Page:Cicero And The Fall Of The Roman Republic.djvu/435

44 B.C.] Such were the feelings of Cæsar's friends with regard to his assassination. It proved in the end that these feelings were shared by the veteran soldiers, with whom lay the last word in the contest; but the public opinion of the great body of the Romans was on the other side. As regards the dwellers in the city itself we have very conflicting accounts. Shakespeare's picture of the "first, second, and third citizens," who after applauding Brutus' speech are forthwith roused by Mark Antony to mutiny for the dead Dictator, is only a dramatic exaggeration of what really occurred. The veterans mingled with the multitude at Cæsar's funeral, and the Liberators found it necessary to barricade themselves in their own houses. On the other hand, the attempt to raise a column and altar to Cæsar's memory seems to have attracted no general sympathy, and Dolabella's stern and even cruel suppression of the movement was applauded by all classes. At public games, either side could command a sympathetic audience. Those given by the agents of Octavian in honour of his adoptive father were a great success, but so were those which Brutus provided as prætor. A few months later, Cicero's harangues were even more effective with the people than with the Senate.

The public opinion of the Romans of Italy was from the first clearly pronounced, and never wavered