public office in the new government.

The conspiracy was discovered, chiefly through the vigilance of Cicero,
who was Consul at the time. Catiline had fled from Rome and was raising
an army, but a number of the other plotters were arrested. The noblemen
who hated Caesar did everything in their power to have his name included
in the list of the conspirators, but Cicero resolutely refused to
believe that Caesar had been in league with them and would not press the
charges against him. Through the gifted oratory of Cicero, however, a
sentence of death was brought against all the prisoners, who were
promptly put to death in Cicero's presence.

Caesar's wife, Cornelia, had died sometime before these events took
place, and Caesar had then married a relative of Pompey. At the festival
of Bona Dea, where only women were admitted, and which was held at
Caesar's house because he was Pontifex Maximus, a great scandal took
place owing to the fact that a young man, dressed in woman's clothes
was discovered hiding in the house while the festival was going on.
This bade fair to injure Caesar's name in the city, and partly on this
account he divorced his wife, Pompeia, saying that while nothing evil
had been proved against her, yet Caesar's wife must be above even the
breath of suspicion.

After this Caesar went to Spain to govern that land for the Romans.
While there he had much military experience that helped him to become
one of the mightiest generals the world has ever seen, and in his
struggles against the wild, hill tribes he laid the seeds of success
for his later wars in Gaul,--wars in which he was to carry the Roman
eagles into lands that had only been known by hearsay and legend.

When Caesar returned from Spain he did his utmost to cement the bonds of
friendship between himself and Pompey and Crassus--with Pompey, because
he was the greatest man in Rome and because Caesar hoped to rise through
his patronage,--with Crassus because he was possessed of fabulous
riches, that Caesar would have great need of in fulfilling his ambitious
designs. To strengthen his friendship with Pompey he forced his own
daughter to marry him. The alliance of these three men is called the
First Triumvirate.

Caesar was eager at this time to be elected Consul, an office that would
give him great power in the Roman state, and with his usual success and
some luck he succeeded in doing so. With him was elected another Consul
named Bibulus, who was