PTER XL. THE CIVIL WARS BETWEEN CAESAR AND POMPEY. (M1010) The condition of Rome when Caesar returned, crowned with glory, from his Gallic campaign, in which he had displayed the most consummate ability, was miserable enough. The constitution had been assailed by all the leading chieftains, and even Cicero could only give vent to his despair and indignation in impotent lamentations. The cause of liberty was already lost. Caesar had obtained the province of Gaul for ten years, against all former precedent, and Pompey had obtained the extension of his imperium for five additional years. Both these generals thus had armies and an independent command for a period which might be called indefinite--that is, as long as they could maintain their authority in a period of anarchy. Rome was disgraced by tum