Contents

The Final Virtue

The conversations of Lucius and Philokles on Cato, virtue, and the end of the Roman Republic.

Why a Dialogue? The method of inquiry Opening Essay The Inheritance of Virtue Cato, the Censor, and the burden of an ancestral name Conversation I Severity and Wisdom The elder Cato and the double edge of Roman virtue Conversation II What Was the Republic? Law, custom, moral order, and the meaning of res publica Conversation III Courage and Political Reality Cato, Caesar, and the question of action under danger Conversation IV Reform, Necessity, and Law The Republic before civil war and the problem of remedy Conversation V Steadfastness and Failure The limits of principle in a collapsing political order Conversation VI The Final Judgement Cato, virtue, and the tragedy of the Republic Conversation VII