Page "Cato the Younger" Paragraph 19

Cato's opposition took two forms.

First, in 61 BC, Pompey returned from his Asian campaign with two ambitions: to celebrate a Triumph, and to become consul for the second time.

In order to achieve both goals, he asked the Senate to postpone consular elections until after his Triumph.

Due to Pompey's enormous popularity, the Senate was not willing to oblige Cato at first, but Cato intervened and convinced the Senate to force Pompey to choose.

In opposition to this action, Quintus Metellus Celer, Pompey's brother-in-law, attempted to repeal the act, but he was unsuccessful.

The result was Pompey's third Triumph, one of the most magnificent ever seen in Rome.