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Origines (Cato the Elder)
Origines
also: Originum, Originibus, Origins
Cato the Elder's seven-book history of Rome and the Italian peoples, the first major historical work in Latin prose; Cato says the seventh book is in hand and cites it for the self-sacrifice of Roman legions.
Reading notes
- Tusculan Disputations §1.3 Origines
Cato the Elder's Origines, the first history of Rome written in Latin, recording (among much else) the old custom of singing the deeds of famous men at banquets. Now lost except in fragments.
- Tusculan Disputations §4.3 his \textit{Origines}
The Origines of Cato the Elder, a lost history of Rome and the Italian peoples in seven books, the earliest historical work written in Latin prose. Cicero cites it for the old custom of singing the praises of famous men at banquets.