Concerning the matters at hand

Concerning the matters raised by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, it is clear to me, conscript fathers, that we have not a choice, but rather a duty ahead of us with regard to the final arrangements for Gaius Julius Caesar. As a hero, the protector of the people who celebrated triumphs and conquered the barbarians of the Gallic provinces, there has scarcely been a man in the history of Rome who has deserved the honor of a state funeral more, yet it is also true that there are few men whose honors would face as much opposition as we will likely see on this day.

Nevertheless, if we act impiously, and deny a great general and leader of the state the public funeral he so richly deserves, can there be anyone who will doubt what will result? I need not mention the last time the public was forced to take the funeral arrangements of a man whom they believed to be a hero of the people into their own hands, for the cinders of the Senate House still mar the Forum and burn in the minds of every Senator as surely as they did ten years ago. It is certain that, should we fail to act, a similar tragedy will come to pass, and we cannot allow a pious occasion to become an act suited only to infamy, as was the death of Publius Clodius Pulcher.

However, it is also certain that we should not permit the funeral of our dictator to go on so quietly that the public, the very people that Gaius Julius Caesar was sworn to protect, might not know that it was occurring at all. Nor indeed should we allow the body of our leader to be defiled, having been thrown into the yellow Tiber as though he were a common criminal. Despite the feelings that have been quite obviously expressed by such men as saw fit to end the dictator’s life, he was nonetheless the helmsman of the state, and he should be treated as such by the nation that he worked to promote and protect. Indeed, it is the only truly fitting and proper course of action, and it is the only route deserved and desired by the people.

The question of what to do with Caesar’s body inevitably brings up questions of what is to be done with those responsible for his death. Whether this body considers them to be heroes or villains, tyrannicides or traitors, this is a matter to be deliberated carefully, not to be decided when the heart of the entire state is swollen with grief and rent with indecision. At the same time, it is without doubt that these men killed a great man, a leader of the state who was approved of and confirmed by this honorable body of conscript fathers, and such a crime cannot be allowed to go unpunished. Their deed was committed openly, and thus they must candidly suffer the consequences.

However, even in our time of great grief we must not impulsively lash out in violence and bloodshed. We must, honored senators, display the famed clemency of Caesar, and not revert to the cruel brutality of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. For, while to allow such a murder to go unpunished would pollute our beloved city in such a manner as to tempt the very wrath of the gods themselves, to act impiously and without honor, with regard only for our pain, would surely inspire no less divine anger.

As with the matter of the conspirators, so too with matters concerning the status of our magister equitum and consul suffectus. While the status of these men and others must be determined, and with all due speed, there are other matters with which we should be concerned at this time. Nevertheless, it seems certain that, for the stability and well-being of the state, we must confirm Publius Cornelius Dolabella in the position of consul as Caesar had wished. In order to ensure the safety of our Republic and its people, we must strive for every ounce of strength and steadiness we can muster. To this end, it is necessary to put the state itself on hold, and change as little as possible until we attend to the matter of Caesar’s body. During this time, we must allow the magistrates to work as they have been until this point, despite the fact that we do not currently have a dictator to head them.

In all things and at all times, honored Senators, it is necessary for us to put forth advice concerning the affairs of the state in a manner that comports with what is right and honorable for us to do and with what is deserved by the people themselves. In order to achieve this, it is my belief that we can follow only one course of action: Caesar must be given a public funeral, as is his right as the leader of the Roman state.