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Cicero feels, however, that his character is at stake; "the principles which I have professed for so many years will now be put to the test of practice." He is most anxious about the behaviour of his lieutenants, the insolence of whose manners to the provincials disgusts him. He is able, however, to give them a good character, so far as actions are concerned. "Thus far," he writes on his journey, "I have no reason to find fault with any of my suite. They seem to recognise what ground I have taken and on what terms I allow them to come with me. They really regulate their conduct, as my reputation demands. For the future, if it be true that 'like master, like man,' they will certainly persevere; for I mean them to see no act of mine which can give them an excuse for misbehaving. If that proves insufficient, I must try stronger measures."

One of the worst features of the rule of Republican Rome in her provinces was its want of continuity. The power of the governor was so arbitrary that all depended on the accident of his personal character. Cicero entered on a province "simply wrecked and ruined for good and all" by his predecessor. The wounds which Appius Claudius had inflicted "stared him in the face and could not be concealed." Cicero at once set about reversing many of his iniquitous measures, but was