Marcus Cato Quotes & Sayings

A slave, Marcus Cato said, should be working when he is not sleeping. It does not matter whether his work is needed or not, he must work, because work in itself is good - for slaves, at least. This sentiment still survives, and it has piled up mountains of useless drudgery. — George Orwell

For he (Cato) gives his opinion as if he were in Plato's Republic, not in Romulus' cesspool. — Marcus Tullius Cicero

The well-known old remark of Cato, who used to wonder how two soothsayers could look one another in the face without laughing. — Marcus Tullius Cicero

When confronted by a hungry wolf, it is unwise to goad the beast, as Cato would have us do. But it is equally unwise to imagine the snarling animal a friend and offer your hand, as Pompey does." "Perhaps you would have us climb a tree! — Marcus Tullius Cicero

He who hesitates is lost. — Marcus Porcius Cato

After I'm dead I'd rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one. — Marcus Porcius Cato

Wise men profit more by fools than fools by wise men. — Marcus Porcius Cato

Of this last kind of comparisons is that quoted from the elder Cato, who, when asked what was the most profitable thing to be done on an estate, replied, "To feed cattle well." "What second best?" "To feed cattle moderately well." "What third best?" "To feed cattle, though but poorly." "What fourth best?" "To plough the land." And when he who had made these inquiries asked, "What is to be said of making profit by usury?" Cato replied, "What is to be said of making profit by murder? — Marcus Tullius Cicero

It is a hard matter, my fellow citizens, to argue with the belly, since it has no ears. — Marcus Porcius Cato

I would much rather have men ask why I have no statue than why I have one. — Marcus Porcius Cato

The words of the Greeks are born on their lips, but those of the Romans in their hearts. — Marcus Porcius Cato