Marcus Porcius Cato

Marcus Porcius Cato (234–149 BC), known as Cato the Elder or the Censor, was a Roman soldier, statesman and writer. A farmer's son from Tusculum, he fought in the Second Punic War, rose to the consulship in 195 BC and as censor in 184 BC waged a famous campaign against luxury and Greek influence. In his old age he urged the destruction of Carthage in every speech. He was also the first important Latin prose writer: his Origines, a history of Rome, is lost, but his handbook On Agriculture survives as the oldest complete work of Latin prose.