death_date children allegiance birth_date term_end death_place battles term_start spouse rank image name predecessor birth_place alongside office successor religion article_title
149 bc -lrb- age 85 -rrb- marcus licinianus cato salonianus 25px roman republic 234 bc 195 bc roman republic second punic war roman-syrian war 195 bc licinia salonia general marco porcio caton major.jpg marcus porcius cato lucius furius purpuero and marcus claudius marcellus tusculum , roman republic lucius valerius flaccus consul of the roman republic tiberius semprionius longus and scipio africanus roman polytheism cato the elder

cato the elder

marcus porcius cato -lrb- ; 234 bc -- 149 bc -rrb- was a roman statesman and historian -lrb- first to write in latin -rrb- , commonly referred to as cato censorius -lrb- `` the censor '' -rrb- , cato sapiens -lrb- `` the wise '' -rrb- , cato priscus -lrb- `` the ancient '' -rrb- , cato major , or cato the elder -lrb- to distinguish him from his great-grandson , cato the younger -rrb- ; known for his conservatism and opposition to hellenization .
he came of an ancient plebeian family who all were noted for some military service but not for the discharge of the higher civil offices .
he was bred , after the manner of his latin forefathers , to agriculture , to which he devoted himself when not engaged in military service .
but , having attracted the notice of lucius valerius flaccus , he was brought to rome , and successively held the offices of `` cursus honorum '' : military tribune -lrb- 214 bc -rrb- , quaestor -lrb- 204 bc -rrb- , aedile -lrb- 199 bc -rrb- , praetor -lrb- 198 bc -rrb- , in which capacity he expelled the usurers from sardinia , consul -lrb- 195 bc -rrb- together with his old patron , and finally censor -lrb- 184 bc -rrb- .
in the latter office he tried to preserve the `` mos maiorum '' -lrb- `` ancestral custom '' -rrb- and combat `` degenerate '' hellenistic influences .
