E. 3.—­Caesar meanwhile was also at his winter’s work amid the turmoil of Roman politics.  His “westward ho!” movement was causing all the stir he hoped for.  We can see in Cicero’s correspondence with Atticus, with Trebatius, and with his own brother Quintus (who was attached in some capacity to Caesar’s second expedition), how full Rome was of gossip and surmise as to the outcome of this daring adventure.  “Take care,” he says to Trebatius, “you who are always preaching caution; mind you don’t get caught by the British chariot-men."[91] “You will find, I hear, absolutely nothing in Britain—­no gold, no silver.  I advise you to capture a chariot and drive straight home.  Anyhow get yourself into Caesar’s good books."[92]

E. 4.—­To be in Caesar’s good books was, in fact, Cicero’s own great ambition at this time.  Despite his constitutional zeal, he felt “the Dynasts,” as he called the Triumvirate, the only really strong force in politics, and was ready to go to considerable lengths in courting their favour—­Caesar’s in particular.  He not only withdrew all opposition to the additional five years of command in Gaul which the subservient Senate had unconstitutionally decreed to the “dynast,” but induced his brother Quintus to volunteer for service in the coming invasion of Britain.  Through Quintus he invited Caesar’s criticisms on his own very poor verses, and wrote a letter, obviously meant to be shown, expressing boundless gratification at a favourable notice:  “If he thinks well of my poetry, I shall know it is no mere one-horse concern, but a real four-in-hand.”  “Caesar tells me he never read better Greek.  But why does he write [Greek:  rhathumotera] [’rather careless’] against one passage?  He really does.  Do find out why.”

E. 5.—­This gentle criticism seems to have somewhat damped Cicero’s ardour for Caesar and his British glories.  His every subsequent mention of the expedition is to belittle it.  In the spring he had written to Trebatius:  “So our dear Caesar really thinks well of you as a counsel.  You will be glad indeed to have gone with him to Britain.  There at least you will never meet your match."[93] But in the summer it is:  “I certainly don’t blame you for showing yourself so little of a sight-seer [non nimis [Greek:  philotheoron]] in this British matter."[94] “I am truly glad you never went there.  You have missed the trouble, and I the bore of listening to your tales about it all."[95] To Atticus he writes:  “We are all awaiting the issue of this British war.  We hear the approaches [aditus] of the island are fortified with stupendous ramparts [mirificis molibus].  Anyhow we know that not one scruple [scrupulum] of money exists there, nor any other plunder except slaves—­and none of them either literary or artistic."[96] “I heard (on Oct. 24) from Caesar and from my brother Quintus that all is over in Britain.  No booty....  They wrote on September 26, just embarking.”