CATO, THE DIE HARD.

Shannon News, 17 April 1925, Page 4

CATO, THE DIE HARD.

W.E.A. LECTURE.

The last lecture of the W.ea. course for 1925, related to Cato, trie 'Roman Censor. . had chosen as his subject for the evening, Gato the Elder, the Censor of Rome Gato (said the lecturer) the. lecturer was.knottier most . interesting and significant figure £i worU-hwtory. marking as he did the point at which the civilisation of Rome reached the oad of one phase, and entered upon another phase, of its evolution. "He doesn't like the change. He is a staunch conservative, a real old Diehard. The country, in his opinion, is •going to the dogs', for he thinks that all the changes that are occurring aie bad, thoroughly bad, a'nd that they will destroy th e fine old Roman character. Whether he is right or wrong in this, we shall see (said the lectur« er) as ro on through this coutsg of weekly lectures. The Early Romans. "The story of the Romans, in the opening phases of their history, is the story of hard work, plain living, and a very simple kind of social organisation There is a little city on the

Tiber, and there is a large ««uuv.;side. The great majority of the people are small farmers^-narrow-minded and ignorant, it may be; but on the other hand possessing all the sterling qualities that naturally belong to a nation of small farmers. "These are the 'good old days to Gato—when most of the Romans are peasants; when the countryside is dotted all over with their little farms (about 4 acres apiece), just enough land to produce the 30 to 40 bushels of wheat and the few other things needed for the family. Each family has in addition, say, a couple of cows, a few bullocks and a few sheep, graz-

ing on the village common land. In Peace And War. . The lecturer then gave a detailed description of the krad of life these Roman peasants were leading—their dress, food, houses, customs and work. Then followed a description of what happened when messengers from Rome came cantering over the hills and galloping across the plains, spreading news that the Senate in Rome had resolved upon a war. The campaigns, in those early days,

were always short, summer campaigns. In a few months (if he were l! iot killed), the goodman would come trudging back home again to take up life, as before, on the farm'. This was the life —these- were the conditions, continuing unchanged for centuries —under which the Old Roman character was formed and the traditions of the people" were established. They were a sober, hardworking, practical a'nd 'matter-of-fact nation of peasant-farmers. These Early Romans had no sense of fun, no gift of laughter, like that of the Early Brythons or the Gauls. They were not an eager, inquisitive, talkative people, like the lonian Greeks. Men and women of few words were they—undemonstrative in their affections; but having a deep belief m the sanctity of home-life and family ties, and a simple, inarticulate but solid sentiment of loyalty to Rome. Changing Conditions. But now (said Mr. Mander) times are changing. About 8.C.200 we find ourselves entering a new phase of Roman history. It is the beginning of Empire. The frontiers are being pushed farther, and still farther afield. The wars last longer. Much booty is being brought home by the victorious armies, and thousands and thousands of slaves. Rome itself is becoming a wealthy city, wealthy because of the steady flow of tribute from the conquered lands. Already the depopulation of the countryside has begun. The peasants have got into debt, and their farms have been neglected through their lo"ag absences at the wars, which now are being fought so far away from home, and last, not weeks, but years. Rich men in the city have been buying up these farms and turning them into big sheep and cattle stations, worked by slave labour. In other words, Rome is entering now upon her period of power and prosperity—" Success." And it has been very truly said that, in the life of nations, nothing fails like success. Cato the Eider.

Cato, the son of a large farmer, was born in B.C. 234. He took part in the second Punic War, when Hannibal and the Carthaginian army were ranging over Italy with fire and sword. After the war, Cato forced himseli into prominence in the political life of Rome. ' . - Mr. Mander then gave a sketch of Cato's political career and his ways of life.

He was a big, strong, burly- man, with a loud harsh voice, and enormous projecting yellow teeth. So ugly was he that a saying became current in Rome that, when he died, hell itself would be afraid to let him in. His life was simple. He walked or rode from place to place, disdaining the carriages ad litters that were then coming into use. He bought only the cheapest clothes, and refused to touch any but the plainest, most homely food.

