the magistracies of Rome, the censorship, He had not canvassed for the office, but had only expressed his willingness to fill it. In compliance with his wishes, Valerius Flaccus was chosen his colleague, as the only person qualified to assist him in correcting the public disorders, and restoring the ancient purity of morals. He fulfilled this trust with inflexible rigor; and, though his measures caused him some obloquy and opposition, they met, in the end, with the highest applause; and, when he resigned his office, it was resolved to erect a statue to him with an honorable inscription. He appears to have been quite indifferent to the honor; and when, before this, some one expressed his wonder that no statue had been erected to him, he answered, "I would rather have it asked why no image has been erected to Cato than why one has." Still he was not void of self-complacency. "Is he a Cato, then ?" he was accustomed to say, when he would excuse the errors of another. Cato's political life was a continued warfare. He was continually accusing, and was himself accused with animosity, but was always acquitted. His last public commission was an embassy to Carthage, to settle the dispute between the Carthaginians and king Massinissa. It is said that this journey was the original cause of the destruction of Carthage; for Cato was so astonished at the rapid recovery of this city from its losses, that he ever after ended every speech of his with the well-known words, "Præterea censeo, Carthaginem esse delendam" (I am also of opinion that Carthage must be destroyed). He died a year after his return (147 B. C.), 85 years old. Cato, who was so frugal of the public revenues, was not indifferent to riches. He was rigorously severe towards his slaves, and considered them quite in the light of property. He made every exertion to promote and improve agriculture. In his old age, he gave himself up to the company of his friends and the pleasures of the table. To this the verses of Horace allude Narratur et prisci Catonis He was twice married, and had a son by each of his wives. His conduct as a hushand and a father was equally exemplary. He composed a multitude of works, of which the only one extant is that De Re Rustica. Those of which the loss is most to be regretted are his orations, which Cicero mentions in terms of the highest encomium, and his history of the origin of the Roman people, which is frequently quoted by the old historians. CATO, Marcus Porcius (called, to distinguish him from the censor, his great grandfather, Cato of Utica, the place of his death), was born 93 B. C., and, after the death of his parents, was brought up in the house of his uncle, Livius Drusus. He early discovered great maturity of judgment and firmness of character. It is related of him, that, in his 14th year, when he saw the heads of several proscribed persons in the house of Sylla, by whose orders they had been murdered, he demanded a sword of his teacher, to stab the tyrant, and free his country from servitude. With his brother by the mother's side, Cæpio, he lived in the tenderest friendship. Cato was chosen priest of Apollo. He formed an intimacy with the Stoic Antipater of Tyre, and ever remained true to the principles of the Stoic philosophy. His first appearance in public was against the tribunes of the people, who wished to pull down a basilica erected by the censor Cato, which was in their way. On this occasion, he displayed that powerful eloquence, which afterwards rendered him so formidable, and won the cause. He served his first campaign as a volunteer in the war against Spartacus, and distinguished himself so highly, that the pretor Gellius awarded him a prize, which he refused. He was sent as military tribune to Macedonia. When the term of his office had expired, he travelled into Asia, and carried the Stoic Athenodorus with him to Rome. He was next made questor, and executed his difficult trust with the strictest integrity, while he had the spirit to prosecute the public officers for their acts of extortion and violence. His conduct gained him the admiration and love of the Romans, so that, on the last day of his questorship, he was escorted to his house by the whole assembly of the people. The fame of his virtue spread far and wide. In the games of Flora, the dancers were not allowed to lay aside their garments as long as Cato was present. The troubles of the state did not permit him to remain in seclusion. The example of Sylla, in usurping supreme power, was followed by many ambitious men, whose mutual dissensions were all that saved the tottering constitution from immediate ruin. Crassus hoped to purchase the sovereignty with his gold; Pompey expected that it would be voluntarily conferred upon him; and Cæsar, superior to both in talent, united himself to both, and