[Sidenote: The Pharsalia.] Lucan wrote several works, chiefly in verse, but the only, one extant is an epic poem in ten books, entitled _De Bello Civili_ (_On the Civil War_), ordinarily called _Pharsalia_, in which he tells the story of the civil war to the time when Cæsar was besieged at Alexandria. The narrative is prosaic and somewhat dull, but the tedium is relieved by vivid descriptions and really eloquent speeches. The chief historical source is Livy, though other writers seem to have been consulted. Some inaccuracies detract from the historical value of the poem. The diction is in the main Virgilian, though it is evident that Lucan had studied Horace and Ovid. Geographical and mythological lore is sometimes needlessly displayed, and the author’s rhetorical training and ability are too evident. In Books I-III Lucan is still friendly to Nero, whom he flatters in Book I, 33-66, though throughout the entire work Cæsar, the founder of the empire, is the constant object of the poet’s hostility. In the first three books Pompey is the hero, and Cato and Brutus are spoken of with admiration. The opposition to Cæsar does not, however in Lucan’s case, indicate hostility to the empire and a desire to return to the republican form of government; in fact, Lucan’s participation in the conspiracy of Piso, which had for its purpose the overthrow of Nero and the substitution of a good emperor in his place, shows that he accepted the imperial form of government as the only one possible. As a specimen of Lucan’s spirit, and of the speeches which lend brilliancy to his pages, we may take the address of Cato to the Roman soldiers of Pompey’s army in Egypt after Pompey’s death, when the army was on the point of joining Cæsar: