On Recent Events and the Body They Have Made

Noble senators, we have been through the most unique and troubling events of late. We have been witness to the death of our chosen dictator Gaius Julius Caesar. I was stunned when I realized what was happening at a meeting within a temple, much less a meeting of the senate. To see my fellow senators, men of rank among the community, taking turns stabbing a man we had elected dictator nauseated me. I unable to say what is to come from these actions, but I must hope that what has already come to pass was for good so the Empire does not suffer from our actions.

We must now help decide what must be done with his body. I am sure many of you will have your own opinions; some will think he deserves great honors while others may perceive him to be a criminal. However, do not let your thoughts and opinions of Julius in life sway your opinion of what should happen to him in death, for in death he is just like any other man we have chosen to lead us. Every man in this vast Empire is brought to the same end when it comes to death. We are all victim to the desires of the gods and fates. However, once we die every man must hope that his memory will be honored. We should honor Julius’ memory and not defile it by abusing the body of a man who would not even retain the knowledge of what we had done. I for one would take no part in such hideous and malign actions. And as for anyone who would be involved, may the gods show no mercy to you when your time arrives and destiny decides that it is you who should perish. I believe we should honor his death as he was, as a leader of our great Empire. It would do no honor to Rome for us to take her leader and treat him as a common criminal. Let us not forget, wise senators, Julius was a leader of the people, in order that we should avoid repeating certain events which we should all well remember. The people would not think kindly of us if we should be too harsh in our dealings on this matter. Let us set aside old grudges and harsh feelings, so that we may do what is proper. My proposal is to do what is right for Rome, let us hold a public funeral so that the people of Rome may come to pay their respects. For those of you who do not believe the funeral should be public because the body may be harmed, we should provide a guard to watch over the body and keep it from being defiled. This funeral should hold all the honors of a man who dedicated his life to serving Rome. These arrangements should include funeral games in honor of Julius’ service to the greatest of nations. This will help appease the populace and ensure that there are no ensuing revolts. All things considered, we should hold the funeral soon so that we may move past these events and consider what we must do for the future of Rome. If we wish to remain in control of the Empire we must establish the fact that even though Julius’ is dead, Rome is still as strong as ever.