Flip back to Appian, who tells us this, quote,

Four days before he intended to depart for his war in the East, that is, against the Parthians and the Gethe,

his enemies cut him down in the Senate House, or more accurately, the theatre of Pompey,

they may have resented his success and his now excessive power, or maybe, as some alleged,

they longed for the Republic of their

ancestors and were afraid, knowing him well, that he would conquer these nations as well,

and then indisputably become king. On reflection, I am of the opinion that the plot did indeed

originate over his additional title, although the difference it made was only of a word, since

in reality the dictator is exactly like a king. A pair of men in particular, both of whom had belonged

to the party of Pompey, took the initiative in forming the conspiracy. These were Marcus Brutus,

surnamed Capio, who was the son of that Brutus who had lost his

life in the time of Sulla, and had found refuge with Caesar after the defeat at Farsalis,

and Gaius Cassius, the one who had surrendered his triremes to Caesar in the Gaelospont.

There was also Decimus Brutus Albinas, one of Caesar's most intimate associates.

All three had always acted in a manner

that had deserved the respect and trust they received from Caesar. He had placed matters of great

importance in their hands, and on his departure for the campaign in Africa, had given their

military commands and put them in charge of Gaul, Decimus of Transalpine and Brutus of Sissalpine. At the present time,

Brutus and Cassius were both about to be creators in the city, but they were quarreling with

each other over the so-called urban creatorship, which has greater prestige than the others,

either because they were really competing for the honour, or in order to mount a pretense, that they did not

habitually act in concert over everything. When he made the decision between them, Caesar is

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