Give loose rein to their uncontrollable nature and to this untamed creature and expect that they will themselves set bounds to their licence; unless you act, this is the least of the things enjoined upon women by custom or law and to which they submit with a feeling of injustice. It is complete liberty or, rather, if we wish to speak the truth, complete licence that they desire.

Date frenos impotenti naturae et indomito animali et sperate ipsas modum licentiae facturas; nisi vos feceritis, minimum hoc eorum est, quae iniquo animo feminae sibi aut moribus aut legibus iniuncta patiuntur. Omnium rerum libertatem, immo licentiam, si vere dicere volumus, desiderant.

Original text (Latin)

Another quote →

Topics

More quotes by Cato the Elder

All Cato the Elder quotes →

You may also like

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Cato the Elder (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.