... dignitas, 'Prestige has always been of prime importance to me, even outweighing life itself.'3 If he was in fact speaking of the tribunes' prestige, we could view this as honourable, but he was in fact speaking of himself, and the pain he had suffered by having his privileges removed from him by his enemies in Rome. Caesar himself stresses the point that he was being more than reasonable, was willing for peace; and suffering the 'unreasonableness and intransigence of his opponents.'4 The most fitting incentive for Caesar to go to war was to defend his own honour, which he felt had not been granted enough dues. He needed to be recognized by Rome and Pompey that he was Pompey's equal. Pompey could not bring himself to grant this boon to Caesar. When the evidence is examined from our sources, it is possible to obtain further possible motives for why Caesar ...

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