During the first three months of 44 a great simplification of Roman politics took place. On the one hand, Caesar finally came to see that he had failed to reconcile the optimates to his dominance and further consolidated his authority. On the other, the optimates finally came to despair of a restoration of the Republic. Neither side could see a way out of the impasse except by Caesar’s removal from the scene—permanent, so far as Brutus and Cassius were concerned, and temporary from Caesar’s perspective.
