The battle of Thapsus, in Africa, took place in the spring of this year, and Cato destroyed himself with true stoical tranquillity², determined³ not to live under C?sar's rule. If we may believe the story which, probably, Hirtius has given us, in his account of the civil war in Africa, and which has come down to us together with C?sar's Commentaries, Cato left his last instructions to some of his officers, and then took his sword into his bed with him and stabbed himself. Cicero, who, in his dream of Scipio, has given his readers such excellent advice in regard to suicide, has understood that Cato must be allowed the praise of acting⁵ up to his own principles. He would die rather than behold⁶ the face of the tyrant⁷ who had enslaved him.140 To Cato it was nothing that he should leave to others the burden of living under C?sar; but to himself the idea of a superior caused an unendurable affront⁸. The "Catonis nobile letum" has reconciled itself to the poets of all ages. Men, indeed, have refused to see that he fled from a danger which he felt to be too much for him, and that in doing so he had lacked something of the courage of a man. Many other Romans of the time did the same thing, but to none has been given all the honor which has been allowed to Cato.

148Cicero felt as others have done, and allowed all his little jealousies⁹ to die away. It was but a short time before that Cato had voted against the decree of the Senate giving Cicero his "supplication¹⁰." Cicero had then been much annoyed; but now Cato had died fighting for the Republic, and was to be forgiven all personal offences. Cicero wrote a eulogy¹¹ of Cato which was known by the name of Cato, and was much discussed at Rome at the time. It has now been lost. He sent it to C?sar, having been bold enough to say in it whatever occurred to him should be said in Cato's praise. We may imagine that, had it not pleased him to be generous—had he not been governed by that feeling of "De mortuis

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