. But of the two, it was
considered that the people gave a larger portion of the honour to
Caesar who was absent than to Pompeius who was present. But in the city
the waves forthwith began to move and everything was tossed to and
fro, and was the subject of conversation tending to a complete split,
now that the marriage connection was ended which hitherto rather
veiled than checked the ambition of the two men. After no long time
news also arrived that Crassus had lost his life among the Parthians;
and that which had been a great hindrance to the civil war breaking
out was now removed, for both Caesar and Pompeius feared Crassus, and
accordingly to some extent confined themselves within limits in their
behaviour towards one another. But when fortune had cut off the man
who was keeping a watch over the struggle, forthwith the words of the
comic poet became applicable:

"Now each against the other smears his limbs,
And strews his hands with dust."

So small a thing is fortune in comparison with men's nature. For
fortune cannot satisfy men's desires, since so great an amount of
command and extent of wide-stretched territory put no check on the
desires of two men, but though they heard and read that "all
things[328] were divided into three portions for the gods and each got
his share of dominion," they thought the Roman empire was not enough
for them who were only two.

LIV. Yet Pompeius once said when he was addressing the people, that
he had obtained every office sooner than he expected, and laid it down
sooner than was expected. And in truth he had the disbandings of his
forces a perpetual testimony of the truth of what he said. But now
being convinced that Caesar would not give up his power, he sought by
means of the functionaries of the state to strengthen himself against
him, but he attempted no change of any kind and did not wish to be
considered to distrust Caesar, but to disregard him rather and to
despise him. However when he saw that the officers were not disposed
of according to his judgment, the citizens being bribed, he allowed
anarchy to spring up in the state; and forthwith there was much talk
about a dictator, whom Lucilius the tribune first ventured to mention
by advising the people to choose Pompeius dictator. Cato attacked him
for this, and Lucilius ran the risk of losing his tribunate, and many
of the friends of Pompeius came forward to exculpate him and said that
he did not seek that office