On the Order of Lepidus

The actions taken against Marcus Aemelius Lepidus were for the good of all Rome. The senate had been in a state of lethargy and the actions taken against Lepidus will hopefully bring an end to this. Prior to this vote, the senate had been slow to take action when and if they took action at all. Hopefully, we have awaken from our sleep in time to stop the dangers at hand and are able to keep Rome safe from the rule of one man. We have given our consensus an army should be raised and lead by Publius Cornelius Dolabella. This is, at least for the time being, a start on the right course of action. However, as you may know we are unsure as to where this legion should be going. We failed to act when Lepidus was within the city, thus at that time we showed that wisdom without action accomplishes nothing. However, action without wisdom is just as futile. We must now look to become both men of action and men of wisdom. We must now try to figure out what has become of dear Lepidus. The one thing we can be sure of is that we have not heard the end of Lepidus. We have declared him an enemy of the state, so we must expect him to try and enter Rome through the force of his legions. This, however discomforting it may be, is not the worst of our troubles. We must find Lepidus and deal with him before he inspires others to perceive Rome as weak now that Gaius Julius Caesar is no longer our leader. If men start to believe that Rome is weak, this will only be the first of many rebellions that we shall have to put down.

Noble senators, what I propose is that we take action while we gain wisdom. We have no knowledge of where he is going, but I believe Lepidus will seek the support of his many legions. He will hope for the support of his men, seeing them as the most trustworthy people to his cause. We must at least match the number of troops he will attempt to turn to his cause. I believe that these men should also be experienced in battle, because Lepidus’ men, the men our legions may have to fight, will also be veterans. We should recall some of the troops we have abroad to help us fight against this new threat. We must also seek to learn as much about Lepidus’ activities as we possibly can. As long as we have no knowledge of what he is up to, we can only hope to counter the actions he takes after they have been taken. In order for us to take the offensive, we must seek greater knowledge and understanding. We must understand where he will head so that we may take the initiative. If we can learn his route, we will be able to engage him on terrain that we desire to acquire an advantage for our soldiers. We may even be able to separate his forces and engage them while we maintain the advantage of numbers as well. There are many variables when fighting so there are no guarantees, however a good leader can increase the odds of success for his army. A good leader is even capable of turning bad odds to his favor and snatching a victory from the jaws of defeat. Do not believe that Lepidus is anything short of a good leader, for doing so would be folly on our part. He will have the support of his men and he may be capable of turning battles in his favor, which is all the more reason for us to prepare for his actions. We must hope that his plans will take time to come to fruition, because right now time is our ally. However, we must be prepared to act once he starts his plans in motion. We must have troops on hand and we must have knowledge of his whereabouts and the path he seeks to take to arrive at Rome. If we can acquire this knowledge then we must take action because we will have the wisdom to choose the best course of action. However, if we cannot obtain this information we must react as best and as quickly as possible until we can outmaneuver Lepidus.