During the next two years his reputation continued to increase.  He won victories in Gaul, in Sicily, and in Africa.  As he was returning to Rome after the last of these campaigns, the great Dictator himself headed the crowd that went forth to meet him, and saluted him as Pompey the Great, a title which he continued to use as his family name[5].  But there was a further honor which the young general was anxious to obtain, but Sulla was unwilling to grant, the supreme glory of a triumph.  “No one,” he said, “who was not or had not been consul, or at least praetor, could triumph.  The first of the Scipios, who had won Spain from the Carthaginians, had not asked for this honor because he wanted this qualification.  Was it to be given to a beardless youth, too young even to sit in the Senate?” But the beardless youth insisted.  He even had the audacity to hint that the future belonged not to Sulla but to himself.  “More men,” he said, “worship the rising than the setting sun.”  Sulla did not happen to catch the words, but he saw the emotion they aroused in the assembly, and asked that they should be repeated to him.  His astonishment permitted him to say nothing more than “Let him triumph!  Let him triumph.”  And triumph he did, to the disgust of his older rivals, whom he intended, but that the streets were not broad enough to allow of the display, still further to affront by harnessing elephants instead of horses to his chariot.

[Footnote 5:  Pompeius was the name of his house (gens).  Strabo had been the name of his family (familia).  This he seems to have disused, assuming Magnus in its stead.]

Two years afterwards he met an antagonist more formidable than any he had yet encountered.  Sertorius, the champion at once of the party of the people and of the native tribes of Spain, was holding out against the government of Rome.  The veteran leader professed a great contempt for his young adversary, “I should whip the boy,” he said, “if I were not afraid of the old woman” (meaning Pompey’s colleague).  But he took good care not to underrate him in practice, and put forth all his skill in dealing with him.  Pompey’s first campaign against him was disastrous; the successes of the second were checkered by some serious defeats.  For five years the struggle continued, and seemed little likely to come to an end, when Sertorius was assassinated by his second in command, Perpenna.  Perpenna was unable to wield the power which he had thus acquired, and was defeated and taken prisoner by Pompey.  He endeavored to save his life by producing the correspondence of Sertorius.  This implicated some of the most distinguished men in Rome, who had held secret communications with the rebel leader and had even invited him over into Italy.  With admirable wisdom Pompey, while he ordered the instant execution of the traitor, burned the letters unread.