One of the Old Romans. As Plutarch says, a good-natured man will keep eve'a his dogs and horses when they are grown old; but Cato makes a practice of selling off his slaves when they are old and worn out, and advises others to do the same. "Yet," said the lecturer —"see him with his family. Watch him patiently teaching his little son to read and write, to box and ride and swim. Or again, see him as a General in the army, or as Governor of Sardinia, or Spain. Other Generals and Governors are charging up to the public account all their expenses for fine living and lavish entertaining. Cato, as a General, draws the rations of a private soldier. Cato, as a Governor, lives quite simply, goes about afoot, spends the public funds with the utmost economy. He is one of the sturdy, frugal, simple Old Romans who has lived on into another age. Yet he is an "Old Roman" with a difference; for he is soured, embittered, infuriated by contact with these new conditions and the resulting changes in the Roraa'a people. So he is "up against" everything that is new—everything they did not have, or did not do, in "the good old days." The Die-Hard. The luxury of the Hellenistic world, its extravaga'iee in dress and manners and social life—all that is now being brought to Rome, and it makes old Cato furious! But some of the Art and Culture of that Hellenistic world is also beginning to find its way into the life of the well-to-do classes in Rome: and that makes Cato just as angry and indignant, just as furious, n s does the

other thing. They got on well enough without it in the good old days (says he) __ when men looked after their farms and fought their battles, and didn't bother their heads about such nonsense as the appreciation of Beauty and the search for Truth. _ So he is quite unable to distinguish between changes for the better and changes for the worse. He condemns all changes alike. . Yet he does, in one respect, hit the nail on the head. "As the Empire grows and becomes more wealthy (says Cato), I dread the more these vice's of greed and luxury—for fear that our possessions have captured us, instead of our having captured them.' This (observed the lecturer) is, of course, just exactly what did happen to the Greco-Roman civilisation.... even as, you may perhaps hpld, jit has already happened again to our own civilisation in its turn "our possessions have captured us, Instead of our* having captured them." Gato as Censor.

After giving an outline of the Roman constitution at. this time, Mr. Mander proceeded with his sketch of Cato's career until he become one of the Censors of the Republic. The two Censors were fleeted by the citizens; and their original business had been to take the census (or compile the electoral roll) and to assess the citizen's property for purposes of taxation. Their office grew steadily in importance, and they were presently entrusted with the additional duty of exercising supervision over the morals of the community. Their powers in this direction were almost unlimited —except, of course, by Public, Opinion —but most of the Censors were careful to take action only in glaring cases, cases that had become public scandals. "Well, clearly, this was just the job for old Cato!" On election, he set about his task in earnest, issuing new, drastic regulations to curb the luxury and extravagance of the "newly rich." Mr. Mander then gave an account of these regulations, showing how they were directed not only against luxuries and extravagances, but also against the new learning and art. In addition there was a great "cleaning up" of the city. An inquiry was held into certain contracts for public works; prices were cut down; cases of graft and corruption were dealt with.

Its Futility. "But of course, Cato cannot put back the clock. He may rave and storm and sneer and jeer as he will; but he cannot stop the working-out of a regular sequence of developments, which all history proves to be invariable, inevitable. Neither Cato nor any other man on earth, can make the people of a gerat imperial city go on living and thinking as they used to live and think in the old days, when they were a natio'u of peasant farmers. "For better or worse —or rather, for better and worse—Rome has passed irrevocably out of one phase of his history into the next phase." The lecturer then dealt briefly with Cato's old age, and his efforts to perbuade Rome, finally to smash her great rival, Carthage. At last, when an old man of well over 80 Cato dltes —while the siege of Carthage is going on. "And so passes from the stage of histoi'y the last of the Old Roma'as, the last survivor of the Old School who has lived on uncomprehending, prejudiced, baffled, indignant, furious —into a new age. Despite old Cato and his raging, the !next chapter of Roman history has begun and must go o"a in the regular development of what Bismarck called "The Logic of History.' "