Cassius was considerably older than Brutus, to whom he was related. He was a good officer: he bore a very high character in the army; and he had as _quæstor_, after the death of Crassus, held Syria against the Parthians: yet he was not better than the common run of Cæsar’s officers. He too had been in the ranks of the Pompeians, and when Cæsar, as he was pursuing Pompey, passed over to Asia, he was lying with a squadron of galleys in the Hellespont. Cæsar boldly went in a boat into the midst of his fleet, and asked him to go over to his side, which he did. Cæsar pardoned almost all his enemies: even Marcellus, who had mortally offended him, he forgave at the intercession of Cicero; and as far as in him lay, he tried altogether to do away with the consequences of the war. This year, Cæsar had appointed both Brutus and Cassius to the prætorship, which in fact was a troublesome office, affording but little gratification: the only honourable and lucrative prætorship was the _prætura urbana_ which formerly was given by lot.[16] This latter dignity both of them now tried to get. Cæsar gave it to Brutus, and this caused a quarrel between Brutus and Cassius. A meeting of the senate having been appointed for the fifteenth of March, there was a report that the motion was then to be brought forward to give Cæsar the crown. Cassius who both hated Cæsar of old, and also wished to revenge himself upon him for not having got the _prætura urbana_, made the first advances to Brutus, and sounded him as to whether he would conspire against Cæsar: in the night, inscriptions were left on Brutus’ tribunal and house, which bade him remember that he was a Brutus. Brutus at once held out his hand, and agreed to be reconciled. They enlisted several others, Cæsarians as well as Pompeians, a complete fusion of parties having taken place. Two of the chief conspirators were old generals of Cæsar, Decimus Brutus and C. Trebonius, both of whom he had raised to high honours: they had served in the Gallic war, and had been jointly commissioned to crush the noble town of Massilia. The number of accomplices is unknown; but the conspiracy indiscriminately comprehended people who had fought against each other at Pharsalus (704). No proposals were made to Cicero; but it is a pitiful calumny to say that his courage was mistrusted: to slander a great man in such a way, is really shameful.[17] They might have been quite sure of his courage; what they feared were his objections. Brutus had as fine a soul as any one could have, but he was passionate; Cicero, on the other hand, had arrived at mature age, and had become a sadder and a wiser man: his feelings moreover were of such extraordinary delicacy that he would never have betrayed his benefactor to whom he owed his life, a man who had always behaved towards him in the handsomest and noblest manner, and who had particularly distinguished him before the world as his friend.