<P> The action of the play involves the forces of Cato at Utica, awaiting the attack of Caesar immediately following his victory at Thapsus (46 BC). The noble sons of Cato, Portius and Marcus, are both in love with Lucia, the daughter of Lucius, an ally of Cato . Juba, prince of Numidia, one of Cato's warriors, loves Cato's daughter Marcia . Meanwhile, Sempronius, a senator, and Syphax, a general of the Numidians, are conspiring secretly against Cato, hoping to prevent the Numidian army from supporting him . In the final act, Cato commits suicide, leaving his followers to make their peace with the approaching army of Caesar--an easier task after Cato's death, since he was Caesar's most implacable enemy . </P> <P> Addison wrote the popular church hymn "The Spacious Firmament on High", publishing it in The Spectator in 1712 . It is sung either to the tune known as "London (Addison's)" by John Sheeles, written c. 1720, or to "Creation" by Joseph Haydn, 1798 . </P> <P> The later part of Addison's life was not without its troubles . In 1716, he married Charlotte, Dowager Countess of Warwick, after working for a time as a tutor for her son . His political career continued, and he served as Secretary of State for the Southern Department from 1717 to 1718 . His political newspaper, The Freeholder, was much criticized, and Alexander Pope, in An Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot, made him an object of derision, naming him "Atticus", and comparing him to an adder, "willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike ." His wife was arrogant and imperious; his stepson, Edward Rich, was an unfriendly rake . Addison's shyness in public limited his effectiveness as a member of Parliament . He eventually fell out with Steele over the Peerage Bill of 1719 . In 1718, Addison was forced to resign as Secretary of State because of his poor health, but he remained an MP until his death at Holland House, London, on 17 June 1719 (age 48). Addison was buried in Westminster Abbey . After his death, an apocryphal story circulated that Addison, on his deathbed, had sent for his wastrel stepson to witness how a Christian man meets death . </P> <P> On 6 April 1808, a town in upstate New York, (Middletown) was renamed Addison, in his honor . </P>

Who wrote the spectator's account of himself