JULIUS (LESAR. 163 



liarities of Cicero's character, and his political position in 

 regard to the great men who figure in the events before us. 



The early life of Caesar affords two or three anecdotes 

 which we cannot well distrust, seeing how entirely they 

 accord with his later acts. His bold and successful collision 

 with Sylla, then in the fullness of power and enforcing his 

 will with blood, and the chivalrous transaction with the 

 Cilician pirates, are instances of the strong determination, 

 self-confidence, and personal intrepidity so amply shown in 

 the sequel. The moral courage of the youth is said to have 

 drawn a prediction from Sylla of the future fortune of the 

 man. Such stories are often begotten by the event ; but we 

 can easily believe that Sylla might discover in a character 

 having so much kindred with his own, those elements which 

 are sure to be effective in a State bordering on dissolution. 



The other information we possess as to the early part of 

 Caesar's life, with the exception of his study of rhetoric at 

 Ehodes, places him before us as a reckless spendthrift, a city 

 voluptuary, a fearless politician and partisan. His relation- 

 ship to Marius gave name and foundation to a course of 

 action which he would probably have pursued had no such 

 connection existed. For though, in this instance also, we 

 think Mr. Merivale too decided in assigning motives and 

 method to political conduct, yet we cannot doubt that Caesar, 

 conscious of and confiding in his own powers, and observant 

 of the decay of ancient institutions and ancient republican 

 virtues around him, must have felt that a great arena was 

 open to the exercise of these powers, and to the ambition 

 which their possession was sure to inspire. Under such im- 

 pressions he took the line of party most natural to him as 

 the nephew of Marius, and offering a surer road to influence 

 than the adhesion to a jealous, intriguing, and tottering aris- 

 tocracy. Without pretending to affirm it, we see no cause 

 to suppose more of scheme or foresight than this in Caesar's 



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