This famous Roman was tall, handsome, agreeable in his manners, and of a gay disposition. He liked songs and stories, and even when he was a great general he often was as merry and frolicsome as a boy. Sometimes, however, he was stern and cruel instead of kind and forgiving.

Cæsar was a member of the Julian family, which was one of the first families in Rome. Four Cæsars of this family had been consuls of Rome in one century.

The aunt of Julius Cæsar was the wife of the great leader, Marius. Naturally, Sulla was Cæsar's bitter enemy and did all he could against him. "In that young man there is many a Marius," Sulla is reported to have said. However, by keeping out of Rome, Cæsar was able to escape the traps laid for him at Sulla's orders. As soon as Sulla died Cæsar returned to Rome.

Although he was a rich noble, he became a friend of the plebeians and always supported their cause. He spoke a great deal in the Forum upon political questions, and the people looked upon him as their champion. They elected him to several public offices, one after the other, and thus his influence and power were much increased. At last he was appointed governor of Spain, which was then ruled by the Romans.

On his way to Spain he stopped for a night at a little village among the mountains. One of his companions remarked that perhaps in that small place the people had their contests and their jealousies, as well as people in large cities.

"Poor as this village is, I would rather be first here than second in Rome!" said Cæsar.

Cæsar was very successful in Spain, and the Romans were so pleased with his conduct that when he came home they made him consul. During his consulship he had many good laws passed. When about forty years old he was given command of an army, and for some years followed the life of a soldier with wonderful success.

The Roman armies were formed of regiments called legions. Each legion contained over three thousand men, who were sometimes called legionaries. The weapons of the legionary were a short sword and a long spear called a pilum.

Besides spears and swords the Roman soldiers used slings for hurling stones against the enemy. They also had a machine called a ballista  for throwing stones too heavy for handslings.

The military standard of the Romans was a figure of an eagle borne on the top of a pole. Each legion had one of these and the soldier who carried it was called the eagle-bearer. Other standards also were used by the cohorts  or companies into which the legions were divided.

Cæsar's first great battles were in Gaul. The Romans called all the inhabitants of that country Gauls, although they were of many nations and spoke different languages. The Gauls were brave, but Cæsar proved to be a great general, and in a few years he conquered all Gaul.

The Roman soldiers had great confidence in Cæsar. When he led them they believed victory was certain. He was strict in his discipline, but very friendly and pleasant with the men, and he often gave them praise. He himself shared in their hardships. Day after day he marched on foot at their head through heat and rain and snow, and fought with them in the front ranks.

On one occasion Cæsar built a very remarkable bridge. He wanted to get across the River Rhine with his army, to punish some German tribes who were in the habit of attacking the friends of Rome in Gaul. There was no bridge. The Germans used to get over in small parties by swimming, or in small boats. But a large army could not cross in this way without a great deal of trouble and loss of time, so Cæsar resolved to build a bridge. He quickly set his men to work and they finished the bridge in ten days, though all the wood had to be cut down in the forests and carried to the river side.

One of Cæsar's greatest victories in Gaul was the taking of the This town had very strong walls all round it and it was defended by a great army of Gauls commanded by a brave chief named Cæsar surrounded the town with his army and prevented food from being sent in to the inhabitants. He also defeated an army that came from other parts of Gaul to help the Alesians. Vercingetorix then had to come out from the town and give himself up to Cæsar.

After many conquests in Gaul Cæsar sailed over with an army to the island of Britain, now called Great Britain. The natives were a wild, fierce people, and they fought bravely against Cæsar and his army. But the Romans were victorious, and they took possession of Britain, and for over four hundred years the island was a part of the Roman Empire.