There was, undoubtedly, a large minority who were averse to his being deposed in the first instance but, being outvoted, the decree of deposition was passed.

Others were, perhaps, more or less doubtful.

Caesar's generous forbearance in refusing the offered aid of the populace carried over a number of these sufficient to shift the majority, and thus the action of the body was reversed.

It is in this way that the sudden and apparently total changes in the action of deliberative assemblies which often take place, and which would otherwise, in some cases, be almost incredible, are to be explained.
[Sidenote: Caesar implicated in Catiline's conspiracy.] [Sidenote: He arrests Vettius.] After this, Caesar became involved in another difficulty, in consequence of the appearance of some definite and positive evidence that he was connected with Catiline in his famous conspiracy.

One of the senators said that Catiline himself had informed him that Caesar was one of the accomplices of the plot.