" All those who disturbed the commonwealth put forward worthy motives, some claiming to protect the rights of the people. others that they were strengthening the senate's authority, but it was all pretense. Every man was fighting for his own power." (Sallust,Cat.38)   Clodius finally managed to have his status as patrician changed to plebeian in 59, but only with the intervention of Caesar who was consul in that year. As he was sui juris he could only become plebeian by a special act of adoption called, adrogatio. This required a decree of the Comitia Curiata which had to be called by the senate who opposed the obvious political ploy. Caesar at once seeing the advantage of placing Clodius in a position to be a tribune who would be under obligatio to him, called a session of the Comitia Curiata himself. Caesar convened the curiate assembly, a group of 30 lictors empowered to represent the curia, and promulgated the Rogatio de Adrogatione. In his role of Pontifex Maximus, he declared that there was no religious impediment to the adoption of Clodius by a plebeian. Pompey, in on the scheme, attended the meeting as augur and proclaimed no adverse omens attended the adoption. The decree was duly passed and Clodius was legally adopted by the plebeian, P.Fonteius, a youth of 20 who on the spot, emancipated his recently acquired son. The choice of a man younger than Clodius as a momentary plebeian father underscored the purely expediential nature of a move which legally, but not socially, changed the status of Clodius as a Roman citizen. Caesar, Pompey, and by association, Crassus, now had the opportunity to create a tribune who could put at least a temporary strangle hold on the senate. Clodius when he was elected tribune would have the power to veto any legislation of the senate which was adverse to the interests of the triumvirate and his election with the backing of the people and the triumvirate was a sure thing. Furthermore, any legislation proposed by the popular tribune carried the special weight of public opinion and increasingly, the danger of civil insurrection should it not be carried. You will find that the whole series of events receives quite a different emphasis from the completely egocentric, Cicero. To him this obvious bid for power was nothing more than a plot to destroy him. To be certain, Clodius intended to destroy his arch enemy Cicero when he was in power, but the triumvirs had larger game than Cicero in mind.