Origines

work by Cato

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July 1, 2026

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The Origines was the first history of Rome written in Latin, authored by Marcus Porcius Cato, also known as Cato the Censor. This work, of which only fragments survive, recounted the traditions surrounding Rome's founding and that of other Italian cities. Cato, a Roman statesman and orator, was a prominent figure known for his conservative and anti-Hellenic policies. He was the first significant Latin prose writer and championed traditional Roman values. While his Origines is lost, his treatise on agriculture, De agri cultura, is the oldest complete Latin prose work still in existence.1

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Marcus Porcius Cato
He was the author of Origines, the first history of Rome composed in Latin. This work, of whose seven books only a few fragments survive, related the traditions of the founding of Rome and other Italian cities. Cato’s only surviving work is De agri cultura (On Farming), a treatise on…
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He was the author of Origines, the first history of Rome composed in Latin. This work, of whose seven books only a few fragments survive, related the traditions of the founding of Rome and other Italian cities. Cato’s only surviving work is De agri cultura (On Farming), a treatise on…
Read More