But, Lepidus, he would have acted as a tyrant and a usurper, not as a citizen. I well accept<hr>
that Caesar wished to rule, but it was in the hearts of Romans and not in Rome. He granted them<hr>
daily new favours, thinking only of their peace, their happiness, and their<hr>
glory. And while they were contemplating his death, he was putting all his efforts into making them live in the<hr>
happiness. Have we ever seen, Lepidus, a more remarkable hero than Caesar? Ponder attentively throughout his life, you will not find a single blemish, but shining qualities of humanity. The victories he won count not among those which fate bestows blindly on those who rely on him. He won them by his valour and<hr>
reason. And when he left things to chance, it was because reason allowed it. His steadfastness of spirit, which he always showed in every danger to which he risked himself for the Republic, is something incomprehensible. He always showed the same face to good and bad situations. Love, anger, hate, revenge and ambition never drove him to weakness. He was always in control of his emotions and was never defeated, except by clemency. However, there were men, even Romans, odious enough to see Caesar as a tyrant. In fact, Lepidus, it was not so. The personal hatred that Cassius had for Caesar, because he had preferred Brutus to him by making him consul in his place, was the basis of the conspiracy. It was not because Caesar had violated Roman laws, mistreated senators or put citizens to death, but simply to avenge Cassius.<hr>
       But if Caesar had to die for preferring Brutus to Cassius, it ought not to be Brutus to stab Caesar to avenge Cassius, whom Caesar had only offended to gratify the former. No, Lepidus, even if Caesar had been what he was accused of, namely the cruelest tyrant that ever existed, the sword of Brutus should not be stained with his blood. He should be the last of Romans to abandon him after all he had done for him. Do not tell me that the more he seems ungrateful to Caesar, the more he seems grateful to his homeland. No, Lepidus, generosity cannot coexist with ingratitude. Vice and virtue cannot be combined, and one cannot be both ungrateful and grateful. He who boasts depends on those who compliment him. This is why those with a noble soul only obtain favours from their friends, and if they have a choice, they prefer to enslave their enemies rather than owe them. If Brutus couldn't be happy as long as Caesar was alive, he should never have appeared under his banners, he should have rejected all Caesar's honours, not yield to him. Rather than receive the life that Caesar had granted him, he should have taken his own life, like the noble Cato. But having received this life from Caesar, having accepted the highest responsibilities of the Republic, having been preferred by Caesar to Cassius out of affection, to allow himself to be persuaded by Cassius to stab Caesar is something I cannot comprehend.<hr>
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