 His republican sympathies, and his role at Philippi, may have caused him some pangs of remorse over his new status.However most Romans considered the civil wars to be the result of "contentio dignitatis", or rivalry between the foremost families of the city, and he too seems to have accepted the principate as Rome's last hope for much needed peace.In 37 BC, Horace accompanied Maecenas on a journey to Brundisium, described in one of his poems as a series of amusing incidents and charming encounters with other friends along the way, such as Virgil.