eep all his dignities and
honors; and he had gone out of his way to arrange an interview with him,
and he even condescended to enter into a friendly controversy. Cicero
had written a little treatise about his friend Cato; and as Cato had
been the consistent adversary of Caesar, and had killed himself rather
than fall into the hands of the master of Rome, it required no little
good nature in Caesar to take it in good part. He contented himself with
writing an answer, to which he gave the title of _Anti-Cato_, and in
which, while he showed how useless and unpractical the policy of Cato
had been, he paid the highest compliments to the genius and integrity of
the man. He even conferred upon Cicero the distinguished honor of a
visit; which the host thus describes in a letter to Atticus. "What a
formidable guest I have had! Still, I am not sorry; for all went off
very well. On December 8th he came to Philippus' house in the evening.
(Philippus was his brother-in-law.) The villa was so crammed with troops
that there was scarcely a chamber where the great man himself could
dine. I suppose there were two thousand men. I was really anxious what
might happen next day. But Barba Cassius came to my help, and gave me a
guard. The camp was pitched in the park; the house was strictly guarded.
On the 19th he was closeted with Philippus till one o'clock in the
afternoon. No one was admitted. He was going over accounts with Balbus,
I fancy. After this he took a stroll on the shore. Then came the bath.
He heard the epigram to Mamurra, (a most scurrilous epigram by
Catullus), and betrayed no annoyance. He dressed for dinner and sat
down. As he was under a course of medicine, he ate and drank without
apprehension and in the pleasantest humor. The entertainment was
sumptuous and elaborate; and not only this, but well cooked and seasoned
with good talk. The great man's attendants also were most abundantly
entertained in three other rooms. The inferior freedmen and the slaves
had nothing to complain of; the superior kind had an even elegant
reception. Not to say more, I showed myself a genial host. Still he was
not the kind of guest to whom we would say, 'My very dear sir, you will
come again, I hope, when you are this way next time.' There was nothing
of importance in our conversation, but much literary talk. What do you
want to know? He was gratified and seemed pleased to be with me. He told
me that he should be one day at Baiae, and another at