t his character
becomes tarnished, and that his high feelings are blunted by the party
which he takes and the men with whom he associates.

He did not, indeed, fall away altogether. The magistracy offered to him,
the lieutenancy offered to him, the "free legation" offered to him, the
last appeal made to him that he would go to Rome and speak a few
words--or that he would stay away and remain neutral--did not move him.
He did not turn conspirator and then fight for the prize, as Pompey had
done. But he had, for so many years, clung to Pompey as the leader of a
party; had had it so dinned into his ears that all must depend on
Pompey; had found himself so bound up with the man who, when appealed to
as to his banishment, had sullenly told him he could only do as Caesar
would have him; whom he had felt to be mean enough to be stigmatized as
Sampsiceramus, him of Jerusalem, the hero of Arabia; whom he knew to be
desirous of doing with his enemies as Sulla had done with his--that, in
spite of it all, he clung to him still!

I cannot but blame Cicero for this, but yet I can excuse it. It is hard
to have to change your leader after middle life, and Cicero could only
have changed his by becoming a leader himself. We can see how hopeless
it was. Would it not have been mean had he allowed those men to go and
fight in Macedonia without him? Who would have believed in him had he
seemed to be so false? Not Cato, not Brutus, not Bibulus, not Scipio,
not Marcellus. Such men were the leaders of the party of which he had
been one. Would they not say that he had remained away because he was
Caesar's man? He must follow either Caesar or Pompey. He knew that Pompey
was beaten. There are things which a man knows, but he cannot bring
himself to say so even to himself. He went out to fight on the side
already conquered; and when the thing was done he came home with his
heart sad, and lived at Brundisium, mourning his lot.

From thence he wrote to Atticus, saying that he hardly saw the advantage
of complying with advice which had been given to him that he should
travel incognito to Rome. But it is the special reason given which
strikes us as being so unlike the arguments which would prevail to-day:
"Nor have I resting-places on the way sufficiently convenient for me to
pass the entire daytime within them."[130] The "diversorium" was a place
by the roadside which was always ready should the owner desire to come
that way. It must be understood t