A gang of
gladiators were to be secreted in the adjoining theatre to be ready should
any unforeseen difficulty present itself.
The same evening, the 14th of March, Caesar was at a "Last Supper" at the
house of Lepidus. The conversation turned on death, and on the kind of
death which was most to be desired. Caesar, who was signing papers while
the rest wore talking, looked up and said, "A sudden one." When great men
die, imagination insists that all nature shall have felt the shock.
Strange stories were told in after years of the uneasy labors of the
elements that night.
A little ere the mightiest Julius fell,
The graves did open, and the sheeted dead
Did squeak and jibber in the Roman streets.
The armor of Mars, which stood in the hall of the Pontifical Palace,
crashed down upon the pavement. The door of Caesar's room flew open.
Calpurnia dreamt her husband was murdered, and that she saw him ascending
into heaven, and received by the hand of God.[22] In the morning the
sacrifices were again unfavorable. Caesar was restless. Some natural
disorder affected his spirits, and his spirits were reacting on his body.
Contrary to his usual habit, he gave way to depression. He decided, at his
wife's entreaty, that he would not attend the Senate that day.
[Sidenote: March 15, B.C. 44.]
The house was full.
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