Julius Cæsar was born in 100 or 101 B.C., and belonged to one of the most illustrious patrician families of Rome. From his boyhood, Cæsar was a favourite with the people. They liked his frank, bright ways, and then he spent money lavishly, and that was what they thought the young nobles ought to do. But they never dreamed that this youth was different from the other pleasure-loving youths of Rome, that in his heart he hid great ambitions, and had already, in his own way, begun to pave the way toward their fulfilment. That he was fearless and not easily turned away from his purpose he soon showed. Even of Sulla in his most powerful day he felt no dread. When Sulla commanded that all those who were connected with the party of Marius by marriage should send their wives away, Cæsar, who was then only nineteen years of age, refused to obey. So Cornelia stayed with her husband in spite of the danger they both knew they would incur by defying one of Sulla’s commands. Cæsar would indeed have lost his life, had not powerful friends begged Sulla to be merciful, adding that it was surely not necessary to put a mere boy to death. But Sulla was a reader of character, and he believed that Cæsar was too clever not to be dangerous to the State. To those who begged for his life, he said, ‘You know little if you do not see more than one Marius in that boy.’ When Cæsar heard what Sulla had said, he escaped to the Sabine hills and hid himself, until Rome should become a safer city. Some time after this the young patrician was on his way to Rhodes to study rhetoric, when he was captured by pirates. For this was before Pompey had cleared the seas of the terrible sea robbers. The pirates did not know how great a prize they had captured when they took Julius Cæsar prisoner, and they demanded merely twenty talents for his ransom. Cæsar laughed, for he valued himself at more than that modest sum, and offered them fifty talents. He then sent his followers away to raise the money, while he stayed alone with the pirates, save for one friend and two attendants. And this he did, although he knew that they often put their prisoners to death. For thirty-eight days he lived with them, sometimes amusing himself by joining in their sports, sometimes reading to them poems he had written, or rehearsing speeches he had prepared. To these they would listen, indeed, but without giving any applause. Then Cæsar would grow angry with them, calling them names, saying that when he was free he would crucify them. At other times, if he wished to sleep and the pirates were making a noise, he would send to bid them be quiet. The pirates laughed at the strange ways and words of their captive, and paid no heed to his threats. But Cæsar was in earnest when he was angry, and no sooner was his ransom paid and he set free, than the first thing he did was to hire ships to go in search of these very same pirates.