The Optimates
Marcus Claudius Marcellus ascends the Rostra, and speaks for the new party of Optimates, refounded under the leadership of Caius Flavius Crassus. Clearly his throat, he calms the crowd, and commands their attention. Behind him are seated several senior members of the Senate.
The welfare of the Roman Republic is the ultimate law. That is the tradition handed down to us by our forefathers. We must not ignore it.
But those old dogs of the Senate have been letting that slip. They control the purse strings, and the policies. And has not life in Rome deterriorated since they took power? I speak of the ill-named Populares. They depend on the People to vote them in, and then abandon them until the voting stalls are put up the next year.
Today we mark a new dawn. It will be one of true devotion to Rome, to our ancestors, and to tradition. It will be one stewarded by the best men for the job, the Optimates.
Rome is more powerful than her small size gives her any right to be. That is because she trusts in her men completely. The Army has given Rome her power. It is what will safeguard us, and what will make us even stronger. We share a destiny to rule the world. We should not shy away from that. The tradition that has sustained us til now, our Legions and our Army, should not be abandoned, like those old men in the Senate want us to do. But, to rule the world we will have to conquer it, and that won't be easy.
First we must focus on our lives, build our strength up for the task ahead, for it will be a long and hard one. That is why we must all build Rome. Build granaries, and barracks, blacksmiths and aquaducts. Our conquests abroad will fund this, for why should good honest Romans, so hard done by, have to pay for what is their right?
And as we make our lives, and the lives of all our allies, better, we must not forget those which bring that better life to us. The armed forces. Every man who serves, be it in the legions, on the ships, or operating behind enemy lines, must be looked after. We must give them the best training and equipment, so that they are better able to do their job.
Friends, it is the intelligent, noble, and honest Roman who wins out over the effeminate Carthaginian or simple-minded Gaul. It is what gives us the right and the destiny to control the world and extend our wise rule to the farthest shores. And let the best men, the Optimates, be the ones to lead us there!
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