declared the former ought to be given to the men outright and in the second case the price realized should be presented to them.  If even this did not satisfy them, they tried to secure the affection of them all by holding out hopes in Asia.  In this way it quickly came about that Caesar, who had forcibly robbed the possessors of any property and caused troubles and dangers on account of it to all alike, found himself disliked by both parties; whereas the other two, since they took nothing from anybody and showed those who were to receive the gifts a way to the fulfillment of the pledges from already existing assets and without a combat, won over each of the bodies of men.  As a result of this and through the famine which was trying them greatly at this time, because the sea off Sicily was in control of Sextus, and the Ionian Gulf was in the grasp of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, Caesar found himself in a considerable dilemma.  For Domitius was one of the assassins, and, having escaped from the battle fought at Philippi, he had got together a small fleet, had made himself for a time master of the Gulf, and was doing the greatest damage to the cause of his opponents.

[-8-] There was not only this to trouble Caesar greatly but also the fact that in the disputes which had been inaugurated between the ex-soldiers and the senators as well as the rest of the multitude that possessed lands,—­and these proved very numerous because the contestants were struggling for the greatest interests,—­he could not attach himself to either side without danger.  It was impossible for him to please both.  The one side wished to run riot, the other to be unharmed:  the one side to get the other’s property, the other to hold what belonged to it.  As often as he gave the preference to the interests of this party or that, according as he found it necessary, he incurred the hatred of the others:  and he did not meet with so much gratitude for the favors he conferred as with anger for what he failed to yield.  Those benefited took all that was given them as their due and regarded it as no kindness, and the opposite party was wrathful because robbed of their own belongings.  And as a result he continued to offend either this group or the other, at one time reproached with being a friend of the people and again with being a friend of the army.  He could make no headway, and further learned by actual experience that arms had no power to hold those injured friendly toward him, and that it was possible for all such as would not submit to perish by the use of weapons, but out of the question for any one to be forced to love a person whom he will not.  After this, though reluctantly, he stopped taking anything from the senators; previously he used to deem it his right to distribute everything that was theirs, asking seriously:  “From what source else shall we pay the prizes of war to those who have served?”—­as if any one had commanded him to wage war or to make such great promises.  He also kept his hands off the