Books II and III covered the origins of major Italian cities[1] and gave the work its title.
[4]In his books on the Italian cities, Cato apparently treated each individually and drew upon their own local traditions.
The other was his oration to the Senate supporting legislation to establish a special court of inquiry regarding Sulpicius Galba's treatment of the Lusitani.
[2] Although he avoided mentioning military commanders by name, the work's surviving fragments suggest that he also focused a great deal of attention on his own campaigns as a general.
[8] Festus felt that the last four books on Rome's rising power "outweighed the rest",[9] but later Roman historians largely disregarded the Origins because it eschewed consular dating[10] and highlighted his own political career so heavily.