Caesar, Julius; Rome -- History -- Republic, 265-30 B.C.
Of course, it was to be expected that they would sometimes quarrel among
themselves about the spoils. Ambitious men were always arising, eager to
obtain opportunities to make fresh conquests, and to bring home new
supplies, and those who were most successful in making the results of
their conquests available in adding to the wealth and to the public
enjoyments of the city, would, of course, be most popular with the
voters. Hence extortion in the provinces, and the most profuse and
lavish expenditure in the city, became the policy which every great man
must pursue to rise to power.
[Sidenote: His success.]
Caesar entered into this policy with his whole soul, founding all his
hopes of success upon the favor of the populace. Of course, he had many
rivals and opponents among the patrician ranks, and in the Senate, and
they often impeded and thwarted his plans and measures for a time,
though he always triumphed in the end.
[Sidenote: He is made quaestor.]
[Sidenote: Caesar leaves Spain.]
[Sidenote: His project.]
One of the first offices of importance to which he attained was that of
_quaestor_, as it was called, which office called him away from Rome
into the province of Spain, making him the second in command there. The
officer first in command in the province was, in this instance, a
praetor. During his absence in Spain, Caesar replenished in some degree
his exhausted finances, but he soon became very much discontented with
so subordinate a position. His discontent was greatly increased by his
coming unexpectedly, one day, at a city then called Hades--the present
Cadiz--upon a statue of Alexander, which adorned one of the public
edifices there. Alexander died when he was only about thirty years of
age, having before that period made himself master of the world. Caesar
was himself now about thirty-five years of age, and it made him very sad
to reflect that, though he had lived five years longer than Alexander,
he had yet accomplished so little. He was thus far only the second in a
province, while he burned with an insatiable ambition to be the first in
Rome. The reflection made him so uneasy that he left his post before his
time expired, and went back to Rome, forming, on the way, desperate
projects for getting power there.
[Sidenote: Caesar accused of treason.]
His rivals and enemies accused him of various schemes, more or less
violent and treasonable in their nature, but how justly it is not now
possible to ascertain. They alleged that one of his plans was to join
some of the neighboring colonies, whose inhabitants wished to be
admitted to the freedom of the city, and, making common cause with them,
to raise an armed force and take possession of Rome. It was said that,
to prevent the accomplishment of this design, an army which they had
raised for the purpose of an expedition against the Cilician pirates was
detained from its march, and that Caesar, seeing that the government
were on their guard against him, abandoned the plan.
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