made use of the wealth of the one, and the reputation of the other, to attain his own objects. At the head of the senate, the sole prop of the republic, stood Catulus, Cicero and Cato. Lucullus, who stood very high in the favor of the army, which he had so victoriously commanded, might alone have upheld the senate, had he not been more desirous to enjoy his wealth than to devote himself to the care of the commonwealth. Cato, keeping aloof from all parties, served the commonwealth with sagacity and courage; but he often injured the cause, which he was trying to benefit, by the inflexibility of his character. He was on the way to his estate, when he met Metellus Nepos, who was travelling to Rome to canvass for the tribuneship. Knowing him to be a dangerous man, Cato returned immediately, stood candidate for the office himself, and was chosen, together with Metellus. About this time, the conspiracy of Catiline broke out. Cato supported, with all his power, the consul Cicero, first gave him publicly the name of father of his country, and urged, in a fine speech preserved by Sallust, the rigorous punishment of the traitors. He opposed the proposition of Metellus Nepos to recall Pompey from Asia, and give him the command against Catiline, and came near losing his life in a riot excited against him on this account by his colleague and Cæsar. After the return of Pompey, he frustrated many of his ambitious plans, and first predicted the consequences of his union with Crassus and Cæsar. He afterwards opposed, but in vain, the division of lands in Campania. Cæsar at that time abused his power so much as to send Cato to prison, but was constrained, by the murmurs of the people, to set him at liberty. The triumvirate, in order to remove him to a distance, had him sent to Cyprus, to depose king Ptolemy, under some frivolous pretext. He was compelled to obey, and executed his commission with so much address that he enriched the treasury with a larger sum than had ever been deposited in it by any private man. In the mean time, he continued his opposition to the triumvirate. Endeavoring to prevent the passage of the Tribonian law, which invested Crassus with an extraordinary power, he was a second time arrested; but the people followed him in a body to the prison, and his enemies were compelled to release him. Being afterwards made pretor, he carried into execution a law against bribery, that displeased all parties. After the death of Crassus, the civil commotions increased, and Cato, as the only means of preventing greater evils, proposed that Pompey should be made sole consul, contrary to the constitution, and the proposition was adopted. The year following, Cato lost the consulship by refusing to take the steps necessary for obtaining it. At this time the civil war broke out. Cato, then propretor in Sicily, on the arrival of Curio with three of Cæsar's legions, departed for the camp of Pompey, at Dyrrachium. He had still been in hopes to prevent the war by negotiation; and when it broke out, he put on mourning in token of his grief. Pompey, having been victorious at Dyrrachium, left Cato behind to guard the military chest and magazine, while he pushed after his rival. For this reason, Cato was not present at the battle of Pharsalia, after which he sailed over with his troops to Cyrene, in Africa. Here he learned that Pompey's father-in-law, Scipio, had gone to Juba, king of Mauritania, where Varus had collected a considerable force. Cato immediately set off to join him, and, after undergoing hunger, thirst and every hardship, reached Utica, where the two armies effected a junction. The soldiers wished him to be their general, but he gave this office to Scipio, and took the command in Utica, while Scipio and Labienus sallied out against Cæsar. Cato had advised them to protract the war, but they ventured an engagement, in which they were entirely defeated, and Africa submitted to the victor. Cato had at first determined to defend himself to the last, with the senators in the place; but he afterwards abandoned this plan, and dismissed all who wished to leave him. His resolution was taken. On the evening before the day which he had fixed upon for executing it, he took a tranquil meal, and discussed various philosophical subjects. He then retired to his chamber, and read the Phado of Plato. Anticipating his intentions, his friends had taken away his sword. On finding that it was gone, he called his slaves, and demanded it with apparent equanimity; but when they still delayed to bring it, he struck one of the slaves, who was endeavoring to pacify him. His son and his friends came with tears, and besought him to refrain from his purpose. At first he reproached his son for disobedience, then calmly advised those present to submit to Cæsar, and dismissed all but the