Nepos, Cato 2

Cato as consul and censor

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Cato. 2.1Cōnsulātum gessit cum L. Valeriō Flaccō.He held the consulship with Lucius Valerius Flaccus. Cato. 2.1Sorte prōvinciam nactus Hispāniam citeriōrem ex eā triumphum dēportāvit.Having obtained by lot the province of Hither Spain, he brought back a triumph from it. Cato. 2.2Ibi cum diūtius morārētur, P. Scīpiō Āfricānus cōnsul iterum, cuius in priōre cōnsulātū quaestor fuerat, voluit eum dē prōvinciā dēpellere et ipse eī succēdere, neque hoc per senātum efficere potuit, cum quidem Scīpiō prīncipātum in cīvitāte obtinēret, quod tum nōn potentiā, sed iūre rēs pūblica administrābātur.When he stayed there rather long, Publius Scipio Africanus, consul for the second time, whose quaestor he had been in his earlier consulship, wanted to drive him from the province and succeed him himself, but could not achieve this through the senate, although Scipio held the first place in the state, because at that time the state was governed not by power but by law. Cato. 2.2Quā ex rē īrātus senātuī cōnsulātū perāctōprīvātus in urbe mānsit mansit.Angry with the senate over this, when his consulship was over he remained in the city as a private citizen. Cato. 2.3At Catō, cēnsor cum eōdem Flaccō factus, sevērē praefuit eī potestātī.But Cato, made censor with the same Flaccus, exercised that office strictly.

Cato. 2.3Nam et in complūrēs nōbilēs animadvertit et multās rēs novās in ēdictum addidit, quā rē luxuria reprimerētur, quae iam tum incipiēbat pullulāre.For he both punished a number of nobles and added many new provisions to the edict by which luxury might be checked, which was already then beginning to sprout. Cato. 2.4Circiter annōs octōgintā, ūsque ad extrēmam aetātem ab adulēscentiā, reī pūblicae causā suscipere inimīcitiās nōn dēstitit.For about eighty years, from his youth right up to the end of his life, he never ceased incurring enmities for the sake of the state. Cato. 2.4Ā multīs tentātus nōn modo nūllum dētrīmentum exīstimātiōnis fēcit, sed, quoad vīxit, virtūtum laude crēvit.Though attacked by many, he not only suffered no loss of reputation, but as long as he lived grew in the praise of his virtues.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (95 words)

cōnsulātus, -ūs m.	consulship
gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus	carry, wear; carry on, do
cum, prep, with abl.	with
sors, sortis, f.	lot
prōvincia, -ae f.	province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul
nancīscor, nancīscī, nactus	get, obtain, find
citerior, -ius, adj.	on this side, hither
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
triumphus, -ī m.	triumph, a victorious general's procession
dēportō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	carry off, remove
ibi, adv.	in that place, there
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
diū, adv.	for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp
moror, -ārī, -ātus	delay, linger, stay
cōnsul, -ulis m.	consul (one of Rome's two chief magistrates)
iterum, adv.	again, a second time
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
prior, prius	earlier, former; in front (priōrēs: those in front)
quaestor, -ōris m.	quaestor, a Roman official in charge of an army's funds
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
volō, velle, voluī	wish
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
dēpellō, -pellere, -pulī, -pulsus	drive off or away, drive
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
succēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	go or come under, follow after, succeed
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
senātus, -ūs m.	senate
efficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	make or work out, accomplish, effect
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
prīncipātus, -ūs m.	leadership, first place
cīvitās, -tātis, f.	state
obtineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus	hold
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
tum, adv.	then, at that time
nōn, adv.	not
potentia, -ae f.	power, influence
sed, conj.	but
iūs, iūris, n.	right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
pūblicus, -a, -um	public, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state)
administrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	manage, carry out
īrātus, -a, -um	angered, enraged, angry, furious
peragō, -ere, -ēgī, -āctum	carry through, complete
prīvātus, -a, -um	private
urbs, urbis, f.	city
maneō, manēre, mānsī, mānsus	remain
at, conj.	but
cēnsor, -ōris m.	censor, the magistrate who kept the citizen and senate rolls and could expel unworthy senators
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
sevērē (adv.; comp. sevērius)	strictly, sternly
praesum, -esse, -fuī	be before, preside over, have charge of, command
potestās, -ātis f.	power, authority
nam, conj.	for
complūrēs, -plūra, plur. adj.	several, many
nōbilis, -e	well-known, noble
animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus	turn the mind to, observe
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
novus, -a, -um	new; novissimus, last
ēdictum, -ī n.	proclamation, edict (of a magistrate)
addō, -ere, -didī, -ditus	add, put to
luxuria, -ae f.	luxury
reprimō, -ere, -pressī, -pressum	hold back, check
iam, adv.	now, already
incipiō, -ere, incēpī, inceptum	begin
pullulō, -āre	sprout, shoot up; swarm, teem
circiter, prep. with acc. and adv.	about
annus, -ī, m.	year
octōgintā (indecl.)	eighty
ūsque, adv.	all the time; ūsque ad, as far as, until; quō ūsque, see quō
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
extrēmus, -a, -um	last, extreme, furthest
aetās, -tātis, f.	age
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
adulēscentia, -ae, f.	youth
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
suscipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	undertake
inimīcitia, -ae f.	enmity (usu. pl.)
dēsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus	set down; leave off, desist, cease, stop
temptō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	try, attempt
modo, adv.	only
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
dētrīmentum, -ī n.	loss, harm
exīstimātiō, -ōnis f.	opinion, reputation
quoad (conj.)	as long as; until
vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, vīctus	live
virtūs, -tūtis, f.	manliness, courage, bravery
laus, laudis f.	praise, glory
crēscō, -ere, crēvī, crētum	grow, rise (in power)

Nepos, Cato. Latin text: A. Fleckeisen, Cornelii Nepotis Vitae (Teubner, 1886), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.