The Lives of Cato the Younger from Ancient Rome to Modern America (Hardcover)

Thomas E. Strunk

ISBN 10: 0472133640 / ISBN 13: 9780472133642

Published by The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 2026

About this Item

Hardcover. The Lives of Cato the Younger from Ancient Rome to Modern America traces the reception and influence of Cato from his suicide at the fall of the Roman Republic to the twenty-first century. In preferring death to Julius Caesars dictatorship, Cato became a symbol of resistance to tyrannical rulers during the Roman Empire. In the years that followed, three interpretations of Cato became predominant: Cato lived and died with the resolve of a philosopher; he was a traitor to Caesars legitimate rule; or he was a republican statesman defending liberty. Beginning with these interpretations, Thomas E. Strunk explores Catos reception in antiquity with chapters on Tacitus and Plutarch; and he later discusses medieval Christian writers such as Augustine, who considered Catos suicide sinful, and Dante, who made him the noble guardian of Purgatory. In Europe, playwrights composed dramas on Catos death that ignited the revolutionary spirit of the age, later inspiring American General George Washington and his soldiers. Abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass invoked Cato and his revolutionary spirit, yet after the American Civil War, Catos name was appropriated as a symbol of allegiance for Confederates and their descendants, and lines memorializing Cato were inscribed on the Confederate Memorial at Arlington Cemetery. As the first book to provide an in-depth study of Cato and his lasting influence, Strunks study seeks to explore the contemporary nature of his principles and their influence on present-day American politics. The influence of the philosopher, traitor, and statesman from antiquity to present day Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780472133642

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Lives of Cato the Younger from Ancient Rome to Modern America (Hardcover)
• Publisher: The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0472133640
• ISBN 13: 9780472133642
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

The Lives of Cato the Younger from Ancient Rome to Modern America traces the reception and influence of Cato from his suicide at the fall of the Roman Republic to the twenty-first century. In preferring death to Julius Caesar’s dictatorship, Cato became a symbol of resistance to tyrannical rulers during the Roman Empire. In the years that followed, three interpretations of Cato became predominant: Cato lived and died with the resolve of a philosopher; he was a traitor to Caesar’s legitimate rule; or he was a republican statesman defending liberty. Beginning with these interpretations, Thomas E. Strunk explores Cato’s reception in antiquity with chapters on Tacitus and Plutarch; and he later discusses medieval Christian writers such as Augustine, who considered Cato’s suicide sinful, and Dante, who made him the noble guardian of Purgatory. In Europe, playwrights composed dramas on Cato’s death that ignited the revolutionary spirit of the age, later inspiring American general George Washington and his soldiers. Abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass invoked Cato and his revolutionary spirit, yet after the Civil War, Cato’s name was appropriated as a symbol of allegiance for Confederates and their descendants, and lines memorializing Cato were inscribed on the Confederate Memorial at Arlington Cemetery. As the first book to provide an in-depth study of Cato and his lasting influence, Strunk’s study seeks to explore the contemporary nature of his principles and their influence on present-day American politics.

About the Author

Thomas E. Strunk is Associate Professor of Classics at Xavier University. He is the author of History after Liberty: Tacitus on Tyrants, Sycophants, and Republicans (2017) and The Fall of the Roman Republic: Lessons for the American People (2022).