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[122] But after Dolabella,1 a young man of noble family who had been chosen by Cæsar as consul for the remainder of his own year when he was about to leave the city, and who had put on the consular garb and taken the other insignia of the office, came forward next and railed against the man who had advanced him to this dignity and pretended to have been privy to the conspiracy against him, and that his hand alone was unwillingly absent -- some say that he even proposed a decree that this day should be consecrated as the birthday of the republic -- then the hirelings took new courage, seeing that they had both a prætor and a consul on their side, and demanded that Cassius and his friends be summoned from the Capitol. They were delighted with Dolabella and thought that now they had a young optimate, who was also consul, to oppose against Antony. Only Cassius and Marcus Brutus came down, the latter with his hand still bleeding from the wound he had received when he and Cassius were dealing blows at Cæsar. When they reached the forum neither of them said anything which betokened humility. On the contrary they praised each other as for something confessedly admirable. They considered the city fortunate and bore special testimony to the merits of Decimus Brutus because he had furnished them gladiators at a critical moment. They exhorted the people to be like their ancestors, who had expelled the kings, although the latter were exercising the government not by violence like Cæsar, but had been chosen according to law. They advised the recall of Sextus Pompey (the son of Pompey the Great, the defender of the republic against Cæsar), who was still warring against Cæsar's lieutenants in Spain. They also recommended that the tribunes, Cæsetius and Marullus, who had been deposed by Cæsar, should be recalled from exile.

1 Dolabella had married Cicero's daughter Tullia. He was a great scoundrel and turncoat.

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