Make Haste Slowly

My fellow senators, I have spent many hours since our last meeting contemplating our situation. We hold a precarious position, my friends, one from which we should not too hastily move, lest it prove our downfall. The young Caesar has acted presumptuously, rashly, even foolishly, but he has yet to show himself to be a villain. As my esteemed colleague Varro has noted, Caesar is not Lepidus. He did not rush out of the city, cursing us and threatening violence on all those who stood for the Republic. However, let us not think for a minute that the young Caesar shares our interests.
His actions do border on treasonous. However, they are not explicitly so. Caesar still nominally supports the Senate, and if that is true, he has a weakness. He is still beholden to our judgment in the eyes of the people. The young Caesar has pledged his loyalty to Rome. I do not think it would be his first choice to march on the city he claims to protect. The people would not welcome a man who brings them fire and sword rather than wealth and glory from a rich campaign in the East. An overt move to seize control by the young Caesar would surely turn the people against him. They will not support a man who shows up on their doorstep wearing a tyrant’s royal purple. This young man is not an idiot. He knows that he has much to lose by attempting violence upon the state. No, I think he will want to earn glory and riches in Parthia in order to strengthen his support here at home.
Yes, he enjoys some popular support as the heir of the late Julius Caeasar. However, Furthermore, if the young Caesar should continue to flaunt the Senate’s decrees, he will alienate this popular support. The only way for him to acquire legitimate support is if we give it to him. Moreover, we must avoid any crisis that will give him an excuse to return to the city. He knows that he cannot be seen to make an overt bid for power unless we give him an excuse to do so. However, if we manage to uphold the virtues of our forefathers, then we shall manage to deprive him of this. For this reason, I believe that we are, for the moment, safe.
This being the case, let us make haste slowly. Send out another emissary recalling him to the city and installing a new commander of the legions bound for Parthia. If he complies, all the better for us. If he does not, then we shall be able to expose him to the people as a man who seeks power for himself. If he continues to Parthia, pretending that he never received the orders, then at least he shall be out of the way long enough to deal with Lepidus. Who knows? Campaigns in the East can be long and dangerous affairs, he may even get himself killed.
In the meantime, however, we ought also to prepare ourselves for the worst. A two-front war may very well be upon us, and it will not be an easy affair. In light of the preparations we have made to deal with Lepidus and the temporary strain this will put on our troop levels in the West, I believe it to be in our best interests to begin raising legions and ships for a possible campaign in the East. Sextus Pompey currently has a fleet and has the ability to raise six full legions. I suggest that we normalize our relations with the younger Pompey and begin to marshal these forces in the event of a conflict with the young Caesar. I believe we may entrust this duty to my honorable colleague Scribonius Libo, who has always been a loyal Roman, and I believe has the unique talents necessary to accomplish this task.