Notes of a Soldier

I come to you, O conscript fathers, not as an eloquent senator, learned in the skills of oratory and rhetoric, but as a loyal Roman general of humble beginnings. Many of you probably believe I am unworthy to speak before such an educated body, but the battlefield teaches one lessons formal education can. It is said that unbridled emotion and passion are the worst enemies of justice and judgment. Therefore I will allay my personal feelings for the purposes of this speech and for the purposes of better judgment. Only if some of my contemporaries could claim the same!

Gaius Julius Caesar was a man of the plebs, a man of clemency, and most importantly, a man of Rome. I will always retain an unparalleled respect for our slain leader and my personal mentor and friend. He rewarded my talents and undying devotion to Rome by appointing me to the post of senator. Caesar’s devotion, rather obsession with the greatness of Rome, led Caesar to institute a policy of clemency that ultimately led to his demise as you men know. O the irony in clemency being the ultimate cause of death! Cicero, you championed his policies only months before as he absolved the past grievances between you, but now you revel in his assassination. How fickle you can be in with your emotions! Despite the hollow remarks of his murderers, many of whom are amongst us now, Caesar was no tyrant. His policies aimed to enrich our lives and the glory of Rome, and his burial should reflect his noble purposes.

Being a man who has witnessed countless Roman men of meager birth commit the ultimate sacrifice for their country, I have little toleration for deceit and cowardice. I also have little toleration for disgracing the body of a fallen Roman soldier and general. Conspirators, you have tarnished your names and your Republican ideals beyond restoration, what drives you to further disgrace yourselves? The people of Rome have adequately voiced their opinion of your deceitful act, or maybe it was their lack of voice when you hurried to the Capitol expecting to be herald as “liberators.” O how silly you all must have felt! The silence was deafening! If you conspirators, and most importantly your Republican ideals, wish to retain any shred of credibility, it is your obligation to give Caesar a proper burial ceremony.

I beseech the question to those advocating anything less than a proper Roman burial, what alternatives does you suggest? If Caesar’s body is deemed unworthy of a proper burial, I shudder to think of what will be done with the bodies of the conspirators. Alas, I shudder to think of what shall be done to my body, as I surely will never contend with the glory Caesar brought to Rome. We need to unite as a body and attempt to preserve our integrity by granting Caesar a burial procession suitable for a man of his stature.