Ah, Lepidus, to speak frankly, it was Caesar's friends, flatterers, and enemies who, all together, crushed him under the crowns of flowers they threw upon him. The former out of excessive affection, the latter out of a desire to please and enrich themselves, and the latter to give the people a pretext for criticising Caesar and to cloak their plot against him with the appearance of goodwill. But tell me, Lepidus, what else could Caesar have done but reject the honours that were offered to him? Moreover, if he had wanted to be king, it would have been entirely possible. The same arm that had allowed him to conquer so many countries and win so many victories would have secured his empire. He was well aware of the realities of the world to know that he could not ascend to the throne through the gentleness and consent of all the Romans. He undoubtedly knew that crowns are snatched, not willingly accepted. If he had intended to be king, he would have used force, not gentleness. Gaul would have provided him with an army strong enough for that. After all, with five thousand foot soldiers and three hundred horsemen, he had driven Pompey away and had taken control of all of Italy. After the battle of Pharsalus, it would not have been harder for him to seize supreme authority. The Gauls would have followed him gladly and would have come to Rome to recover the spoil that the Roman legions had once taken from them.

But, Lepidus, he would have acted as a tyrant and a usurper, not as a citizen. I fully admit that Caesar wanted to reign, but it was in the hearts of the Romans, not in Rome. He granted them new favours on a daily basis, thinking only of their peace, their happiness, and their glory. And while they were plotting his death, he was working tirelessly to ensure their happiness. Have you ever seen, Lepidus, a hero more remarkable than Caesar? If you look closely at his entire life, you will not find a single stain, but you will find all the dazzling qualities of humanity. The victories he won are not among those that fortune blindly bestows on those who trust in her. He won them by his valour and his reason. And when he left things to chance, it was because reason permitted it. His firmness of spirit, which he always demonstrated in all the dangers he exposed himself to for the Republic, is something incomprehensible. He always showed the same face in good and bad times. Love, anger, hatred, vengeance, and ambition never led him to weakness. He was always master of his emotions and was never defeated, except by mercy. However, there were men, even Romans, vile enough to consider Caesar a tyrant. But in reality, Lepidus, things did not happen that way. The personal hatred that Cassius had for Caesar, because he had preferred Brutus to him by designating him consul in his place, was at the origin of the conspiracy. Wasn’t because he had violated Roman laws, mistreated the senators, or caused the death of citizens, but simply to avenge Cassius.

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