hed for every vice, folly, and extravagance which characterized
the Roman nobles. But he was a man of consummate ability as a general, was
master of the horse, and was consul with Caesar, when he was killed, B.C.
44. He was also eloquent, and pronounced the funeral oration of the
murdered Imperator, as nearest of kin. He had possession of Caesar's
papers, and was the governor of Cisalpine Gaul. He formed a union with
Lepidus, to whom he offered the office of Pontifex Maximus, the second
office in the State. As consul, he could unlock the public treasury, which
he rifled to the extent of seven hundred million of sesterces--the vast sum
left by Caesar. One of his brothers was praetor, and another, a tribune. He
convened the Senate, and employed, by the treasure he had at command, the
people to overawe the Senate, as the Jacobin clubs of the French
revolution overawed the Assembly. He urged the Senate to ratify Caesar's
acts and confirm his appointments, and in this was supported by Cicero and
a majority of the members. Now that the deed was done, he wished to have
the past forgotten. This act of amnesty confirmed his fearful
pre-eminence, and the inheritance of the mighty dead seemingly devolved
upon him. The conspirators came to terms with him, and were even
entertained by him, and received the provinces which he assigned to them.
Brutus received Macedonia; Cassius, Syria; Trebonius, Asia; Cimber,
Bythinia; and Decimus, Cisalpine Gaul. Dolabella was his colleague in the
consulship,--a personal enemy, yet committed to his policy.

Caesar had left three hundred sesterces to every citizen, (about L3,) and
his gardens beyond the Tiber to the use of the people. Such gifts operated
in producing an intense gratitude for the memory of a man who had proved
so great a benefactor, and his public funeral was of unprecedented
splendor. Antony, as his nearest heir, and the first magistrate,
pronounced the oration, which was a consummate piece of dramatic art, in
which he inflamed the passions of the people, and stimulated them to
frenzy, so that they turned upon the assassins with fury. But he assured
the Senate of his moderation, abolished the dictatorship forever, and
secured his own personal safety by a body-guard.

(M1027) He had, however, a powerful rival in the young Octavius, who had
been declared by Caesar's will his principal heir, then absent in
Apollonia. He resolved to return at once and claim his inheritance, and
was warm