The poet may have owed something to the patronage of the Metelli. […] Marius nursed resentment against the nobiles and sought to break through their monopoly of patronage. […] He was consul and chief man in the Caesarian faction: power and patronage rested in his hands. […] clearly patronage and a means of admitting partisans to the Senate in an orderly fashion. […] More patronage: L.