Concerning Gaius Julius Caesar

At this point, gentlemen, we must be cautious and careful. None of us, I’m sure, even care to rehash the dreadful events that have taken place in our sacred house the last few meetings because the path immediately ahead of us now is quite daunting, but we must proceed nevertheless. Gaius Julius Caesar must be treated with respect, being in command of so many legions, and I think that we should do what we can to bring him back within the legal bounds he has so hastily disregarded. We cannot afford to allow him to ally with Lepidus or to get in on whatever secretive alliances have been formed recently – we must get him back to the side of the Senate using whatever means we can. Diplomacy is key, and pride on our parts cannot be tolerated. That is, I recommend sending out a collection of senators – three or so of his father’s former military commanders – and offering Gaius Julius Caesar a place here in the Senate to voice his complaints. While I don’t particularly care to bend to the whim of some petulant child, I do think that the position we are in requires us to keep him as close to us as possible – we need to offer him more than Lepidus or any of our enemies already have. We need to keep him on our side.
I do not wish for anyone to think that I approve of his actions or wish to reward such immature and reckless behavior with honor or decorated offices. I think the vast majority of us can agree that what the young Gaius Julius Caesar has done here justifies the hatred and disgust we are pouring on him. All the more reason to act cautiously, conscript fathers! We are now aware of what first steps he is capable of – what else might he attempt? We are also now aware of how little regard he has for us, for our institution, and for what we stand for – what else might he have in mind? We must win him back into our influence in order to fight against whatever legions may soon be attacking our city – a very real and imminent threat!
The time for unison is now. Even more lives are on the line. We must act quickly and in harmony, allowing for no wasted time or energy. Send a few senators to converse with him, offering some incentive to entice him back nearer to our presence. Lets not think that offering him the Parthian campaign that his father had planned would end well for anyone. The massive wealth and following he would obtain in the time that war would take would bring him back to our city aged, experienced, and possibly more powerful than his father. Besides, sending his troops to Parthia would merely put them as far out of the way as possible, a drastically unhelpful move if diplomacy and Dolabella’s relatively small command fail against Lepidus. Bringing them closer to the city could also serve problematic, but it is the lesser of two evils unless there is another, more beneficial location to be offered.
With regards to the Lepidus situation, let no one be foolish enough to think that this man is sitting back, idly wasting the days away, with no plots or rash ideas on his mind. He illegally burned the body of Caesar in the middle of our city! He is planning something, and as long as Dolabella wanders aimlessly – and unsuccessfully – around the Italian countryside, the man is probably allying with powerful locals and plotting doom for Rome! Be prepared for the worst, Romans, as long as we rely on this hapless commander who has hardly found out anything about Lepidus’ whereabouts. We have at least two serious threats coming at us from unknown directions. Heaven forbid they join together!