While Caesar thus might leave, and actually left, the late democratic party to the process of decomposition which had already in its case advanced almost to the utmost limit, he had on the other hand, with reference to the former aristocratic party possessing a far greater vitality, not to bring about its dissolution—­ which time alone could accomplish—­but to pave the way for and initiate it by a proper combination of repression and conciliation.  Among minor measures, Caesar, even from a natural sense of propriety, avoided exasperating the fallen party by empty sarcasm; he did not triumph over his conquered fellow-burgesses;(3) he mentioned Pompeius often and always with respect, and caused his statue overthrown by the people to be re-erected at the senate-house, when the latter was restored, in its earlier distinguished place.  To political prosecutions after the victory Caesar assigned the narrowest possible limits.  No investigation was instituted into the various communications which the constitutional party had held even with nominal Caesarians; Caesar threw the piles of papers found in the enemy’s headquarters at Pharsalus and Thapsus into the fire unread, and spared himself and the country from political processes against individuals suspected of high treason.  Further, all the common soldiers who had followed their Roman or provincial officers into the contest against Caesar came off with impunity.  The sole exception made was in the case of those Roman burgesses, who had taken service in the army of the Numidian king Juba; their property was confiscated by way of penalty for their treason.  Even to the officers of the conquered party Caesar had granted unlimited pardon up to the close of the Spanish campaign of 705; but he became convinced that in this he had gone too far, and that the removal at least of the leaders among them was inevitable.  The rule by which he was thenceforth guided was, that every one who after the capitulation of Ilerda had served as an officer in the enemy’s army or had sat in the opposition-senate, if he survived the close of the struggle, forfeited his property and his political rights, and was banished from Italy for life; if he did not survive the close of the struggle, his property at least fell to the state; but any one of these, who had formerly accepted pardon from Caesar and was once more found in the ranks of the enemy, thereby forfeited his life.  These rules were however materially modified in the execution.  The sentence of death was actually executed only against a very few of the numerous backsliders.  In the confiscation of the property of the fallen not only were the debts attaching to the several portions of the estate as well as the claims of the widows for their dowries paid off, as was reasonable.  But a portion of the paternal estate was left also to the children of the deceased.  Lastly not a few of those, who in consequence of those rules were liable to banishment and confiscation of property,