began to find in Pompeius rather in ally
against the more dangerous Caesar than an enemy.

But they would not concede him the powers he required; which might yet
be turned to the uses of his colleagues in the Triumvirate; he could not
afford to challenge Caesar; and Caesar adroitly used the situation to
secure for himself a prolongation of his Gallic command. The completion
of his work there was to have precedence of his personal ambitions.
Crassus was sent to the Eastern command; and Pompeius remained in Italy,
while nominally appointed to Spain.

Pompeius, indeed, attained a predominance in Rome which enabled him to
secure temporarily dictatorial powers which were employed to counteract
the electoral machinery of the republican party; but he had not the
qualifications or the inclination to play the demagogue, and could not
unite his aspirations as a restorer of law and order with effective
party leadership. Crassus disappeared; his armies in the East met with a
complete disaster at Carrhae, and he took his own life. Caesar and
Pompeius were left; Pompeius was not content that Caesar should stand on
a real equality with him, and the inevitable rupture came.

In effect Pompeius used his dictatorship to extend his own military
command and to curtail Caesar's. The position resolved itself into a
rivalry between the two; Caesar declaring as always for the democracy,
Pompeius now assuming the championship of the aristocracy, and the
guardianship of the constitution.

For Caesar the vital point now was that his own command should not
terminate till he exchanged it for a fresh consulship. As the law now
stood, he could not obtain his election without resigning his command
beforehand. But he succeeded in forcing Pompeius to break the law; and
in making the official government responsible for declaring war. He
offered a compromise, perhaps, in the certainty that it would be
rejected--as it was. He was virtually declared a public enemy; and he
struck at once.

At the head of his devotedly loyal veterans he crossed the Rubicon. His
rapid and successful advance caused Pompeius to abandon Italy and fall
back on the Eastern Provinces. The discipline preserved, and the
moderation displayed by Caesar won him unexpected favour. Having secured
Italy, he turned next on Spain, and secured that. Swift and decisive
action was pitted against inertness. When Caesar entered Epirus the odds
against him on paper were enormous; but the trium