Gaius is not Lepidus

We must take some precautions when we deal with Gaius Julius Caesar. We have taken some actions lately that while they should not warrant the grounds for him to take command of an army, yet I can see how they would upset him. He sees what this noble senate has done as disgraceful to his adopted father and as such he takes it as a sign of disrespect to himself. While his actions are unjustified, we must not push him to make anymore rash decisions by stripping him of his command or sending troops after him. If we embark upon this course again, nothing good will come of this path. I say again, because we have already seen this manner of events unfold before us once. Remember dear Lepidus and our proposals caused him to turn his back upon us and take legions through the city. Young Gaius is going to join legions on campaign against Parthia, which while we may not have granted him command of those legions, he is not within striking distance of Rome at this time. Our first concerns therefore must be how to best deal with Lepidus. If we deal with Lepidus first and Gaius second, we may even solve two problems at once. Wouldn’t it be nice to deal with Lepidus and when finished find that Parthia has now been tamed. It would benefit us more to deal with the threat we are all sure of rather than trying to take action against Gaius and creating another threat to Rome. There is no perfect path right now, however we must choose between two evils. The option to strike out at both sides does not exist because both men control more of Rome’s armies than Rome does right now. We have been forced into a tight spot and now must come up with a solution, however desperate it may be, to get rid of the problems we now face.

I propose that we focus on Lepidus instead of creating a worse situation with Gaius Julius Caesar. If we allow him to command the Parthian campaign, we may be giving him a triumphal parade. This situation would be much preferable and beneficial to the people of Rome than making him a public enemy and trying to force him to relinquish his legions. We must learn from the past actions we have taken and realize that forcing someone into a tight corner is not the best way to disarm them. Force is a great tool and there are many situations in which force will win the day, however tact can be a more effective tool than force in many situations. A wise man once said that brains triumph over brawn, and at this particular junction in time I believe that this is the right idea. If we use Gaius Julius Caesar to his full potential instead of trying to bend him to our will, we may find that he is capable of great things. Once we have dealt with Lepidus, we will then have the ability to deal with Gaius’ refusal to return to Rome. As of now, that is the worst crime that he is guilty of and he has given some reasons as to why he would not return to Rome. In due time, hopefully we will come to understand fully why he has not proceeded according to the wishes of this senate, however for now we must try to face Lepidus with as much force as we can marshal and we will be unable to do so if we have to keep some of our forces to protect against other possible threats. Thus, I think that our primary concern for the time being should be Lepidus and we should wish Gaius the best of luck in Parthia.