S8 Ep949: (2) Josiah Osgood details the 63 BCE Catilinarian conspiracy, where Caesar proposed permanent arrest for conspirators instead of execution. Cato countered with a powerful speech advocating death, successfully swaying the Senate and accusing Caesar of invo

(2) Josiah Osgood details the 63 BCE Catilinarian conspiracy, where Caesar proposed permanent arrest for conspirators instead of execution. Cato countered with a powerful speech advocating death, successfully swaying the Senate and accusing Caesar of involvement. This established their permanent rivalry, pitting Cato's Stoic reputation for honesty against Caesar's pursuit of dignitas through political office and military glory. Cato modeled himself after his famous ancestor, stressing austere virtue, while Caesar used the Roman Forum as a theater of power. Their ideological divide over senatorial versus popular authority began to tear at the Republic.
1899