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in authority. Though he was baffled in several of 

 these attempts, he did not fail to gain his end, by 

 thus securing the admiration and confidence of the 



multitude. His purse was always open to the indi- 

 gent ; his eloquence and hia patronage were at the 

 service of the most profligate : his only c/.-ject was 

 to gain devoted partisans, and he was nowise scrupu- 

 lous about the means employed to obtain them. He 

 oon had a proof of the favour of the people, in car- 

 rying the office of tribune of the soldiers, in opposi- 

 tion to a powerful competitor ; and, shortly after, it 

 was manifested in a more decided manner, when he 

 pronounced the funeral oration of his aunt Julia, the 

 wife of Marius. On this occasion, he had the hardi- 

 ness to produce the images of Marius, which had 

 not been seen during the administration of Sylla and 

 the prevalence of his party, as all of the Marian fac- 

 tion had been declared to be enemies to the state. A 

 great clamour was raised against Czsar by the pa- 

 trician party, whose authority had been established 

 by Sylla ; and it is probable that he might have 

 suffered for this indiscretion, had he net been sup- 

 ported by the unanimous voice of the people, whose 

 acclamations and avowed admiration showed his ene- 

 mies that it would be in vain to attempt any thing 

 against him. 



He continued to cultivate the favour of the people 

 by acts of unbounded munificence ; and those who 

 had begun to apprehend danger from his designs, 

 now dismissed their fears, lay anticipating the total 

 ruin of his fortune. His expenditure during his 

 aedileship, in the exhibition of games and public en- 

 tertainments, exceeded any thing that had been seen 

 at Rome on similar occasions. He produced three 

 hundred and twenty pair of gladiators, to slaughter 

 each other for public amusement ; a kind of entertain- 

 ment of which the Roman people were distractedly 

 fond, and which sufficiently marks their brutal and 

 ferocious character.* In the midst of these popular 

 exhibitions, he ventured to give a still more daring 

 and decided proof of his contempt for the aristocra- 

 tical party, than any which he had hitherto displayed. 

 He caused images of Marius to be made of the most 

 costly materials, and most exquisite workmanbhip, 

 together with a representation of his victories over 

 the Cimbri, and in one night placed them in the ca- 

 pital. Nothing could exceed the public astonish- 

 ment, when they were next day exhibited to view. 

 The senate was assembled on the occasion ; and Lu- 

 tatius Catulus, one of the principal men of Rome, 

 publicly accused Coesar of a design against the state, 

 declaring, that no longer content with sapping the 

 foundation of the commonwealth, he now attacked it 

 by open force. But Caesar's abilities, profusion, and 

 intrepidity, had secured him so many friends, even in 

 the senate, that he was publicly acquitted. 



After this success, he ventured to measure his 

 strength with the principal nr.cn of Rome. The of- 

 fice of Ponlifcx Maximus falling vacant by the death 

 of Metellus, Lutatius Catulus, prince of the senate, 

 and Strvilius Isauricus, a man of high military repu- 



tation, u:>;!er whom Cx&ar lad served hit firit cam- Cc*r. 

 paign, declared themselves candidates. Cesar, though 

 greatly inferior both in age and dignity, ventured, 

 > enter the list* with thcce powerful 

 competitor!. He seems to have staked his prospects 

 and his influence on the issue of this contest ; for 

 when his mother, on the day of election, expressed 

 her anxiety* he declared, that she should that day 

 either see him high priest, or an exile. Never was 

 any election more keenly contested. It was a trial 

 of strength between the patrician and popular parties; 

 and the triumph of Czsar was so complete, as scarcely 

 to leave any room for contest in future ; for on tak- 

 ing the sulfragcs, he had more votes against them in 

 their own tribes, than they were able to procure 

 among all the other citizens. Sueton. In Ctct. xiii. 



The same year in which Cx&ar obtained the priest* 

 hood, Catiline planned his famous conspiracy, which 

 has been so ably recorded by Sullust the historian, 

 and which procured so mucti eclat to Cicero, 

 the vigour which he manifested in its suppression. 

 Czsar was not only suspected, but publicly accused 

 of being privy to thin conspiracy; and it perhaps 

 would be difficult to defend him from the charge ; be 

 had probably more sense than to join his flourishing 

 fortunes with such a desperate adventurer as Catiline; 

 but it is as probable that he would rejoice in any 

 commotion, perhaps even -in the subvtrslon of thr 

 state, as this would afford a proper field fo*- the ex- 

 hibition of his talents, and for procuring that abs* 

 ascendency at which lie uniformly airr.ed. His 

 speech, recommending lenity to the conspirators, 

 was injudicious, considering the suspicions which were 

 attached to him, and had nearly been attended with 

 fatal consequences to himself: for Cato's speech in 

 opposition to the sentiments of Czsar, and in which, 

 as Plutarch informs us, he expressed his suspicions of 

 his principles, had produced such a spirit of enthusi- 

 asm on the minds of all who heard it, that the Roman 

 knights, who had assembled as a voluntary guard 

 around the person of Cicero, rushed upon Czsar 

 with their swords, as he left the senate-house, and 

 looking to the consul for a nod of approbation, would 

 have instantly dispatched him, had Cicero given his 

 assent. At this critical moment, Cicero interposing, 

 and covering him with his gown, rescued him from 

 his dangerous situation. 



Czsar was next, in the regular gradation of office, 

 advanced to theprxtorahip,and during his administra- 

 tion of this department, the commonwealth enjoyed 

 a short respite from his intrigues. A disagreeable 

 occurrence, however, happened in his family, w \ 

 seemed to give him but very little uneasiness. PubJius 

 Clodius, a young Patrician, of high birth and ample 

 fortune, but of the most abandoned and profligate 

 character, had entertained a criminal passion for 

 Pompeia, Czsar's wife, which she did not discourage ; 

 but they had no proper opportunity of an interview, 

 on account of the vigilance of Czsar's mother. It 

 was therefore agreed, that Clodius should be intro- 

 duced in woman's clothes, during the celebration of 



Credo, i:na .-.-/.> nullum Mlum tant>:n <.ittl. m wttitalemque ge*eri hutnono intvliuf, fuant k<u cd nJuptatrm MM. Aftmttvr 

 ' meiisis Eunytt stciu tietua capiltrm rqjttffap, tpt tru-tnis. Lipuus. Suiuro. i. 12. 



