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44 B.C.] of Cæsar and used the validity accorded to his Acts as a sanction for any forgery which he chose to insert in the dead man's notebooks. Shakespeare has hit the mark when he makes Antony say:

Laws, immunities, decrees, kingdoms were all to be bought from the new master of the State. "He sometimes makes one wish," writes Cicero, "that we had Cæsar back again." It seemed at one moment as if the inheritance of Cæsar's despotism had really fallen to this shallow-brained soldier. in presence of this danger the Liberators soon recovered their presence of mind and set to work with energy to raise forces for the inevitable conflict. By the middle of April Decimus Brutus had entered his province of Cisalpine Gaul, where he was received by three legions as their lawful commander. He made these the nucleus of a rapidly collected army, and was soon in condition to stand his ground. Marcus Brutus and Cassius were slower to act, but they too exerted themselves to provide a base of military operations in the provinces. By the end of the year almost all the troops quartered in the East had joined their standard, and by active enlistment among the Romans living in the provinces they organised the army which was destined to strike the last blow for the commonwealth at the battle of Philippi. Two young Romans who were pursuing their studies at