Upon the start of the civil war, he joined the party of the Senate sometimes called optimates by modern scholars (even though the term belongs to the era of Sulla and Marius).
Setelah permulaan perang saudara, ia bergabung dengan kelompok Senat yang terkadang disebut optimates oleh para cendekiawan modern (bahkan meskipun istilah tersebut masuk era Sulla dan Marius).