9.]--being in Gaul, had certain information of a conspiracy L.Cinna was contriving against him; he therefore resolved to make him an example; and, to that end, sent to summon his friends to meet the next morning in counsel.

But the night between he passed in great unquietness of mind, considering that he was about to put to death a young man, of an illustrious family, and nephew to the great Pompey, and this made him break out into several passionate complainings.

"What then," said he, "is it possible that I am to live in perpetual anxiety and alarm, and suffer my would-be assassin, meantime, to walk abroad at liberty?
Shall he go unpunished, after having conspired against my life, a life that I have hitherto defended in so many civil wars, in so many battles by land and by sea?
And after having settled the universal peace of the whole world, shall this man be pardoned, who has conspired not only to murder, but to sacrifice me ?"--for the conspiracy was to kill him at sacrifice.
After which, remaining for some time silent, he began again, in louder tones, and exclaimed against himself, saying: "Why livest thou, if it be for the good of so many that thou shouldst die?
must there be no end of thy revenges and cruelties?
Is thy life of so great value, that so many mischiefs must be done to preserve it ?" His wife Livia, seeing him in this perplexity: "Will you take a woman's counsel ?" said she.

"Do as the physicians do, who, when the ordinary recipes will do no good, make trial of the contrary.

By severity you have hitherto prevailed nothing; Lepidus has followed Salvidienus; Murena, Lepidus; Caepio, Murena; Egnatius, Caepio.