Cicero in Support of A Private Funeral

Note: This may not be exactly what I said in the senate meeting, as I spoke extemporaneously in response to Marcus Antonius. But these are the main points I made. My prepared speech did not fit the topic at hand.

First off, I would like to respond to Marcus Antonius’s claim that our only attack against him is that he is a drunkard. I do not care what he does outside the senate (except that his dependency on wine might cause him to neglect his duty to the senate). We shall not address that here. What I shall address is the fact that Marcus Antonius, in the legacy of Caesar wishes to become a tyrant like Caesar.

Second I agree with Brutus that we should give over the body to a neutral party until such time as a decision is made concerning the burial of Caesar in the senate. Any decision on this matter should be made by the senate as a whole, not just a faction of men who hold the good of Caesar over the good of the Roman people or by the members of my faction.

I have heard rumors that Caesar’s supporters plot to steal the body and hold a public funeral. Therefore I suggest that we give the body to the state priests until a decision is reached by the senate.

And then I would like to say that the liberators shall follow the will of the senate. That is all that they wish to do. If it is their will to give Caesar’s family the right to honor him in a private funeral, so be it. Though he is a criminal and should be thrown into the Tiber, I understand why his family should wish to honor him, and that would be acceptable to my party. We wait to hear from the senate, and it is our honor to do their will. If you wish to allow Caesar’s family to honor him as a man, it would be acceptable, but we cannot allow the tyrant to be honored by the state. Thank you.