As Rome in 45 BC was still politically divided after the civil war, Marcus Cicero tried to lobby Caesar to postpone the Parthian invasion and solve his domestic problems instead. Following a similar line of thought in June of that year Caesar temporarily wavered in his intention to leave with the expedition.[22] However, Caesar finally decided to leave Rome and join the army in Macedonia. A number of motivations have been proposed to explain his decision to continue his military career.[23] After a victorious campaign he would have, as Plutarch wrote, "completed this circuit of his empire, which would then be bounded on all sides by the ocean"[24] and return home with his lifelong dictatorship secured.[4] It has also been proposed that Caesar knew of the threats against him and felt that leaving Rome and being in the company of a loyal army would be safer, personally and politically.[22] Caesar may have also wished to heal the rift from the civil war, or distract from it, by reminding the populace of Rome of the threat of a neighboring empire.[9]