Caesar, Julius; Rome -- History -- Republic, 265-30 B.C.
The shadow of a Pompeian Senate sat once
more, passing resolutions, at Utica; while Cato was busy organizing an
army, and had collected as many as thirteen legions out of the
miscellaneous elements which drifted in to him. Caesar had sent orders
to Cassius Longinus to pass into Africa from Spain, and break up these
combinations; but Longinus had been at war with his own provincials. He
had been driven out of the Peninsula, and had lost his own life in
leaving it. Caesar, like Cicero, had believed that the war had ended at
Pharsalia. He found that the heads of the Hydra had sprouted again, and
were vomiting the old fire and fury. Little interest could it give
Caesar to match his waning years against the blinded hatred of his
countrymen. Ended the strife must be, however, before order could be
restored in Italy, and wretched men take up again the quiet round of
industry. Heavy work had to be done in Rome. Caesar was consul
now--annual consul, with no ten years' interval any longer possible.
Consul, dictator, whatever name the people gave him, he alone held the
reins; he alone was able to hold them. Credit had to be restored;
debtors had to be brought to recognize their liabilities. Property had
fallen in value since the Civil Wars, and securities had to be freshly
estimated. The Senate required reformation; men of fidelity and ability
were wanted for the public offices. Pompey and Pompey's friends would
have drowned Italy in blood. Caesar disappointed expectation by
refusing to punish any one of his political opponents. He killed no
one. He deprived no one of his property. He even protected the
money-lenders, and made the Jews his constant friends. Debts he
insisted must be paid, bonds fulfilled, the rights of property
respected, no matter what wild hopes imagination might have indulged
in. Something only he remitted of the severity of interest, and the
poor in the city were allowed their lodgings rent free for a year.
He restored quiet, and gave as much satisfaction as circumstances
permitted. His real difficulty was with the legions, who had come back
from Greece. They had deserved admirably well, but they were
unfortunately over-conscious of their merits. Ill-intentioned officers
had taught them to look for extravagant rewards. Their expectations had
not been fulfilled; and when they supposed that their labors were over,
they received orders to prepare for a campaign in Africa. Sallust, the
historian, was in command of their quarters in Campania. They mutinied,
and almost killed him. He fled to Rome. The soldiers of the favored
10th legion pursued him to the gates, and demanded speech with Caesar.
He bade them come to him, and with his usual fearlessness told them to
bring their swords.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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