The greatest of his contemporaries was Cicero, who by sheer energy and ability had worked his way to the highest offices, and had rescued the state from a dangerous conspiracy. Though he was a consummate political orator, Cicero’s tastes lay chiefly in the direction of literary and philosophic composition, pleasant country life, and association with intellectual men. Cæsar tried to win him as a political ally; but Cicero and those intimate associates that loved the Republic feared Cæsar’s autocratic methods and ambition. This aloofness of the intellectual class drove Cæsar to seek friends and helpers in the lower ranks of society and among his subordinate military officers. Although a few of these people served him faithfully, the great majority were incompetent to fill the offices that he gave them, and were bent only on shirking duty and enriching themselves. On such a basis no man, however great, can build up a just and efficient system of government.
CICERO
In the Vatican Museum, Rome
CICERO
In the Madrid Museum. Considered the most authentic marble portrait of the great orator
From History of Rome, by G. W. Botsford, The Macmillan Co., Publishers
POMPEY