THE WIVES OF THE C.ESARS. 143 



acquiesced, to all appearance, in the wishes of his partisans, he 

 neglected not to waken their suspicions ; for, defending, upon pub- 

 lic principles, the project he abandoned, at the instances of private 

 intercession, he emphatically told his partisans, that " there were many 

 Mariuses in the person of' the youthful Ccesar." Cornelia died as 

 Caesar was about to leave the capital, to take on him the duties of a 

 quaestorship in Spain. He deeply felt the loss of this exalted female, 

 whose spirit was adapted to the peril of the times and, though hi- 

 therto the honour of a public eulogy had been restricted to the 

 funerals of aged women, Caesar delivered from the tribune * an ora- 

 tion on Cornelia, who had perished in the prime of life. Such was 

 the impressive sorrow and devotion which pervaded his address, that 

 the Roman populace retreated from the forum in perfect admiration 

 of his chaste and animated eloquence, which formed at once the 

 eulogy and lamentation of a wife, so justly honoured and so tenderly 

 beloved. Cornelia left a daughter, Julia, the future wife of Pompey. 

 If the affectionate fidelity of Cornelia endeared her memory to 

 Caesar, it was poignantly impressed on his remembrance by the cha- 

 racter of Pompeia, his succeeding wife. She was the daughter of 

 Q. Pompeius Rufus, and the niece of Sylla ; remarkable alike for 

 beauty, gaiety, and the susceptibility of her complexion. It is pro- 

 bable that her connexion with Caesar was rather the result of a poli- 

 tical arrangement than that of passion or esteem ; her affection or her 

 fancy was engrossed by Publius Clodius, a Roman of illustrious family, 

 ascending in antiquity above the origin of Rome itself. He was in the 

 flower of life ; opulent, profuse, and brave ; possessing some attractive 

 gracesof the mind, a lively and satiric wit and an ingratiating and polite 

 address. He was aperson of ungovernable passions, prone to turbulence 

 and even peril ; remorseless in his enmities, and utterly indifferent to re- 

 putation. His countenance, though eminently handsome, was expressive 

 of his character, and combined with an intrepid air, the profligacy of 

 a reckless libertine. Such was his contempt of censure t and opi- 



* The tribune from which Caesar spoke his funeral oration on Cornelia, 

 was destined to commemorate the mutual cruelty and triumph of prevailing 

 parties. It was stained by turns with the illustrious blood of either faction, in 

 the days of the proscriptions and triumvirates. Beyond the satisfaction of a 

 sanguinary vengeance, these horrible examples were designed to awe the 

 .Roman populace. The heads of the decapitated chiefs, the trophies of a stern 

 ferocity, were exultingly exhibited to the disgust and terror of the wondering 

 people. It was here that Marius exposed the head of Mark Anthony, the 

 grandfather of the triumvir an orator, who once had graced the self-same ros- 

 trum with triumphal spoils. Sylla had similarly stained it with the blood of 

 the younger Marius ; and Mark Anthony, the triumvir, with greater infamy 

 displayed upon that tribune, sanctified by eloquence and patriotism, the head 

 and hand of Cicero. 



t Ci Q,ui non pluris fecerat Bonam Beam, quam tres sorores, impunitatem 

 est eorum sententiis assecutus, qui cum tribunus plebis (Milo) paenas a sediti- 

 oso cive perbonos viros judicio persequi vellet, exemplum prseclarissimum in 

 posterum vindicandae seditionis de liepub. sustulerunt." M. T. C. P. Lentulo 

 Imp, Epist. 1.1. A long, an eloquent, but an elaborate epistle from Cicero to 

 Lentulus, which, while it exhibits the doctrine of political flexibility, a judi- 

 cious view of the respective strength of parties, and a vivid sense of personal 

 insecurity, displays the writer as a temporizing master of expedients ; in which 

 sincerity, patriotism and courage are postponed to objects of individual advan- 

 tage. 



