{"author":null,"backreferences":[{"context_html":"<p>Besides Lucretia, of whom enough has already been said,\r\nour advocates of suicide have some difficulty in finding any\r\nother prescriptive example, unless it be that of Cato, who\r\nkilled himself at Utica. His example is appealed to, not\r\nbecause he was the only man who did so, but because he was\r\nso esteemed as a learned and excellent man, that it could\r\nplausibly be maintained that what he did was and is a good\r\nthing to do. But of this action of his, what can I say but\r\nthat his own friends, enlightened men as he, prudently dissuaded\r\nhim, and therefore judged his act to be that of a feeble\r\nrather than a strong spirit, and dictated not by honourable\r\nfeeling forestalling shame, but by weakness shrinking from\r\nhardships? Indeed, Cato condemns himself by the advice he\r\ngave to his dearly loved son. For if it was a disgrace to live\r\nunder Cæsar's rule, why did the father urge the son to this\r\ndisgrace, by encouraging him to trust absolutely to Cæsar's\r\ngenerosity? Why did he not persuade him to die along\r\nwith himself? If Torquatus was applauded for putting\r\nhis son to death, when contrary to orders he had engaged,\r\nand engaged successfully, with the enemy, why did conquered\r\nCato spare his conquered son, though he did not spare\r\nhimself? Was it more disgraceful to be a victor contrary to\r\norders, than to submit to a victor contrary to the received\r\nideas of honour? Cato, then, cannot have deemed it to be\r\nshameful to live under Cæsar's rule, for had he done so, the\r\nfather's sword would have delivered his son from this disgrace.\r\nThe truth is, that his son, whom he both hoped and desired\r\nwould be spared by Cæsar, was not more loved by him than\r\nCæsar was envied the glory of pardoning him (as indeed\r\nCæsar himself is reported to have said<a id=\"FNanchor_74_74\"></a><a class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote_74_74\">[74]</a>); or if envy is too\r\nstrong a word, let us say he was <i>ashamed</i> that this glory should\r\nbe his.</p>","headings":["THE WORKS OF AURELIUS AUGUSTINE,","BOOK FIRST."],"marker_anchor":null,"paragraph_id":"pg45304-paragraph-87"}],"canonical_references":[],"date_end":null,"date_start":null,"deduplication_fingerprint":"504ae0a0b79c1f2c25dd8899eeb7c24b49b2c2a59175edacf10f33596900878d","edition_title":"The City of God, Volume I","edition_translators":["Marcus Dods","George Wilson (Book IV)","J. J. Smith (Books V-VIII)"],"edition_year":1871,"explicit_reference_candidates":[],"headings":[],"id":"pg45304-Footnote_74_74","license_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html","public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"original-editor-translator-note","review_required":["work and recension attribution","original-work chronology","Bible reference numbering and citation kind","English edition rights and attribution"],"review_status":"needs_review","rights_evidence":"Provider catalog reports public domain in the USA. Original transcription title leaves state T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1871; printed translator allocation retained. Gutenberg credits Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries without an exact scan identifier. Full provider license preserved with acquired original; republication and per-work metadata remain unreviewed.","source_anchor":"Footnote_74_74","source_ebook":45304,"source_html":"<div class=\"footnote\">\n<p><a id=\"Footnote_74_74\"></a><a class=\"pginternal\" href=\"#FNanchor_74_74\"><span class=\"label\">[74]</span></a> Plutarch's <i>Life of Cato</i>, 72.</p></div>","source_sha256":"d89e9a2b80bb59f394f0fb1bf313b39fab162f06af6642166d62c5912c1195f1","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45304/pg45304-images.html#Footnote_74_74","text_sha256":"373a10969e9ab6898f0b77eb2fc68e2ea0709af0c16b9d6e3f450a911aec22eb","verified":false,"work_id":null}