 Priscus, like "Major", may have been merely an epithet used to distinguish him from the later Cato of Utica.There is no precise information as to when he first received the title of Cato, which may have been given in childhood as a symbol of distinction.The qualities implied in the word Cato were acknowledged by the plainer and less outdated title of "Sapiens", by which he was so well known in his old age, that Cicero says, it became his virtual "cognomen".