ABSTRACT
Dignitas was a highly personal concept at Rome. It referred to a man's relative rank in society, i.e. his place on the social ladder in relation to his peers. He had a duty to attempt to surpass both his ancestors and his contemporaries. The main aim of this chapter is to assess the reasons why the relationship between Pompey and Gaius Julius Caesar degenerated into civil war. The senate passed its ultimate decree, the senatus consultum ultimum, and naturally placed Pompey, as proconsul, in charge of troops who were levied specially for the purpose of quelling the lawlessness. Pompey was posturing in support of institutions and customs that he above all others had flouted in his earlier career. The reader is left to conclude that Caesar may not have been bargaining in good faith and that he had decided upon civil war quite early in 50 BCE, long before the crossing of the Rubicon.
