XI. On the expiration of his Praetorship, Caesar received Iberia[469]
for his province, but as he had a difficulty about arranging matters
with his creditors, who put obstructions in the way of his leaving
Rome, and were clamorous, he applied to Crassus, then the richest man
in Rome, who stood in need of the vigour and impetuosity of Caesar to
support him in his political hostility to Pompeius. Crassus undertook
to satisfy the most importunate and unrelenting of the creditors, and
having become security for Caesar to the amount of eight hundred and
thirty talents, thus enabled him to set out for his province. There is
a story that as Caesar was crossing the Alps, he passed by a small
barbarian town which had very few inhabitants and was a miserable
place, on which his companions jocosely observed, "They did not
suppose there were any contests for honors in such a place as that,
and struggles for the first rank and mutual jealousy of the chief
persons:" on which Caesar earnestly remarked, "I would rather be the
first man here than the second at Rome." Again in Spain, when he had
some leisure and was reading the history of Alexander,[470] he was for
a long time in deep thought, and at last burst into tears; and on his
friends asking the reason of this, he said, "Don't you think it is a
matter for sorrow, that Alexander was king of so many nations at such
an early age, and I have as yet done nothing of note?"
XII.
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