For a senator, especially one who had held high office and was used to a prominent role in its debates, important matters should only ever be dealt with in the proper manner by the Senate. The Senate should in turn be guided by its best and most distinguished members, composed primarily of the established aristocracy, joined-so he had always desired-by a handful of talented new men like himself. That was the tradition, and Caesar’s position was a clear violation of this senatorial ideal.
