Clodius replied that he was waiting for Abra the maid of Pompeia, for that was the woman’s name, but his voice betrayed him, and the waiting-woman ran with a loud cry to the lights and the rest of the company, calling out that she had discovered a man.  All the women were in the greatest alarm, and Aurelia stopped the celebration of the rites and covered up the sacred things:  she also ordered the doors to be closed and went about the house with the lights to look for Clodius.  He was discovered lurking in the chamber of the girl who had let him in, and on being recognised by the women was turned out of doors.  The women went straightway, though it was night, to their husbands to tell them what had happened; and as soon as it was day, the talk went through Rome of the desecration of the sacred rites by Clodius, and how he ought to be punished for his behaviour, not only to the persons whom he had insulted, but to the city and the gods.  Accordingly one of the tribunes instituted a prosecution against Clodius for an offence against religion, and the most powerful of the senators combined against him, charging him, among other abominations, with adultery with his sister, who was the wife of Lucullus.  The people set themselves in opposition to their exertions and supported Clodius, and were of great service to him with the judices, who were terror-struck and afraid of the people.  Caesar immediately divorced Pompeia, and when he was summoned as a witness on the trial, he said he knew nothing about the matters that Clodius was charged with.  This answer appearing strange, the accuser asked him, “Why have you put away your wife?” to which Caesar replied, “Because I considered that my wife ought not even to be suspected.”  Some say that this was the real expression of Caesar’s opinion, but others affirm that it was done to please the people who were bent on saving Clodius.  However this may be, Clodius was acquitted, for the majority of the judices gave in their votes[468] written confusedly, that they might run no risk from the populace by convicting Clodius nor lose the good opinion of the better sort by acquitting him.

XI.  On the expiration of his Praetorship, Caesar received Iberia[469] for his province, but as he had a difficulty about arranging matters with his creditors, who put obstructions in the way of his leaving Rome, and were clamorous, he applied to Crassus, then the richest man in Rome, who stood in need of the vigour and impetuosity of Caesar to support him in his political hostility to Pompeius.  Crassus undertook to satisfy the most importunate and unrelenting of the creditors, and having become security for Caesar to the amount of eight hundred and thirty talents, thus enabled him to set out for his province.  There is a story that as Caesar was crossing the Alps, he passed by a small barbarian town which had very few inhabitants and was a miserable place, on which his companions jocosely observed, “They did not suppose there