Lucius Caesetius Flavus on what to with Caesar's body (sorry it's late)

Oh conscript fathers,

It is with a heavy heart that I approach you all today. I approach you, nevertheless, out of the sense of duty that I have to our great republic. For when our republic is in danger, we who have been appointed with the charge of protecting it must take action. And so, today, I heed my obligation and must move to defend that which is most dear to me. The matter I refer to is simple, and as such I have not much to say. Apologists for the late Julius Caesar have claimed that the man whose body we now discuss was not a tyrant but a hero. However, we must not allow those villainous men who seek to use the present tumult in our great republic for their own benefits to fool us. I speak to you today as I have always spoken to you fine senators, as the representative of the noble and most industrious plebs, who now celebrate their freedom from the tyrant whose excessive ambition and maniac lust for power threatened to unhinge the republic completely.

As tribune of the plebs, it is my sole charge to ensure that they are well represented and protected. This responsibility is not new for me, however I have recently been prevented from fulfilling it by this Caesar who once persecuted me for removing a diadem from a statue bearing his likeness. How can you Caesarians defend the integrity of a man who persecuted a Roman citizen for refusing to honor him as a king?

It is an unfortunate circumstance that Caesar, who for many years served as a legitimate hero of the republic, descended into tyranny and wretchedness when faced with the possibility of great power. Therefore I mourn not that Caesar has died, but that he had to die. That a man as virtuous as Caesar once was could not resist the temptation of supremacy is perhaps the strongest evidence of the lamentable but undeniable fact that excessive power necessarily corrupts.

However, if Caesar was truly the hero his apologists claim he was, surely he would have gladly given his life to the cause of preventing the destruction of the republic at the hands of a tyrant. Caesar breathes not now. Lest his sacrifice go to waste, I suggest we treat him as the despot he had become prior to his death and throw his body to the water, where it will serve as a warning to those who seek to exploit and manipulate the republic. Caesar’s reign of tyranny is finally over. While his death may be lamentable, it was necessary. Join me, oh conscript fathers, in heralding those who liberated us from Caesar’s clutches. May they be treated as the heroes they are and may we now move forward, for the time has come for re-growth. Truly, Caesar’s death will not have been in vain if it teaches us the dangers of autocratic power.