPforGU Logo)

[Jen Faulkner]

On Wed, 7 Mar 2001, John Walton wrote:

> Last night was "The Influence Of Cato The Elder On The Romans Of His
> Day", and let me tell you, eating sand is more enjoyable than
> writing about Cato.

Hey!  Cato was not only a wonderful Roman statesman, but his writing is
terribly *fun*!!  

*looks at that last statement and decides she'd better qualify it*

Well... *I* think Cato's fun...  The de agri cultura is really rather
charming, especially the bits about cabbages.  I always make my Latin
students read that part (modified in difficulty of language to their
abilities).  

Why, the humble cabbage is good for any number of things you might not
have realized!  F'rinstance, if you boil the cabbage and get cabbage
juice, it's very good for ailments of the belly.  And the best thing is
if you've left the cabbage juice out overnight, outside...  but only
when it's not raining, of course.  

Need to reconsecrate your grove?  Cato's your man.  Plant at the proper
times?  Ask Cato.  

(Bees?  Well, you'd be better off with Virgil there...)

And how can you dislike a guy who advises young men to go to brothels,
hmm?  :)  (Rather that commit adultery, for those who are baffled at
that bit o' wisdom.)  

Cato's also responsible for a number of pithy sententiae, such as "good
man, good farmer."  Good ol' fashioned family values. *g*

And he was opposed to learning Greek... just think, if he'd succeeded,
*I* wouldn't have to read Hesiod tonight.

(The speech fragments, OTOH, are definitely on the list of works from
antiquity that I wish had been lost.  And the Origines are not too high
on the fun scale, either.)

--jen, completely HP content free :)

* * * * * * 
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