Cato the Younger
Roman statesman, general and writer (95–46 BC) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cato the Younger (Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis, 95 BC, Rome – April 46 BC, Utica) was a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower of the Stoic philosophy. He was known as Cato Minor to distinguish him from his great-grandfather (Cato the Elder). A noted orator, he had great moral integrity. He could not be bribed, and disliked the political corruption of the age. He is remembered for his stubbornness and for his lengthy conflict with Julius Caesar.
Plutarch tells a story about Cato's peers' immense respect for him, even at a young age. During a Roman ritual military game, called "Troy", in which all aristocratic teenagers participated as a sort of "coming of age" ceremony, a mock battle with wooden weapons was performed on horseback. While the child of one of Sulla's surrogates was chosen by the adult organizers to lead one of the "teams," the team refused to follow him because of his character, and when they were finally asked whom they would follow, the boys unanimously chose Cato.