Ambition and Youth

The recent actions of Gaius Julius Caesar are cause for serious alarm, Senators, as his refusal to return to the senate is a direct subjugation of the governmental body which rules the most powerful civilization in our world. Senators, do not sit idly by and watch your power be taken by this wanton youth! This boy is simply riding the popularity of his late adoptive father in order that he gain more popularity and continue on the path his adoptive father set for him.
Although his popularity is potentially threatening, it is the power and authority of the senate that is in jeopardy today. Differences of opinion are to be expected, especially considering the burgeoning size of the Senate, but it is a senator’s duty, not merely the opinion of a few, to enforce its decrees. If the senate allows no action against, or does not reprimand the young adoptee, then the senate has openly and publicly announced to anyone who gives attention to the issue that it is powerless.
Gaius’ most recent letter to the senate does a poor job of hiding his true aim for Rome. He constantly refers to the people, as if it is the job of a youth not even old enough to legally participate in the senate to decide what is best for the people. He has made his intentions clear by openly defying the senate and appealing to the love the people had for his late adoptive father simultaneously. Anyone, senator or otherwise, who remains under the assumption that he has Rome’s interests ahead of his own needs to be reminded of just how quickly a man’s popularity can turn him into a tyrant.
You all may remember that Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, who in his early career led the campaign against Mithridates, gained a staggering amount of wealth after his military exploits ended. How fortunate Rome was that he did not decide to use that wealth to achieve political dominance. Our wanton adoptee has given no substantive promise assuring Senate that political power is not his ultimate goal. Stated or written words, as you all know, are often not the speaker’s true intentions at all.
This youth’s political aspirations are clearly not the same as Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus’ were. Pompeius’ political involvement was limited at best. The young adoptee, however, aims to win over the affections of the people using his ambition and his family name. Having Gaius Octavianus in the Parthian fields, out of control of the senate, only allows him to bolster support among his supporters and troops. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, any financial victory or taking would strengthen any attempt he might make to march on Rome.
The most important thing to remember while making any decision on how to handle the current situation is what happened after Lepidus left Rome. After Lepidus fled, no one (to the senate’s knowledge) has heard from him. His whereabouts, and more importantly his goals are completely unknown. Does Rome need another wild general running amuck somewhere in the Mediterranean? If he has already refused the senate’s orders once, what possible guarantee does the senate have that he will comply with our orders in the future? It ought to take more than one simple refusal to declare Gaius Octavianus an enemy of the state, but if he continues to defy the senate or refuse our decrees, he ought to be given the same label as Lepidus. Those who defy the Senate defy the institution which has for so long now upheld the values and principles which make Rome the most powerful city in the world.