Nevertheless, Cæsar’s friends went to him in great numbers to demonstrate that Pompey’s laws had been all brought forward against his interest, and that it was essential that he should be on his guard against him. Cæsar, proud in the justice of his claims, and strong in the services he had rendered, distrusted neither his son-in-law nor destiny, encouraged them, and praised greatly the conduct of Pompey.[767] [Sidenote: Pompey takes as his Associate Cæcillus Metellus Pius Scipio.] V. About the first of August, Pompey chose his father-in-law Scipio as his associate in the consulship, for the last five months. This partition of power, purely nominal, and which was subsequently imitated by the emperors, appeared to satisfy men who thought only of forms. The senators boasted of having restored order without injuring the institutions of the Republic.[768] Scipio sought to signalise his short administration by abolishing the law of Clodius, which permitted the censors to expel from the Senate only men who had already undergone a condemnation. He restored things to the old footing, by rendering the power of the censors almost unlimited. This change was not received with favour, as Scipio had expected. The old consulars, among whom the censors were usually chosen, found the responsibility of such functions dangerous in a time of trouble and anarchy. Instead of being sought as an honour, the censorship was avoided as a perilous post.[769] It was every day more evident, in the eyes of all men of judgment, that the institutions of the Republic were becoming more and more powerless to guarantee order within, and perhaps even peace without. The Senate could no longer meet, the comitia be held, or the judges render judgment, without the protection of a military force; it was necessary, therefore, to place themselves at the discretion of a general, and to abdicate all authority into his hands. Thus, while the popular instinct, which is rarely deceived, saw the safety of the Republic in the power of a single individual, the aristocratic party, on the contrary, saw danger only in this general tendency towards one man. For this reason Cato inscribed himself among the candidates for the consulship for the year 703, denouncing Pompey and Cæsar as equally dangerous, and declaring that he only aspired to the first magistracy to counteract their ambitious designs. This competition, opposed to the spirit of the time and to the powerful instincts which were in play, had no chance of success: the candidature of Cato was defeated without difficulty. [Sidenote: Insurrection of Gaul, and Campaign of 702.]