Important Passages Julius Caesar by Phillip Freeman is an in-depth biography on the life, achievements, and personality of Caesar. The author's style and major themes can be displayed in quotations from significant passages. For example, when Sulla, a dictator, ordered Caesar to divorce his wife after Sulla stripped Caesar of his position as flamen dialis, Caesar refused. Freeman describes his defiance: “Whether through stubbornness, audacity, or simply love, Caesar was a defiant man who ordered the murder of thousands. In doing so, he lost everything he owned and was now condemned to death on the proscription lists” (32). In another pressing way, Caesar's personality also manifests itself when he was captured by pirates. Freeman writes: “Caesar treated the pirates with a good-natured contempt that shocked and amused his captors. They were used to seeing terrified prisoners begging for mercy, but Caesar instead acted as if the pirates were only a minor distraction in his busy schedule” (39). Not to mention that Caesar's compassion for his loved ones is also depicted in this biography. When his beloved aunt passed away, instead of the typical quiet funeral orientation of a woman, he chose to deliver a bold speech filled with family pride in front of a huge crowd for his dear deceased aunt. Caesar himself exclaims: “My aunt Julia's family is descended from kings on her mother's side and, through her father, from the gods themselves. For the Marcii Reges, his mother's family, are the heirs of Ancus Marcius, fourth king of Rome, while the Julians, of which our clan is a part, are descended from the goddess Venus herself. My family therefore holds the sacred character of kings who reign among men and of gods who reign over kings” (52). In a similar case, when his young wife Cornelia died, his wife Sulla told him to divorce him and risked his life for her because he loved her so much, Caesar honored.