l to him. All this had been
arranged at Lucca, in the north of Italy, whither Caesar was able to come
as being within the bounds of his province, to meet his friends from
Rome--or his enemies. All aristocratic Rome went out in crowds to Lucca,
so that two hundred Senators might be seen together in the streets of
that provincial town. It was nevertheless near enough to Rome to permit
the conqueror from Gaul to look closely into the politics of the city.
By his permission, if not at his instigation, Pompey and Crassus had
been chosen Consuls, and to himself was conceded the government of his
own province for five further years--that is, down to year B.C. 49
inclusive. It must now at least have become evident to Cicero that Caesar
intended to rule the Empire.

Though we already have Cicero's letters arranged for us in a
chronological sequence which may be held to be fairly correct for
biographical purposes, still there is much doubt remaining as to the
exact periods at which many of them were written. Abeken, the German
biographer, says that this year, B.C. 55, produced twelve letters. In
the French edition of Cicero's works published by Panckoucke thirty-five
are allotted to it. Mr. Watson, in his selected letters, has not taken
one from the year in question. Mr. Tyrrell, who has been my Mentor
hitherto in regard to the correspondence, has not, unfortunately,
published the result of his labors beyond the year 53 B.C. at the time
of my present writing. Some of those who have dealt with Cicero's life
and works, and have illustrated them by his letters, have added
something to the existing confusion by assuming an accuracy of knowledge
in this respect which has not existed. We have no right to quarrel with
them for having done so; certainly not with Middleton, as in his time
such accuracy was less valued by readers than it is now; and we have the
advantage of much light which, though still imperfect, is very bright in
comparison with that enjoyed by him. A study of the letters, however, in
the sequence now given to them affords an accurate picture of Cicero's
mind during the years between the period of his return from exile B.C.
57 and Milo's trial B.C. 52, although the reader may occasionally be
misled as to the date of this or the other letter.

With the dates of his speeches, at any rate with the year in which they
were made, we are better acquainted. They are of course much fewer in
number, and are easily traced by the