Meantime a new actor appeared upon the stage. Octavius was at Apollonia, a town on the coast of Illyricum, at the time of his uncle's death. Caesar had determined to take his nephew with him in his expedition against the Parthians, and had accordingly sent him to Apollonia, where a camp had been formed, that he might pursue his military studies. The soldiers now offered to follow him to Italy and avenge their leader's death, but he did not yet venture to take this decisive step. He determined, however, to sail at once to Italy, accompanied by only a few friends. Upon arriving at Brundusium he heard of the will of the Dictator, and was saluted by the soldiers as Caesar. As the adopted heir of his uncle his proper name was now C. Julius Caesar Octavianus, and by the last of these names we shall henceforth call him. He now made up his mind to proceed to Rome and claim his uncle's inheritance, in opposition to the advice of his mother, who dreaded this dangerous honor for her son. Upon arriving at Rome he declared before the Praetor, in the usual manner, that he accepted the inheritance, and he then promised the people to pay the money bequeathed to them. He even ventured to claim of Antony the treasures of his uncle; but, as the latter refused to give them up, he sold the other property, and even his own estates, to discharge all the legacies. Antony threw every obstacle in his way; but the very name of Caesar worked wonders, and the liberality of the young man gained the hearts of the people. He had, indeed, a difficult part to play. He could not join the murderers of his uncle; and yet Antony, their greatest enemy, was also his most dangerous foe. In these difficult circumstances the youth displayed a prudence and a wisdom which baffled the most experienced politicians. Without committing himself to any party, he professed a warm attachment to the Senate. Cicero had once more taken an active part in public affairs; and Octavian, with that dissimulation which he practiced throughout his life, completely deceived the veteran orator. On the 2d of September Cicero delivered in the Senate the first of his orations against Antony, which, in imitation of those of Demosthenes against Philip, are known by the name of the _Philippics_. Antony was absent at the time, but shortly afterward attacked the orator in unmeasured terms. Cicero replied in the Second Philippic, one of the most violent invectives ever written. It was not spoken, but was published soon after Antony had quitted Rome.