small that one of his friends remarked to him that
in a place so tiny there could be none of the struggle for place and
power such as there were in Rome, nothing worth having or being. Caesar,
however, said, 'I assure you I had rather be the first man here than the
second man in Rome.' When in Spain he spent his leisure in reading.
Among other books he studied the Life of Alexander the Great. The
followers of Pompeius who had just come back from the East were freely
comparing him to Alexander. Caesar was so much moved by what he read
that he sat thoughtful for a long time and at last, to the surprise of
his companions, burst into tears. They could not understand the reason
till he said, 'Do you not think I have sufficient cause for concern,
when Alexander at my age ruled over so many conquered countries and I
have not one glorious achievement to boast?'

In his government of Spain Caesar showed firmness, energy, and wisdom.
He carried out successful expeditions to distant parts of the peninsula
and brought the whole country into such good order that he enriched it
as well as the Roman State, himself, and his own soldiers. And all the
time that he was in Spain his mind was at work. From a distance he saw
the meaning of events in Rome with clearness and formed his own plans.

As soon as he returned he set to work to bring about that understanding
between himself, Crassus, and Pompeius that was known afterwards (at the
time it was a private bond) as the First Triumvirate (60). To bring this
about was by no means easy. Pompeius was jealous and apt to ride the
high horse. Crassus, though attached to Caesar, hated Pompeius. But
Caesar persuaded them both. The world might see how things stood when he
walked between them to the place of election for the consulship.

During his consulship (59) Caesar, despite the feeble opposition of his
colleague, carried through a big programme of reforms. In addition he
got a decree passed making him governor and military commander of Gaul
for five years. In Transalpine Gaul very dangerous movements were said
to be going on among the tribes. The Senate was not sorry to think of
getting Caesar out of the way and into a dangerous place: he himself
desired to win a glory equal to that of Pompeius and the command of an
army devoted to himself. In Gaul he meant to find both. And he did.

Plutarch, who wrote the lives of many distinguished Romans, was no lover
of Caesar. Pompeius is his hero. Yet