midnight
The facts do not justify the excuse . For more than thirty years Julius Cæsar had been a star performer on the boards of the Roman Empire , and his family had been illustrious for five hundred years . Sylla , Marius , Cicero , Cato , Brutus and Pompey had crossed lances with this civil and military genius , and had all become very jealous of his increasing fame . From boyhood Cæsar had been a mixer with the common people , and in midnight hours in Rome , among tradesmen , merchants , students , authors , sailors and soldiers , he became imbued with their wants and impulsive nature . He had no reason to doubt or oppress the people . As commander of invincible troops in Spain , Gaul , Germany and Britain , Cæsar had secured a world-wide reputation , for the eagles of his victorious legions had swept across the mountains and seas to the shore end of Europe and screamed in triumph among the palms and sands of Africa and Asia ! Cæsar was a poet , orator , historian , warrior and statesman , and the imperial families and politicians of Rome , who were forced to sit in the shade of his triumphs and glory , felt a secret pang of jealousy at the stride of this colossal character .