Aristides and Cato the Elder both made a name for justice and for living without show. Aristides was called the Just, and Athens ostracized him for it. Cato wore the rough cloak, counted the household, and made speeches against Greek luxury.

Plutarch thinks Aristides the purer of the two. Cato's harshness, to slaves and to Carthage and in his own house, keeps him below the Athenian. The justice of Aristides did not need an audience.