JULIUS CESAR, the triumvir and the founder of the Roman Empire, was the grandnephew of C. Julius Caesar, the dictator, his adoptive father. Originally named, like his true father, C. Octavius, he entered the Julian family after the dictator's death, and, according to the usual practice of adopted sons, called himself C. Julius Caesar Octavianus. But the name Octavianus soon fell into disuse, and by his contemporaries he was commonly spoken of as Caesar, just as Scipio Emilianus was commonly called Scipio. The successes of Caesar had not been achieved without the aid of others. Two remarkable men, devoted to his interests, stood by him faithfully throughout the civil wars, and helped him by their counsels and their labors. These were M. Vipsanius Agrippa and C. Cilnius Maecenas. As they helped him not only to win the empire, but also to wield it after he had won it, it is necessary to know what manner of men they were...