Lucius Valerius Flaccus
He came from an ancient Plebeian family who were noted for their military service. Like his forefathers, Cato was devoted to agriculture when not serving in the army. Having attracted the attention of Lucius Valerius Flaccus, he was brought to Rome and began to follow the "cursus honorum": he was successively military tribune (214 BC), quaestor (204 BC), aedile (199 BC), praetor (198 BC), consul (195 BC) together with Flaccus, and censor (184 BC). As praetor, he expelled usurers from Sardinia. As censor, he tried to save Rome's ancestral customs and combat "degenerate" Hellenistic influences.