"Mommsen's literary skill reached its apogee in his delineation of the characters of the late Republic. Caesar is the hero, Pompeius and Cicero misguided opponents of destiny's favorite. The strong man who gathered all the threads of power into his own hands, who undertook the spiritual, moral, military, and political rebirth was Mommsen's ideal. Some might say that he foresaw Bismarck; but of Bismarck he later disapproved."