P. Pilgrim
Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis was known as Cato the Younger. He lived between 95BC–46BC and was an influential conservative Roman senator during the late Republic. A staunch advocate for liberty and the preservation of the Republic’s principles, he dedicated himself to protecting the traditional Roman values he believed were in decline. A noted orator and a follower of Stoicism, his scrupulous honesty and professed respect for tradition gave him a political following which he mobilised against powerful generals of his day, including Julius Caesar and Pompey. During his political life he served in a number of offices. While in his urban quaestorship in 63 BC, he was praised for his honesty and incorruptibility in running Rome’s finances.
He passed laws during his plebeian tribunate in 62 BC to expand the grain dole and force generals to give up their armies and commands before standing in elections. His political influence was rooted in his moralist principles and his embodiment of Roman traditions that appealed to both senators and the innately conservative Roman voter. He was criticised by contemporaries and by modern historians for being too uncompromising in obstructing Caesar and other powerful generals. Those tactics and their success led to the creation of the First Triumvirate and the outbreak of civil war.
During the civil war, he joined Pompey and tried to minimise the deaths of his fellow citizens. However, after Pompey’s defeat and his own cause’s defeat by Caesar in Africa, he chose to take his own life rather than accept what he saw as Caesar’s tyrannical pardon, turning himself into a martyr for and a symbol of the Republic. Upon hearing of his death Julius Caesar, his arch enemy reportedly said “Cato, I must grudge you your death, as you grudged me the opportunity of giving you your life.” Caesar meant that Cato’s suicide at Utica deprived him of the chance to show his famous clemency (mercy). By killing himself, Cato denied Caesar the political victory of pardoning his most principled enemy, which would have showcased Caesar’s absolute power and magnanimity.
Upon hearing this story I was struck by the futility of suicide, Cato could have been pardoned and continued to have influenced the Roman public. But he chose to reject the offer of pardon, which is the offer of life. Upon reflection I remembered a Bible story that too speaks of those who were searching for the truth but refused to accept the truth of Jesus Christ.
In the gospel of John chapter 5 verse 39, 40, the Lord Jesus Christ himself is speaking, and he mentions religious people who are looking for the truth in the Holy Scriptures. ‘Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.’ These people were looking for eternal life, they were looking for the assurance of a home in Heaven, peace with God and sin forgiven. Jesus said the holy scriptures testify of me, Jesus said ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life:’ I am the one you are looking for.
I offer you pardon and forgiveness of sins, redemption through my blood. And yet these people would not come and accept the pardon offered and eternal life freely given. Like the Roman senator Cato, they didn’t want to accept the pardon from the hand of their enemy. Sadly, many today are just the same. They see Christ as their enemy and refuse the free offer of mercy. The book of Psalm 86 verse 5 states, ‘For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.’ Whose footsteps will you follow? Will you be like Cato and refuse the offer of sins forgiven, true joy and peace with God, found in Jesus Christ. I exhort you today to come to him and live. (pilgrimway101@yahoo.com)
