But if Caesar had to die for having preferred Brutus to Cassius, it should not have been<hr>
Brutus who was to stab Caesar to avenge Cassius, whom Caesar had offended only to please the former. No, Lepidus, even if Caesar had been what he was accused of being, that is, the cruelest tyrant who ever existed, Brutus's sword should not have been tainted with his blood. And he should have been the last of the Romans to desert him after all that he had done for him. Let no one tell me that the more ungrateful he seems towards Caesar, the more grateful he seems towards his country. No, Lepidus, generosity cannot coexist with ingratitude. Vice and virtue cannot be joined, and one cannot be both ungrateful and thankful. The one who boasts depends on those who compliment him. So, those with noble souls only seek favors from their friends, and if they have the choice, they prefer to subjugate their adversaries rather than owe them. If Brutus could not be happy as long as Caesar was alive, he should never have appeared under his banners, he should have refused all the honors that Caesar offered him, not yield to him. Rather than accepting the life that Caesar had given him, he should have taken his own, like the noble Cato. But having received this life from Caesar, having accepted the first responsibilities of the Republic, after Caesar preferred him to Cassius out of affection, the fact that he let Cassius persuade him to stab Caesar is something I cannot understand. This cannot be tolerated by a reasonable person, and it is not forgivable for Brutus, even if Caesar had been a tyrant. <hr>
 Yet, Lepidus, it is this ingrate, this traitor, who was the head of the conspiracy, who dealt him the fatal blow. What, Brutus! You could strike the one who saved your life! What, barbarian! The sword did not fall from your hands when Caesar, seeing you coming towards him like the others, stopped defending himself and even said to you with more tenderness than anger: "You too, my son!" What, these words did not touch your soul and you could kill Caesar! Ah, no, Brutus, if you had a bit of fairness, you should have given up on such a bad venture. You should have fought for Caesar, give him back the life he gave to you, or if you could not, wash your ingratitude away with your blood and kill yourself on Caesar's body. But what am I doing, Lepidus? I'm carried away by my pain. This image of Caesar's death irritates my sadness and anger every time it presents itself in my mind. Unintentionally, I switch the topic of conversation. Let's therefore return to my initial intention and say that even if Caesar's innocence could be questioned because of his actions during his life, it is fully justified by what happened during and after his death. The extraordinary care the gods took to warn him about the disaster that was about to happen testifies to the purity of his soul. All these signs that emerged in the sky, these dreams that frightened me, the hand of this soldier who appeared ablaze, and he who informed him that the ides of March would be fatal for him, as well as all the other things that seemed to slow down the conspiracy, all this is enough to show that Caesar was no ordinary man.

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