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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 824.5 EAN: 9780865974432 ISBN: 0865974438 Label: Liberty Fund Inc. Manufacturer: Liberty Fund Inc. Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 308 Publication Date: December 01, 2004 Publisher: Liberty Fund Inc. Studio: Liberty Fund Inc. Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: "A day, an hour, of virtuous liberty is worth a whole eternity in bondage." -- Joseph Addison, Cato 1713. Joseph Addison was born in 1672 in Milston, Wiltshire, England. He was educated in the classics at Oxford and became widely known as an essayist, playwright, poet, and statesman. First produced in 1713, Cato, A Tragedy inspired generations toward a pursuit of liberty. Liberty Fund's new edition of Cato: A Tragedy, and Selected Essays brings together Addison's dramatic masterpiece along with a selection of his essays that develop key themes in the play. Cato, A Tragedy is the account of the final hours of Marcus Porcius Cato (95-46BC), a Stoic whose deeds, rhetoric, and resistance to the tyranny of Caesar made him an icon of republicanism, virtue, and liberty. By all accounts, Cato was an uncompromisingly principled man, deeply committed to liberty. He opposed Caesar's tyrannical assertion of power and took arms against him. As Caesar's forces closed in on Cato, he chose to take his life, preferring death by his own hand to a life of submission to Caesar. Addison's theatrical depiction of Cato enlivened the glorious image of a citizen ready to sacrifice everything in the cause of freedom, and it influenced friends of liberty on both sides of the Atlantic. Captain Nathan Hale's last words before being hanged were, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country," a close paraphrase of Addison's "What pity is it that we can die but once to serve our country!" George Washington found Cato such a powerful statement of liberty, honor, virtue, and patriotism that he had it performed for his men at Valley Forge. And Forrest McDonald says in his Foreword that "Patrick Henry adapted his famous 'Give me liberty or give me death' speech directly from lines in Cato." Despite Cato's enormous success, Addison was perhaps best-known as an essayist. In periodicals like the Spectator, Guardian, Tatler, and Freeholder, he sought to educate England's developing middle class in the habits, morals, and manners he believed necessary for the preservation of a free society. Addison's work in these periodicals helped to define the modern English essay form. Samuel Johnson said of his writing, "Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the study of Addison." Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Defeated by Julius Caesar and Yet Is Honored Long Afterwards for Political VirtueThe Roman senator, Cato the Younger (95 BC - 46 BC) stubbornly resisted Julius Caesar's rise to power, but was ultimately defeated by Caesar in north Africa. Addison's play focuses on the last days of Cato's life, as Caesar's forces advanced. Although others urged Cato to come to terms with Julius Caesar, Cato resists to the end, finally committing suicide rather than surrendering. This tragedy has strong political overtones, addressing the conflict between individual liberty and government tyranny ... Read More Rating:  - A seminal and welcome addition to the growing library of literature promoting conservative values Collaboratively and expertly co-edited by academicians Christine Dunn Henderson and Mark E. Yellin (both of whom are Fellows at Liberty Fund), Cato: A Tragedy, And Selected Essays is a compilation of the writings of Joseph Addison, beginning with his "Cato: A Tragedy" which is an account of the final hours of Marcus Porcius Cato (95-46 B.C.), a Stoic whose deeds, rhetoric, and resistance to the tyranny of Julius Caesar made him an icon of republicanism, virtue, and liberty to this very day. Although ... Read More Rating: - The American Founding Fathers Favorite PlayJoseph Addison's (1672-1719) Play "Cato: A Tragedy", first staged in 1713, inspired many enlightened thinkers in the 18th century with its portrayal of the Roman senator Cato the Younger's (95-46 B.C.E.) willingness to commit suicide rather than to live under the tyrannical rule of Julius Caesar. The play takes place during Cato's final hours of resistance to Caesar. George Washington remarked it was his favorite play and had it performed for his men in Valley Forge during the revolution. Washington ... Read More 
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