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JULIUS CLESAR. 161 



a natural result But it wanted that stability which unity 

 of person and purpose alone afford, and was dissolved by 

 the separation of the same ambitious interests which had 

 created it. 



The first effect of the Triumvirate was to give to Csesar 

 the Consulship, which he could not otherwise have obtained. 

 He was regarded by the aristocracy of Eome as too dangerous 

 a representative of the doctrines and acts of the Gracchi 

 and Marius to admit of their acquiescence in the power which 

 this office conferred on him. But the power was got ; the 

 colleague whom they thrust in to cripple it thrown violently 

 aside ; and the position of Caesar further confirmed by the 

 marriage of Pompey with his daughter. The uxorious tem- 

 perament of the latter offered a pledge and security to Caesar, 

 during the long absence from Eome which was close at hand 

 as the first act in his higher career. This career now lies 

 before us in a more definite form than heretofore ; and, 

 though more or less familiar to all, yet, considering the 

 grandeur of the man, the greatness of what he accomplished, 

 and the influence this has had upon all succeeding ages, we 

 may be excused for dwelling at some length on the subject. It 

 occupies, indeed, more than one half of the volumes before 

 us ; and we cannot hesitate in admitting that Mr. Merivale 

 has done it full justice. He rises in vigour as he gets free 

 from the complex intrigues of the city, and embodies in 

 his narrative that series of stirring events which carried 

 Caesar to single supremacy. To these events we would now 

 seek to direct attention. 



We have before noticed several foreign works, and parti- 

 cularly those of Meissner and Drumann, in which the life, 

 character, and policy of Julius Caesar are fully and ably 

 handled. In England we are chiefly indebted to Dr. Arnold 

 and to Mr. Long for what we possess on this subject; and in 



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