As it is our design to follow the political rather than the military career of this extraordinary adventurer, we shall not detain our readers with a detailed account of his eight campaigns in Gaul, nor of his two descents on Britain. He was not less ambitious of military fame, than desirous of unriy ailed power; and all his cam paigns were conducted with an ability, to which nothing but his own admirable Commenturica can suflici•ut justice. Ile contrived even to giy e a colour of justice and humanity to his bloody operations in Gaul, by stating himself as the protector of the native inhabitants, against the invasions of the I lelvetii and the Germans. l lis lau r•ls were indeed deeply stained with blood : for his wars in Gaul cost not less than one million two hundred thou sand lives. glut this goes for nothing in the estimation of those who aspire to the title of conquerors. The Ro mans, in particular, were regardless of the justice of their and the effusion of hostile blood ; and we shall perhaps search in vain in their history for a just war, except when they were engaged in the defence of Italy. Cesar gained two very important objects by his wars in Gaul ; a high military reputation, and an army devoted to his interests. Ile indeed omitted no means which could secure the attachment of his troops : he shared with them every clanger; and they had such con fidence in his skill, that they engaged with alacrity in whatever enterprize he thought proper to recommend. In the meantime he did not neglect his interest at Rome. l le frequently spent the winter in Cisalpinc Gaul, that he might the more easily communicate with his friends in Rome. Pompey and Crassus waited on hint at Luc ea, a town within his province, where they renewed their former association, and entered into an agreement respecting the partition of the empire. Pompey and Crassus were to stand for the consulship ; and at the expiration of their oflice, the former was to have Spain, with an army : Syria, the most lucrative province, was assigned to Crassus, with a sufficient military force to carry on such operations as he might choose to under take : whilst Cxsar only stipulated for himself the con tinuance of his government in Gaul, the poorest and most difficult station, but to him the most valuable, from the facility w Inch it afforded of accomplishing his views.' During Czesar's first expedition to Britain, an event occurred of great political consequence, w hiCh the Ro man writers hale generally considered as hastening the disastrous events which followed : this was the death of Julia, the wife of and daughter of Cesar. She is universally allowed to have been a wo man of great prudence and accomplishments, and to have had much influence both with her father and her husband. The poet Lucan laments her death as a pub lic. calamity, and as the signal of strife between her am bitious relatives.
Such was the general opinion respecting the disagree ment between these two poweiful rivals ; it was consi red as the immediate cause of the subversion of the comtnomvealth; but Cato said mat it was not their disa greement, but their union, which had ruined the state. It is certain, that both parties from this period began to consult more avowedly their 'itchy idual rest,. C now paid more than usual attention to all intell ro nc From the city ; and was at the utmost pains to secure every person who could be of sect is to him in the ( on. flict which he saw approaching. Ile now paid particu lar court to Cicero, who had been recalled fruit his ba nishment : he knew well the weak side of this great man, and by addressing his vanity, or as Cicero himself call ed it, his love of glory, he hoped to secure hi, neutrality.
if not his actise co-operation. For this purpose he con sulted his taste with regard to the public buildings which he intended to erect at Route ; carried on a close corres pondence with him during his campaign in Britain, and whilst chasing the painted say ages into their native woods. he read, criticised, and affected to admire the poetry of Cicero.
Whilst things were in this situation, Rome was the scene of the utmost confusion. Clodius had long, by in trigue and violence, interrupted the operations of the go eminent, and beingsuppot ted by the mob and a body of armed gladiators, he set at defiance the law s and the magistrates. Milo, a person of great courag•, and at tached to the senatorian party, resolved to combat him in his own way. For this purpose, he also hired a band of gladiators, and prepared to oppose force to force. Many sanguinary rencounters took place in the midst of the city ; and the streets were sometimes flowing with the blood of the slain. At last, Clodius and Alilo having met accidentally- about fifteen miles from Rome, a quar rel ensued,.and Clodius fell in the conflict. Unheard of outrages followed this event ; the populace carried the body into the senate-house, tore up the benches, and heaping them together, burnt the body on this new spe cies of funeral pile, and along with it burnt down the senate-house and several contiguous buildings. Pom pey's friends hinted at the necessity of a dictator, to put an end to these disorders ; but as this was a measure never resorted to but in cases of the utmost emergenc), and had become more than ever suspected since the dic tatorship of Sylla, it was at last concluded that Pompey should be named sole consul. Even Cato consented to this novel plan, as being the only remedy in the present distracted state of affairs at Rome. This step, however, gave great advantage to Cesar; he was already pre pared to make any demand; and he was 110W furnished with a pretext for doing it, under sonic colour of jus tice. His command in Gaul was soon to expire ; and according to the law s then in force. he must resign it before he could aspire to the honour of the consulship. To prevent the conjunction of civil and military power in the person of any individual, it had been ordained by the laws, that no man should enter the city. or even go beyond the limits of his province, without resigning hi% command, and dismissing his army ; and that no ore should be permitted to stand candidate for the consul ship, without appealing at Rome, and suing for it in per son. These formalities, however. had been dispet.sed with in the case of Pompey, who, though vested with a military- command in Spain, put only resided in Rome. but had been raised to the consulship.
Cesar, therefore, to keep pace with his rival. aspired to the same privileg-e, and asked, as a mere matter of justice. the other had obtained, but what. in his circumstances, would give him a great and decided su periority ; for the addition of consular power at Rome, to that of general in both the Gauls, was joining Italy it self to the provinces, and making him at once master of the empire. To promote these views, the tribunes in Caesar's interest moved, that, as he was detained abroad in the service of his country, and engaged in hazardous wars which required his presence, he should be ex empted from the law which enjoined the candidates for office to attend the canvass in person, and might be elected consul without presenting himself to the peo ple.