Proclaim that poison has achieved what spells could not, and fear not<hr>
to be punished for such a crime. The death of Germanicus has brought such joy to those who caused it<hr>
that they will not be in the mood to care about your grief or your speeches for a long time. Their victory over the most courageous man who ever lived makes them<hr>
vain enough to neglect your feelings and thoughts on this matter. I even believe that they are so blinded by their desire for glory that they are willing for posterity to know that they caused the death of Germanicus. Their desire for the reputation of great politicians outweighs the desire for the status of honorable men. As long as it is said that they managed to eradicate those who might have opposed their authority, they do not care if they are seen as cruel, unnatural, unfaithful, mischievous, and bloodthirsty. Their priority is to maintain their authority, even if they have to use brutal methods to do so. The traitorous Piso and cowardly enemies of Germanicus, it will be known that you dominated, it will be known that you killed him, it will be known that you violated all human rights, it will be known that you did not respect the most noble blood among the Romans, it will be known that you extinguished his flame because it shone too brightly on the darkness of your life, and finally, it will be known that the enormity of your crimes and the merits of Germanicus is the true cause of his death.<hr>
       I am not going to name all of Germanicus' enemies. Fear does not stop me from naming them, for fear is a stranger to me, but I know that you are all aware of them. You know the reason for their hatred, and today, all I see are the tragic consequences of this hostility. But how was it possible to hate Germanicus? What did he do in his lifetime to deserve such enemies? Let's take time to be a fair jury and see if he could have deserved the punishment he endured. As regards the pride he might have had, no one has ever been further from it. The whole world has seen that the more reasons he had to deserve the Empire, the more affection he showed towards Tiberius and distanced himself from the path that could have led him to the throne. By the gods, he should have followed my advice rather than his own sentiments! It was he who insisted on the fidelity oaths of the Belgians, a nation neighboring Germany. It was he who quelled the revolt of the legions and who, rather than accepting their offers to follow him everywhere, chose to stab his own heart. This, Romans, is what Germanicus did for Tiberius. He was willing to die for him. And, ironically, didn't he, in another way and with different sentiments, achieve what he wanted? In any case, let's not linger over such a dire speech. Let us remember that Germanicus commanded me, in his death throes, to lose some of the pride that the innocence and blood of my family inspire in me. Let's simply say, without lying, that it can be affirmed that Germanicus preserved the Empire for Tiberius, for it was he who restored order and discipline after the military revolt in most of the legions, without which emperors cannot wield their power.<hr>
<hr>
<hr>
<hr>
                144<hr>