Tyranicide and its Rewards

Conscript Fathers, it appears we have a very simple legal question on our hands. There are those who in the Senate who feel a murder has been committed, and those who do not. Now let us examine this proposition. What do we mean when we say Caesar was murdered? Certainly, a man is dead by the hand of his peers. But surely not all killings are unlawful. A man may be put to death for all manner of crimes. Indeed, many a man thought to be good and virtuous has committed heinous crimes. Caesar was a friend to many, yes. A benevolent man to be sure. He made the people happy. But pleasure doled out is NOT the measure of a good ruler. Caesar sought to destroy the state. Whatever his past accomplishments, however amicable his past disposition, Caesar was a tyrant. Is the murder of a tyrant a crime? If we are in our right minds, we must answer no. All crimes against the state merit the punishment of death. Caesar committed the crime; he paid the price. But now there are those among us who not only wish to cast this act as a crime itself, but also wish to have those brave Romans who stood for the Republic tried as common criminals. This sort of talk is not only non-sense; it is treasonous. It smacks of personal revenge. What sort of state do we live in where we will punish virtuous action? The state exists to encourage virtue in the community. What greater virtue is there than to protect the community from those who would impose tyranny upon it? Nay brothers, do not call the tyrant slayer to task. Rather call to task those self-serving ingrates who would betray their fatherland and betray her into the hands of the tyrant.