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much out of date as that of Crassus the Rich. Trust me, I have not met a single man who takes these things so quietly as I do myself."

After the rejection of his own policy, Cicero had good reason to be sick of public life, and he seems to have contemplated with satisfaction a complete retirement. "I was weary of piloting the State, even while I was allowed to do so; and now that I have been turned out of the boat, and have not abandoned the helm but have had it wrenched out of my hand, I had rather watch their ship-wreck from the shore, and as your friend Sophocles says—

At one time Cicero fancied that the triumvirs would offer him a mission to Egypt, but though he liked the prospect, he felt that he could not accept the offer at their hands. In the same letter he inquires, who is to have the vacant augurship, and adds, "that is the only bait with which they could catch me. Observe my venality. But why do I talk of these things, when all I want is to get rid of them and to devote my whole mind to philosophy? That, I say, is my intention, and I only wish I had done so from the first." Of course this hankering after the augurship is only a momentary whim, which goes down, as does every