Page:Plutarch's Lives (Clough, v.4, 1865).djvu/383

 begin to speak, when I have that to say which had not better be unsaid."

The great Porcian Hall, as it was called, had been built and dedicated to the public use by the old Cato, when sedile. Here the tribunes of the people used to transact their business, and because one of the pillars was thought to interfere with the convenience of their seats, they de- liberated whether it were best to remove it to another place, or to take it away. This occasion first drew Cato, much against his will, into the forum ; for he opposed the demand of the tribunes, and in so doing, gave a speci- men both of his courage and his powers of speaking, which gained him great admiration. His speech had nothing youthful or refined in it, but was straightfor- ward, full of matter, and rough, at the same time that there was a certain grace about his rough statements which won the attention ; and the speaker's character showing itself in all he said, added to his severe language something that excited feelings of natural pleasure and interest. His voice was full and sounding, and sufficient to be heard by so great a multitude, and its vigor and capacity of endurance quite indefatigable ; for he often would speak a whole day, and never stop.

When he had carried this cause, he betook himself again to study and retirement. He employed himself in inuring his body to labor and violent exercise; and habituated himself to go bareheaded in the hottest and the coldest weather, and to walk on foot at all seasons. When he went on a journey with any of his friends, though they were on horseback and he on foot, yet he would often join now one, then another, and converse with them on the way. In sickness, the patience he showed in supporting, and the abstinence he used for curing his distempers, were admirable. When he had an ague, he would remain