The primary theme of Cato, a Tragedy is liberty and the republic versus tyranny, as Cato and his followers fiercely oppose Julius Caesar’s tyrannical reign and want to fight to preserve the Roman Republic, and, by extension, their own liberties. Cato frequently extemporizes on the importance of liberty, and he preserves his personal liberty by committing suicide and avoiding surrender to Caesar’s tyranny. Cato is a senator who represents the republic of Rome and fiercely believes in its importance. When asked how Caesar could get back in Cato’s good graces, he insists on returning to the virtues of republicanism, saying that the ruler must “restore the commonwealth to liberty […] and stand the judgment of a Roman senate” (21).

A major theme in Cato is the importance of virtue and honor over passion and personal gain, as characters frequently put virtuous ideals and the greater good over their own emotions. Until the end, Marcia and Lucia both cast off Juba and Portius’s affections and their own romantic feelings because of Cato’s current trials and the effect that Lucia and Portius’s love will have on