Welcome to our humble abode. What you have observed is indeed true, but this could be said of any public figure, the concept is known as Dignitas. It is easy to fall into the trap of translating it as "Dignity", but it is in reallity so much more. Think of it as personal influence, the more you have the more likely you'll be elected for office/post, the higher you go the more Clientella you have, therefore, more political influence. He was a middle of the road politician who advocated accord with the senate as the supreme body, but alas, the roman revolution was too polarized to accomodate such. Perhaps if he had been born earlier he could have impacted events.