philosophers Demetrius and Apollonius, whom he asked if they knew any way by which he could continue to live without being false to his principles. They were silent, and left him, weeping. He then received his sword joyfully, again read Phado, slept awhile, and, on awaking, sent to the port to inquire if his friends had departed. He heard, with a sigh, that the sea was tempestuous. He had again sunk into slumber, when word was brought him that the sea was calm, and that all was tranquil in the harbor. He appeared satisfied, and was scarcely alone when he stabbed himself with his sword. The people rushed in, and took advantage of a swoon, into which he had fallen, to bind up his wounds; but, on coming to himself, he tore off the bandages, and expired (44 B. C.). The Uticans buried him honorably, and erected a statue to him. But Cæsar, when he heard the news of his death, exclaimed, “I grudge thee thy death, since thou hast grudged me the honor of sparing thy life." The truly Roman virtue of Cato has been celebrated by Lucan, in his Pharsalia, in a truly Roman style, with the words Victrix causa diis placuit, sed victa Catoni. CATOPTRICS (from KárопTрov, a mirror); the science which treats of reflected light. (See Optics.) CATS, James; born in 1577, at Brouwershaven, in Zealand; one of the fathers of the Dutch language and poetry. He studied at Leyden and Orleans. In 1627 and 1631, he was ambassador to England, and afterwards grand pensioner of Holland. His poetry is distinguished for simplicity, naïveté, richness of imagination, and winning though unpretending morality. His works consist of allegories, according to the taste of his times, poems on the different ages and situations of life, idyls, &c. He died in 1660. CAT'S-EYE. (See Asteria and Quartz.) CATSKILL MOUNTAINS; a range of mountains in New York, much the highest in the state. They extend along to the west of the Hudson, from which their base is, at the nearest point, eight miles distant. The principal summits are in Greene county. The two most elevated peaks are Round Top and High Peak. The former, according to the measurement of captain Partridge, is 3804 feet above the level of tide water; and the latter, 3718 feet. The Catskill mountains present scenery of singular beauty and grandeur, and have become a noted resort of travellers during the summer. On a level tract of about 7 acres, called Pine Orchard, elevated 2214 feet above the level of tide water, a large and commodious house has been erected for the accommodation of visitors. It is situated directly on the brow of the mountain, and commands an enchanting view of the country on both sides of the Hudson, embracing a tract about 100 miles in length and 50 in breadth. This place, which is 12 miles from the town of Catskill, is approached by a good turnpike road, which winds up the side of the mountain. Two miles west of Pine Orchard are the fine cascades of the Kaaterskill, a stream which is supplied by two small lakes situated high in the mountains. The upper fall is 175 feet in height; and a few rods below is the other, of 80 feet, both perpendicular. The stream passes into a deep and very picturesque ravine, which is bordered by mountains rising abruptly 1000 or 1500 feet. CATSUP. (See Ketchup.) CATTARO; a seaport in Dalmatia, capital of a circle of the same name (formerly called Venetian Albania), at the bottom of the gulf of Cattaro (bocche di Cattaro), on the E. side of the Adriatic; 25 miles W. N. W. Scutari, 30 S. S. E. Ragusa; lon. 18° 58 E.; lat. 42° 17′ N.; population, 2500. It is a bishop's see. It contains a cathedral, 17 Catholic churches and chapels, 1 Greek church, and an hospital. It has a remarkable harbor, one of the most secure in Europe, being defended by a castle and strong battlements, and enclosed with rocks of such height, that the sun is seen in winter only a few hours in the day. Population of the circle, 31,570; square miles, 296. CATTEGAT; a large gulf of the North sea, between North Jutland to the W., Norway to the E., and the Danish islands of Zealand, Funen, &c. to the S.; about 120 miles from N. to S., and between 60 and 70 from E. to W. The adverse winds which often prevail here_render the navigation dangerous. The Cattegat is noted for its herring fishery. It contains the islands Samsoe, Anholt, Lessoe and Hertzholm. CATTI; one of the most renowned and valiant German tribes. They inhabited what is now Hesse, also part of Franconia and Westphalia. They carried on bloody wars with the Hermunduri and Cherusci. In the time of Cæsar, they dwelt on the Lahn, and opposed him with effect. Drusus defeated without reducing them. In the reign of Marcus Aurelius, they made incursions into Germany and Thrace, but were afterwards defeated by Didius Juli anus. In 392, they made their last appearance in history in