fleet, to Marcus Brutus Macedonia, and to Cassius Syria together with the war against Dolabella.  They would certainly have further deprived him of the forces that he had, but they were afraid to vote this openly, owing to their knowledge that his soldiers were devoted to him.  Still, even so, they strove to set his followers at variance with one another and with him.  They did not wish to approve and honor all of them, for fear they should fill them with too great conceit, nor again to dishonor and neglect all, for fear they should alienate them the more and as a consequence force them to agree together.  Hence they adopted a middle course, and by approving some of them and others not, by allowing some to wear an olive garland at the festivals and others not, and furthermore by voting to some money to the extent of twenty-five hundred denarii and to others not a farthing, they hoped to bring about between them and by that means weaken them. [-41-] Those charged with these commissions also they sent not to Caesar but to the men in the field.  He became enraged at this, but nominally allowed the envoys to mix with the army without his presence, though he sent word beforehand that no answer should be given and that he himself should be at once sent for.  So when he came into the camp and joined them in listening to the despatches, he succeeded in conciliating them much more by that very action.  Those who had been preferred in honor were not so delighted at this precedence as they were suspicious of the affair, particularly as a result of Caesar’s influence.  And those who had been slighted were not at all angry at their comrades, but added their doubts of the sincerity of the decrees, imputing their dishonor to all and sharing their anger with them.  The people in the City, on learning this, though frightened did not even so appoint him consul, for which he was most anxious, but granted him the distinction of consular honors, so that he might now record his vote along with the ex-consuls.  When he took no account of this, they voted that he should be made a praetor of the first rank and subsequently also consul.  In this way did they think they had handled Caesar cleverly as if he were in reality a mere youth and child, as they were always repeating.  He, however, was exceedingly vexed at their general behavior and especially at this very fact that he was called child, and so made no further delay, but turned against their camps and powers.  With Antony he secretly arranged a truce, and he assembled the men who had escaped from the battle, whom he himself had conquered and the senate had voted to be enemies, and in their presence made many accusations against both the senate and the people.