"Very touching sentiments, Aulus Aemilius, very touching. However, when we let emotion cloud our judgement, then we do a disservice to the people we represent. One must stand back and look at the mosaic as a whole, lest we become too focused on the individual tiles. Edict 6.5 is not directed against the men of the Second Legio in any way. It is purely and wholly directed at Caius Aurelius Cotta. He is the only one named in it. It punishes the legio in no way. We must remain focused on what our intent is - and that is to check the meteoric rise to power of this lone man before he usurps control of the Res Publica.

"As many of you men here were just shouting 'Down with our enemies!', that is what this bold and comprehensive legislation seeks to do. By forcing the Praetor to bow to the will of the senate, we maintain our collective authority - thus ensuring that voices are always heard and freedom will reign supreme. Just as one trims dead or even healthy limbs from a young tree to direct its growth in order to ensure it becomes a tall and mighty oak, so too must we take measures to ensure that our republic remains strong and healthy."

Tiberius Claudius took a sip of water from a cup as he walked to stand near Lucius Cornelius Scipio.

"Fellow senatores, this man says he has seen no proof of the Praetor's self-indulgent actions. I then ask, what have you seen, Lucius Cornelius, if you have not seen what is in plain sight? Perhaps you are blinded by your devotion to the cult of Caius Aurelius Cotta if you cannot see what recently transpired in Illyria? Allow me to refresh your memory.

"We were having a debate about whether or not to take Ambrakia after Caius Aurelius led a barely sufficient number of men to kill Pyrrhus. While we were debating the merits of such a move, we received a message from the then-Quaestor that he requested permission to take the city. No sooner had the message arrived requesting permission than we received another rider who bore the report that the Praetor had led even fewer men against another unit of the enemy's and, though victorious, half his force had been killed!"

There were grumblings amongst some of the senators about the throwing away of Roman lives

"While we were joyous over the death of our greatest enemy and this second victory, we also began to weigh the benefits over the costs of such actions even more than we had before. Before we could finish the debate on this newest subject we received word that the entire Legio II Latium was massing at the borders for a swift and final strike on Ambrakia to be completed before this very congressional session! If I must still point it out to you - the man requested permission; but did not even wait for our response! He simply did it as a formality to 'be polite' and let us know that he was going to do what he wanted to do. That is not respectful of the decision making authority of the Curia, and it is not respectful of the traditions of the Res Publica to carry on with wild abandon.

"I will be the first to acknowledge that certain decisions can only be made by the general in the field. We are hundreds of leagues away, here in Roma, and we cannot make those life-and-death decisions when they are needed to be made. However, the taking of a city and the subsequent pacifying of the countryside and the logistical nightmare of re-supply and constructing roads and installing a new government for the region are things that the Senate is not only capable of; but is our very duty! They are things that take time to discuss and lay our properly so that we don't have to re-conquer the territory when it rebels. Can this lone man and his lone legion do all of that? I should say not.

"It is for those reasons and the history of such rash and criminal behaviour that Appius Claudius proposed, and I have seconded Edict 6.5. Of course, Caius Aurelius is entitled to the presumption of innocence; but this here is his trial and the evidence is most damning."