union with the Franks. According to Cæsar, their territory was divided into 100 districts, each of which was obliged to send annually 1000 men into the field, whose place was supplied the following year by those who had before remained at home to cultivate the ground. Their food was milk, cheese and game; their dress, the skins of animals. Their limited princes, who governed in connexion with a diet, annually distributed the lands among the families. (See Germania.) CATULLUS, Caius Valerius, a famous Roman poet, born, B. C. 86, at Verona (according to some, at Sirmium, a small town on a peninsula of lake Benacus, now lago di Garda), of rich and respectable parents, went, in his youth, to Rome, where his accomplishments soon won him the favor of those who adorned that splendid era. He was the friend of Cicero, of Plancus, Cinna, and Cornelius Nepos; to the last he subsequently dedicated the collection of his poems. This collection is not of great extent, but shows what he was capable of doing in several kinds of poetry, had he preferred a steady course of study to pleasure and travelling. Probably a part of his poems have not come down to us. Of the merit of his productions, there has been but one opinion among the ancients as well as moderns. Tibullus and Ovid eulogize him; and Martial, in one of his epigrams, grants to him alone a superiority over himself. In sportive composition and in epigrams, when he keeps within the proper limits of that species of poetry, he is a model. He succeeded, also, in heroic verse, as in his beautiful episode of Ariadne, which appears to have inspired the poet who afterwards sung of Dido. He was the first of the Romans who successfully imitated the Greek lyric poetry. The four odes of his that remain to us make us feel a lively regret for the loss of the others. A weighty objection, however, against most of his writings, is their licentiousness and indelicacy. The common opinion is, that he died 57 B. C., in the 30th year of his age. Scaliger maintains, but without sufficient proof, that he died in his 71st year. The edition of his works by Volpius (Padua, 1737), and that of Döring (Leipsic, 1788-90, 2 vols.), deserve honorable mention. His poems are usually published with those of Tibullus and Propertius. CAUBUL, OF CABUL. (See Afghanistan.) Western Asia, extending from south-east to north-west, and occupying the isthmus (containing 127,140 square miles) between the Black and Caspian seas. The length is computed at 644 miles; the breadth is various; from Mosdok to Tiflis it may be estimated at 184 miles. Torrents, precipices and avalanches render the mountains almost impassable. The Caucasus is divided into two parallel chains. The central ridge, from which the mountains fall off on each side, consists of various sorts of granite. The summits are covered with snow and ice, and are mostly barren; the lower parts are clothed with thick forests. On the western declivity is the Elburs, which a Russian measurement makes 16,700 feet high. The Casibeg is 17,388 feet high. The most elevated summit (the Snowy mountain) is on the eastern side, west of the Cuban. It was first ascended by a European traveller in 1810. It is also called Schahdagh (King's mountain) and Schah-Elburs; Elburs being the common name of all the high, conical summits rising from the chain of the Caucasus. The limit of perpetual snow on these mountains is 1890 feet higher than on the Alpine regions of Savoy and Switzerland. Two of the passes, or gates, as they are often called, are remarkable-the Caucasian pass and the Albanian or Caspian pass. Most of the rivers, which take their rise in the Caucasus, flow in an easterly direction to the Caspian sea, or in a westerly course to the Black sea. On the northern declivity, the Terek flows easterly into the Caspian, and the Cuban westerly into the Black sea: beyond these rivers, the mountainous chain sinks down, by degrees, to the sandy plains in the south of Russia. On the southern declivity, the Kur flows easterly into the Caspian, and the Rioni (called by the ancients the Phasis) westerly into the Black sea: beyond these rivers rise the mountains of Turkish and Persian Armenia, which connect the Caucasus with the other chains of Western Asia. The highest ridge of the Caucasian chain is rugged and barren, but the southern declivity is extremely fruitful. The whole surface of the country abounds in forests and fountains, orchards and vineyards, cornfields and pastures, in rich alternation. Grapes and various kinds of fleshy fruits, chestnuts and figs, grow spontaneously. Grain of every description, rice, cotton and hemp flourish abundantly. But agriculture is much neglected; partly owing to the indolence of the inhabitants, and partly to their want of numbers and of security, as the people of the mountains, particularly