forgiving, and yet never relinquish the
vital thing--this is to be great.

To know when to be generous and when firm--this is wisdom.

The first requisite in ruling others is to rule one's own spirit.

The suavity, moderation, dignity and wise diplomacy of Caesar led him by
sure and safe steps from a lowly clerkship to positions of gradually
increasing responsibility. At thirty-seven he was elected Pontifex
Maximus--the head of the State Religion.

Between Pagan Rome and Christian Paganism there is small choice--all
State religions are very much alike. Caesar was Pope: and no State
religion since his time has been an improvement on that of Caesar.

In his habits Caesar was ascetic--a scholar by nature. He was tall,
slender, and in countenance sad. For the intellect Nature had given him,
she had taken toll by cheating him in form and feature. He was
deliberate and of few words--he listened in a way that always first
complimented the speaker and then disconcerted him.

By birth he was a noble, and by adoption one of the people. He was both
plebeian and patrician.

His military experience had been but slight, though creditable, and his
public addresses were so few that no one claimed he was an orator. He
had done nothing of special importance, and yet the feeling was
everywhere that he was the greatest man in Rome. The nobles feared him,
trembling at thought of his displeasure. The people loved him--he called
them, "My children."

Caesar was head of the Church, but politically there were two other
strong leaders in Rome, Pompey and Crassus. These two men were rich, and
each was at the head of a large number of followers whom he had armed as
militia "for the defense of State." Caesar was poor in purse and could
not meet them in their own way even if so inclined. He saw the danger of
these rival factions. Strife between them was imminent--street fights
were common--and it would require only a spark to ignite the tinder.

Caesar the Pontiff--the man of peace--saw a way to secure safety for the
State from these two men who had armed their rival legions to protect
it.

To secure this end he would crush them both.

The natural way to do this would have been to join forces with the party
he deemed the stronger, and down the opposition. But this done, the
leader with whom he had joined forces would still have to be dealt with.

Caesar made peace between Pompey and Crassus by joining with them,
forming a Triumvirate.