Long afterward, when Roman cultivated society had come to hate Caesar, and
any scandal was welcome to them which would make him odious, it was
reported that on this occasion he entered into certain relations with
Nicomedes of a kind indisputably common at the time in the highest
patrician circles. The value of such a charge in political controversy was
considerable, for whether true or false it was certain to be believed; and
similar accusations were flung indiscriminately, so Cicero says, at the
reputation of every eminent person whom it was desirable to stain, if his
personal appearance gave the story any air of probability.[2]
The disposition to believe evil of men who have risen a few degrees above
their contemporaries is a feature of human nature as common as it is base;
and when to envy there are added fear and hatred, malicious anecdotes
spring like mushrooms in a forcing-pit. But gossip is not evidence, nor
does it become evidence because it is in Latin and has been repeated
through many generations. The strength of a chain is no greater than the
strength of its first link, and the adhesive character of calumny proves
only that the inclination of average men to believe the worst of great men
is the same in all ages. This particular accusation against Caesar gains,
perhaps, a certain credibility from the admission that it was the only
occasion on which anything of the kind could be alleged against him.
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