d nobody thought much of being a senator. He also made an immense
number of new citizens, and he caused a great survey to be begun by
Roman officers in preparation for properly arranging the provinces,
governments, and tribute; and he began to have the laws drawn up in
regular order. In fact, he was one of the greatest men the world has
ever produced, not only as a conqueror, but a statesman and ruler; and
though his power over Rome was not according to the laws, and had been
gained by a rebellion, he was using it for her good.

He was learned in all philosophy and science, and his history of his
wars in Gaul has come down to our times. As a high patrician by birth,
he was Pontifex Maximus, or chief priest, and thus had to fix all the
festival days in each year. Now the year had been supposed to be only
three hundred and fifty-five days long, and the Pontifex put in another
month or several days whenever he pleased, so that there was great
confusion, and the feast days for the harvest and vintage came,
according to the calendar, three months before there was any corn or
grapes.

To set this to rights, since it was now understood that the length of
the year was three hundred and sixty-five days and six hours, Caesar and
the scientific men who assisted him devised the fresh arrangement that
we call leap year, adding a day to the three hundred and sixty-five once
in four years. He also changed the name of one of the summer months
from Sextile to July, in honor of himself. Another work of his was
restoring Corinth and Carthage, which had both been ruined the same
year, and now were both refounded the same year.

He was busy about the glory of the state, but there was much to shock
old Roman feelings in his conduct. Cleopatra had followed him to Rome,
and he was thinking of putting away his wife Calphurnia to marry her.
But his keeping the dictatorship was the real grievance, and the remains
of the old party in the Senate could not bear that the patrician freedom
of Rome should be lost. Every now and then his flatterers offered him a
royal crown and hailed him as king, though he always refused it, and
this title still stirred up bitter hatred. He was preparing an army,
intending to march into the further East, avenge Crassus' defeat on the
Parthians, and march where no one but Alexander had made his way; and if
he came back victorious from thence, nothing would be able to stand
against him.

The plotters then resolved to