Imperium

well. The only thing that pleases me more is that my old friend Marcus Licinus Crassus will be my colleague.” He concluded by promising that the following year he would hold a great festival of games, dedicated to Hercules, in honor of his victories in Spain.
    Well, these were fine words, no doubt, but he said them all too quickly, forgetting to leave the necessary pause after every sentence, which meant those few who had managed to hear his words had no opportunity to repeat them to those behind who had not. I doubt if more than a few hundred out of that vast assembly knew what he was saying, but they cheered in any case, and they cheered even more when Crassus immediately, and cunningly, upstaged him.
    “I hereby dedicate,” he said, in the booming voice of a trained orator, “at the same time as Pompey’s games—on the same day as Pompey’s games—one tenth of my fortune—one tenth of my entire fortune—to providing free food to the people of Rome—free food for every one of you, for three months —and a great banquet in the streets—a banquet for every citizen—a banquet in honor of Hercules!”
    The crowd went into fresh ecstasies. “The villain,” said Cicero admiringly. “A tenth of his fortune is a bribe of twenty million! But cheap at the price. See how he turns a weak position into a strong one? I bet you were not expecting that, ” he called out to Palicanus, who was struggling toward us from the tribunal. “He has made himself look Pompey’s equal. You should never have allowed him a platform.”
    “Come and meet the imperator,” urged Palicanus. “He wants to thank you in person.” I could see Cicero was of two minds, but Palicanus tugged at his sleeve, and I suppose he thought he ought to try to salvage something from the day.
    “Is he going to make a speech?” shouted Cicero as we followed Palicanus toward the tribunal.
    “He does not really make speeches,” replied Palicanus over his shoulder. “Not yet, anyway.”
    “That is a mistake. They will expect him to say something.”
    “Well, they will just have to be disappointed.”
    “What a waste,” Cicero muttered to me in disgust. “What I would not give to have an audience such as this! How often do you see so many voters in one place?”
    But Pompey had little experience in public oratory, and besides he was accustomed to commanding men, not pandering to them. With a final wave to the crowd he clambered down from the platform. Crassus followed suit, and the applause slowly died away. There was a palpable sense of anticlimax, as people stood around, wondering what they should do next. “What a waste,” repeated Cicero. “ I would have given them a show.”
    Behind the tribunal was a small, enclosed area, where it was the custom for the magistrates to wait before going up to officiate on election day. Palicanus conducted us into it, past the guards, and here, a moment or two later, Pompey himself appeared. A young black slave handed him a cloth, and he dabbed at his sweating face and wiped the back of his neck. A dozen senators waited to greet him, and Palicanus thrust Cicero into the middle of the line, then drew back with Quintus, Lucius, and me to watch. Pompey was moving down the queue, shaking hands with each of the senators in turn, Afranius at his back to tell him who was who. “Good to meet you,” said Pompey. “Good to meet you. Good to meet you.” As he came closer I had a better opportunity to study him. He had a noble face, no question of it, but there was also a disagreeable vanity in those fleshy features, and his grand, distracted manner only emphasized his obvious boredom at meeting all these tedious civilians. He reached Cicero very quickly.
    “This is Marcus Cicero, Imperator,” said Afranius.
    “Good to meet you.”
    He was about to move on, but Afranius took his elbow and whispered, “Cicero is considered one of the city’s foremost advocates, and was very useful to us in the Senate.”
    “Was he? Well, then—keep up the good work.”
    “I shall,” said Cicero quickly, “for I hope next year to be aedile.”
    “Aedile?” Pompey scoffed at the very idea. “No, no, I do not think aedile . I have other plans in that direction. But I’m sure we can always find a use for a clever lawyer.”
    And with that he really did move on—“Good to meet you…Good to meet you…”—leaving Cicero staring straight ahead and swallowing hard.

Roll V

    THAT NIGHT, for the first and last time