Octavianus: Well-intentioned but Misguided

Fellow Senators, We now have a choice before us: to let a youth guide this city by force, or to take back control of Rome for the Senate. If we continue to let Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus march about Rome and her provinces without the authority of the Senate what will become of us? Octavianus either assumes that we support his decisions or does not care for our opinion. While the Senate has itself been in a state of chaos of late, Octavianus should have at least brought up the issue of the Parthian Campaign before taking it upon himself to continue it in this time of crisis. I do not doubt that Octavianus has done what he thought to be right, but in this situation I feel that the inexperience of youth has led him to pursue the wrong course of action. When the Parthian Campaign was started the state of Rome was quite different than it is now, while it might have been the right action at the time, the present situation calls for us to focus on Rome herself. A time will come for campaigns in Parthia, but right now we must focus on the current conditions in Rome and the ever more present threat of Lepidus and his army. Our best course of action would be to convince Octavianus of this fact. We should remind him that his father put Rome above all else and that he should as well. Octavianus will be letting down his father's legacy if he continues to run about the countryside and leaves Rome defenseless. We should use Octavianus, his staff, and troops to their full potential by using them to defend Rome and confront Lepidus. After that threat has been removed, by all means let us continue the Parthian Campaign allowing Octavianus to continue the work set out for him by his father.

We should also be prepared to face the fact that Octavianus will not see the truth in our words and continue to pursue his current course of action or even worse turn against the Senate. This is something that we must prevent at all costs. We already have Lepidus to deal with; adding in a rogue Octavianus will only make our situation beyond hopeless. We are already in a precarious situation facing the threat of Lepidus; we cannot possibly hope to confront forces from both sides that are larger than our own. At the present we have given Octavianus no reason to oppose the Senate, we must maintain this relationship for the protection and safety of Rome and her people.

Another thing we must remind Octavianus of is our love of Rome and her citizens, including himself. In his letter to the Senate Octavianus speaks of public projects and the improvement of Rome, we need to remind him that we do care about these projects, but that they will mean nothing if Rome is attacked. While I do feel that some of his actions have resulted from inexperience and lack of wisdom, in this matter he is right. We have long succumbed to petty squabbles and personal vendettas, we need to remember our duties to the people and the city. I would hope that the instant the threat of Lepidus is over we would turn our focus towards Rome and her people, working to improve the city and the lives of those under her rule. Let us remind Octavianus that we will complete these projects as soon as Lepidus is under control and the safety of Rome and her people is not threatened.