driven to tyranny. Everyone knows that Pompey did so much to seize power that he was declared sole consul to prevent him from undertaking more. The Romans preferred to satisfy his vanity rather than to oppose him directly. As for Caesar, they did not treat him in the same way, for far from granting him new rights, they boldly refused him the favors he solicited. Lentulus, Pompey's supporter, shamefully chased away Marc Antony and Curion, who were forced to disguise themselves as slaves to safely return to Caesar. All this, Lepidus, because Caesar had asked them to continue ruling the Gauls he had conquered. Despite the unjust refusal he received, Caesar did not harbor unjust intentions. He understood that Pompey was calling for his return to Rome only to defeat him, and regarded Pompey as his enemy and the only obstacle to his rising to the authority he had long coveted. Caesar wanted to reconcile both his person and the public good. He sought to disarm his enemy, Rome's enemy, and to disarm himself. Thus, to show the purity of his intentions, he let the Senate know that he was ready to leave the government of Gaul for which he had risked his life many times over, that he was ready to lay down arms, to account for his actions, to completely renounce all authority, provided that Pompey would also lay down arms and they would both live as simple citizens. I believe these proposals were not tyrannical, because tyrants never expose themselves to such things, and Pompey's behavior clearly proved what I say. If Caesar had suggested sharing the supreme power with him, perhaps he would have listened more attentively. But because Caesar wanted to place him in a position where he couldn't attain tyranny, he couldn't tolerate a proposal so fair which would have kept him far from power. He maneuvered to prevent the Senate from deciding rationally, and, to completely exhaust Caesar's patience, had Marc Antony and Curion chased away with disgrace. He was branded as an enemy of the public good, and Pompey, who was just seeking to sow discord to ruin Caesar and profit from others' misfortunes, preferred to ruin his homeland rather than change his plans. All the senators found Caesar's proposals fair because he showed them that if they wanted him to lay down arms and Pompey did not, it could push him into a monarchy, but by suggesting that both lay down arms, he was asking for something beneficial for everyone and that should not upset Pompey unless he had bad intentions. Scipio, his father-in-law, and Marcellus, his friend, obviously did not agree, and they were almost the only ones to prevent Caesar from getting what he demanded. They spoke loudly in favor of Pompey, so the Senate could take no decision, a public neutrality was decreed for this private dispute. However, Caesar did not give up, offering fair solutions several times, but each time, Pompey's cunning prevailed.

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