Having thus acquired, by the force of his arms, the whole Roman empire, Caesar returned to Rome the master of the world. He pardoned all who had carried arms against him ; he allowed the people to nominate the consuls ; he enlarged the number of the senators ; and, with his usual liberality, he again set up the sta tues of Pompey. Besides these acts of moderation and political wisdom, he ornamented Rome with the most magnificent buildings ; he rebuilt Carthage and Co rinth ; and he conceived many noble projects both of a pacific and a military character, which he was not des tined to realize.
The fresh honours with which the senate continued to load Cxsar, gave rise no doubt to the envies and jealousies of a body of men, who conspired against his life. At a public festival Caesar had repeatedly refused a diadem, which Mark Antony had offered for his ac ceptance ; and, notwithstanding this, a rumour was widely circulated that he aspired to the name of an office, of which he enjoyed all the splendid realities. Whatever were his designs, he conducted himself in a way which put down every suspicion ; and when he was informed of the jealousies of particular indivi duals, he declared that he would rather die once by treason than live in the continual apprehension of it. He went so far even as to disband his Spanish body guards, and thus to throw himself upon the affections of the Roman people.
Notwithstanding this generous confidence in his ene mies, the conspiracy which we have already mentioned became more daring 'in proportion to the facility of carrying it into execution. No fewer than sixty sena tors had combined themselves against him; and at the head of this band of pretended patriots stood Brutus and Cassius, the same men whose lives Cxsar had spared after the battle of Pharsalia. The one sought for the equivocal reputation of sacrificing all the ties of friendship and of gratitude to a virtue that assassins never feel ; while the other panted for revenge against a superior, whose pre-eminence had mortified his pride, and exasperated his hatred.
The rumour that the crown was to be offered to Cesar on the ides of March, (which was itself proba bly the invention of the conspirators,) induced them to fix upon that day for the execution of their designs— and thus to sanction their atrocities by making them appear to be the punishment of a crime which existed only in their own imaginations. Among the fables of
Roman superstition, it has been said that the augurs had predicted that this day would be fatal to Cesar; and on the night preceding, his wife Calphurnia is re ported to have dreamt of his assassination. These unlucky omens are said to have changed his designs of going that day to the senate ; but one of the conspira tors prevailed upon him to persist in his resolution.
No sooner had Caesar taken his place in the senate house, than the conspirators approached near his per son. Cimber advanced as a suppliant, to request the remission of a sentence of banishment which had been passed upon his brother. The conspirators seconded this application, and, when Cimber gave the signal by taking hold of the bottom of Cxsar's robe, Casca stabbed him from behind in the shoulder, when Caesar instantly turned round, and struck him on the arm with the style of his tablet. The conspirators now thronged around him, and he received a wound in the breast, while Cassius stabbed him in the face. In this crisis Caesar defended himself with vigour, and threw down the opposing conspirators ; when on a sudden he saw Brutus among the number, who came up and drove his dagger into his thigh. Astonished at the desertion of his friend, C:esar uttered the celebrated exclamation, Et tit Brute, you too, Brutus," and, muffling up his face in his robe, he sank at the base of Pompey's statue pierced with twenty-three wounds.
Having thus accomplished their object, the conspi rators attempted to vindicate their conduct before the senate ; but though they alleged that they had freed their country of a tyrant, and were actuated by no other motives than a love of freedom, yet the people distrusted their professions ; and the conspirators re tired for safety to the capitol, the approaches of which Brutus had defended by a body of gladiators.
Though these blood-stained patriots, however, had freed Rome of one whom they considered to be her oppressor, they made no provision for protecting the commonwealth from those ebullitions of popular frenzy which such au event might excite ; and they had de vised no schemes, and proposed no sacrifices, for pre venting other tyrants from starting up from the tomb of Cxsar.