In the Life of Cato Maior Plutarch looks at his main character with an attitude consisting of
admiration on one hand, of criticism and blame on the other. The concept of philanthropia
represents the key that opens the door to the criticism. Catos’s lack of philanthropia is responsible
for his philotimia, his deficient autarkeia and his want of sophrosyne. Even his political activity
undergoes the effects of this fundamental failure. This paper tries to explore how the structure
of the biography reflects the importance that Plutarch assigns to the central flaw of its
protagonist.