the Lesghians, in their plundering expeditions, rob the cultivators of the fruits of their industry, and carry off the men for slaves. There are multitudes of wild animals of every description here. The pheasant is a native. The mineral kingdom is full of the richest treasures, which are nearly untouched. Mineral waters abound, and there are fountains of petroleum and naphtha in many districts. Some fountains throw up a slime with the petroleum, which, being deposited, forms hills, styled by the natives growing mountains. The medicinal baths of Caucasia are called by the general name of the baths of Alexander. The inhabitants consist of small tribes of various origin and language-Georgians, Abassians, Lesghians, Ossetes, Circassians, Taschkents, Khists, Ingooshes, Charabulaks, Tshetshenzes, Tartars, Armenians, Jews, and, in some regions, wandering Arabs. Some of them are Greek and Armenian Christians; others are Mohammedans; others, Jews; and others worship stars, mountains, rocks and trees. Many of the tribes are distinguished for the beauty, symmetry and strength of their frames, particularly the Circassians and Georgians, who are the handsomest people in the world; hence the charming Circassian and Georgian females are sought for by the Eastern monarchs for their harams. The Caucasians (about 900,000 in all) are partly under petty sovereigns, who often rule over a few villages, and partly under elders. The most famous are the Lesghians, who inhabit the Eastern regions, and are the terror of the Armenians, Persians, Turks and Georgians. Freedom makes them courageous and formidable to all their neighbors. They are forced, by the want of the most common necessaries of life, to resort to plunder. Hence their weaker neighbors seek to appease them with presents. The rocks and crags, on the other hand, protect the Lesghians effectually from all external assaults. This tribe entirely neglects the arts; and their agriculture and pasturage together are insufficient for their support. The management of domestic affairs rests wholly with the females. These prepare, from soft and fine wool, cloth dresses and coverings of various kinds. The men have no employment but war and plunder, whereby to procure the necessaries of life. Every prince in the neighborhood can purchase their aid, by furnishing them with provisions and 10 or 12 rubles of silver apiece. They undertake private expeditions, lull their enemies into security, and then attack them unawares. They show the greatest fortitude in enduring hardships and reverses of fortune. Among them, and, in fact, throughout the Caucasus, hospitality and an implacable spirit of revenge prevail. No stranger can travel in their country without having a friendly native or Kunak to accompany him, by whom he is every where introduced, and kindly received and entertained. All the regions on and about the Caucasus are comprehended under the name of Caucasian countries (containing 116,078 square miles and 1,673,500 inhabitants). Since the peace concluded between Russia and Persia, in 1813, they have belonged to the Russian empire, though without being completely subject to it; for only a small portion, the Georgian territories, have a well ordered government, mostly military. The Caucasian provinces are, at present, six in number:-1. The province of Tiflis or Grusia, also called Georgia (17,630 square miles, and 390,000 inhabitants; the capital, Tiflis, q. v.).—2. Imiretta, called by the Russians Melitenia (13,667 square miles, and 270,000 inhabitants; capital, Cotatis). 3. The province of Circassia, (32,526 square miles, and 550,000 inhabitants). Here are Russian military posts (to guard against the attacks of the independent princes of the mountains), the Great and Little Kabarda, Besghistan, &c.-4. Daghestan, i. e., the mountain land on the Caspian sea (9196 square miles, and 184,000 inhabitants; Derbent is its capital).-5. Schirvan (9429 square miles, 133,000 inhabitants), with Bakou, the best harbor in the Caspian. This region, from its abundance of beautiful flowers, is called the Paradise of Roses. In the neighborhood are the fountains of naphtha, to which the Parsees perform pilgrimages from India. Here, too, is the temple of fire, where a fire is kept perpetually burning.-Beyond Terek, on the northern side of Caucasus, lies, 6. the province of Caucasia (previous to 1822, the government of Georgievsk), containing 33,586 square miles, with 146,500 inhabitants, of whom 21,000 are Russians and 48,000 colonists. Here are 22 fortified places (as Georgievsk, Kizliar (a commercial city, with a population of 9000), Alexandrovsk, &c.) along the Cuban, the Kama and the Terek, as defences against the savage tribes of the mountains. Since 1825, Stavropol has been the capital of this province, and general Jermoloff |
