ABSTRACT
The Conservatives found some slight consolation in a small success. They at length succeeded in passing a decree for the triumph of Lucullus. The Proconsul was allowed to enter Rome at the head of his soldiers. But in spite of the hundred thousand barrels of wine which he distributed among the people to celebrate the occasion, it was a frigid and cheerless ceremony. One would have thought that it was only some obscure commander returning from a paltry expedition against barbarians and not the teacher of the new imperialism now so much in vogue, and the originator of the conquests and the glories of Pompey. But Lucullus cared little for the noise of notoriety. After ten years in the East he re-entered his father's house disgusted with mankind, deaf to the plaudits of the masses, and prepared to find a congenial reward for his achievements in the enjoyment of his riches and the respectful admiration of his peers.
