before they suspected that their enemy was near. It was in reference to
this battle that he wrote the inscription for the banner, "_Veni, vidi,
vici_" The words may be rendered in English, "I came, looked, and
conquered," though the peculiar force of the expression, as well as the
alliteration, is lost in any attempt to translate it.

[Sidenote: Caesar made dictator.]

In the mean time, Caesar's prosperity and success had greatly
strengthened his cause at Rome. Rome was supported in a great measure by
the contributions brought home from the provinces by the various
military heroes who were sent out to govern them; and, of course, the
greater and more successful was the conqueror, the better was he
qualified for stations of highest authority in the estimation of the
inhabitants of the city. They made Caesar dictator even while he was
away, and appointed Mark Antony his master of horse. This was the same
Antony whom we have already mentioned as having been connected with
Cleopatra after Caesar's death. Rome, in fact, was filled with the fame
of Caesar's exploits, and, as he crossed the Adriatic and advanced
toward the city, he found himself the object of universal admiration
and applause.

[Sidenote: Opposition of Cato.]
[Sidenote: Pompey's sons.]

But he could not yet be contented to establish himself quietly at Rome.
There was a large force organized against him in Africa under Cato, a
stern and indomitable man, who had long been an enemy to Caesar, and who
now considered him as a usurper and an enemy of the republic, and was
determined to resist him to the last extremity. There was also a large