Curia Session IV - 194 BC

[Amulius Valerius Marius]

Nay

[Gaius Cassius Vecellinus]

The Consul rises after the Princeps Senatus had finished counting the Senators in each side of the Curia.

Conscript fathers,

The Curia, my own vote aside, is split exactly down the center; clearly there is support for an arrangement such as has been proposed but by only a small margin. I am not one to split the chamber, the very unity of our Republic.

I have a compromise solution to safeguard the Republic's financial and military interests.

If the Senate so authorizes, I am willing to part with one of my Consular legions, the equal of several Socii, and have it be transported to Hispania Citerior first, to conclude the fighting against the Ilergetes and, the campaign season permitting, assist Proconsul Decius Bellicus in his own endeavors.

In addition to their military prowess, the transport of a Consular legion will save 150,000 Denarii of the Republic's coffers when compared to the levy of a Socii legion.

I have only one condition.

The Consul awaits for the room to quiet down.

That those who end up taking command of the Consular legion will take for themselves no more than one tenth of the proceeds of any such conflict and will send to Rome and her soldiers the entirety of the remainder. Many here know my stance on this endless war in Hispania, that bleeds our people and drains our coffers far more than it yields any benefit; if I am to take part in it, then it shall be for the benefit of our virtuous Republic and her People.

Inasmuch as it may be good and fortunate for the Roman people of the Quirites, we bring before you, conscript fathers the

LEX DE EXCIDIO ILERGETUM (Law on the submission of the Ilegertes)
Sponsors: Gaius Cassius Vecellinus

INASMUCH as the peoples of the Ilegertes have been guilty of wrong against the People of Rome and the Quirites;

INASMUCH as the People of Rome and the Quirites have ordered that there be war with the Ilegertes;

Be it enacted by the Senate of the Roman Republic in the Curia Hostilia assembled,
I. The Senate of the People of Rome and the Quirites have determined and decreed that there shall be war with the Ilegertes;

II. The state of war will last until their acceptance of Rome's terms, as defined by her representatives, or the unconditional surrender of the Ilergertes;

III. One of Consul Gaius Cassius Vecellinus' consular legions will be transported to Hispania Citerior at a cost of 100,000 denarii.

Written into the annals in the consular year 194BC of Gaius Cassius Vecellinus and Titus Furius Pavo.

The Consular legion will be accompanied by written orders on my behalf to be placed under the command of Propraetor Varus first, until the conclusion of this conflict, and then under Proconsul Decius Bellicus.

What does it please you should be done about this matter?

I yield the floor to debate.

[Gaius Quinctilius Varus]

Q.Q.Q. Rises

Conscript Fathers,

Good Consul, you forget combat costs of 200,000. Your solution offers no savings on a single Socii.

[Gaius Cassius Vecellinus]

The Consul rises.

Conscript father,

Well observed; it is up to the Senate then to decide if it wishes to spend 250,000 on a Socii legion or 300,000 on transporting and making a Consular legion battle ready.

The forces awarded to me as Consul remain available to serve the Republic.

I yield the floor.

[Marcus Decius Bellicus]

The Proxy rises

"I must say I am disappointed to see you abandon your own plan in favor of a lesser, weaker one, dear Consul. There are many voices in this body who were yet to be given the opportunity to side with your original, intelligent proposal, but I see that the recalcitrant, objectionist minority has been given their way again.

"It is not hard to see why so many opposed your idea, because they weren't able to craft it in such a way as to take advantage of it to their own ends. Your original proposal, a wise one indeed, would've secured all of Hispania quickly, effectively and efficiently. But the likes of Aurelius Cotta and his ilk will oppose anything that comes from or includes something they perceive as working to the benefit of Proconsul Decius Bellicus.

"Even though Decius Bellicus was willing to have Propraetor G. Quinctilius Varus be a part of the overall campaign, they all worked as hard and as quickly as they could with some preposterous story about how your plan would've harmed Rome. But yet they were all and yet all remain silent with their own actions deprived Hispanian Ulterior of martial assistance. They refused to do or say anything when Sardinia was almost allowed to be burned and taxed to the ground.

The proxy gives a sad chuckle

"Even now, after they tacked the course of "frugality will be the doom of us" the only thing they can say against your plan is that it doesn't offer a savings."

[Marcus Aurelius Cotta]

Senator Aurelius Cotta smirked at the proxy’s raving. He lived rent free in the barren ager Publicus of the man’s brain.

[Ass. Admin B]

As the debate drags on merrily, the doors of the Curia are thrown open, silencing the room. In steps none other than Aedile Marcus Quartius Rufus, who had been absent before. Behind him, two men escort a woman into the chamber

Conscript fathers!

I come bearing the gravest news yet. In my service as aedile I have come into the possession of knowledge so foul and repulsive that I almost dare not speak it in the senate. It would seem that under our very noses, a conspiracy of treachery and religious entropy has grown to the point where it threatens the Republic it self. I speak of a cult that has steadily grown and would have subsumed the entire city had it not been for my urgent action and your urgent attention. These cultists have taken our sacred Bacchanalian rites and turned them into gaudy perverse festivals to darkness. I have witnesses that report orgies, murder, the drinking of blood from children, the foulest of perjury and the killing of witnesses in several legal cases.

I call upon Hispala Faecenia, a woman of repute and former slave, to deliver the testimony for these egregious crimes.

The woman steps forward reluctantly, but quickly finds her strength and voice

Honorable conscript fathers. I beg of you to heed my words. I have seen with my own eyes the actions of this cult, and the descriptions of which the Aedile has delivered are indescribably underestimated to the true horrors that I have witnessed done in the name of Bacchus. I saw these horrors in connection with my life as a servant for my former mistress Paculla Annia. In giving you this testimony, I break an oath of silence which I intensely regret, but it most be done to save this city.

I name Paculla Annia as one of the leaders in a conspiracy to subvert the Roman Gods and good Roman virtue with eastern mysticism and the twisted ways of the Persians and Greeks. In my time I have seen the name of Bacchus defiled in every way you could feasibly imagine. I have seen the priestesses of Bacchus break their solemn oaths and admit men into their company, resulting in days of unending besmirching action of which I dare not speak of in such an august chamber. They have also murdered and kidnapped many from the city of those who would not join them, and worse still, the conspiracy extends itself deeply into the very depths of the Roman senatorial families. I tell you conscript fathers, you must act to save Rome, or see it forfeit. I have provided Marcus Quartius Rufus with a list of those I know to have participated, and yet there will be even more that must be apprehended or else see them flee and spread the religious contagion of their mystical cult.

The woman steps back and Rufus takes the center stage again

Conscript fathers! I urge you to act on this and in the most serious way possible! Our Gods have been defiled in this very city, and we must do whatever is needed to save the Republic from the miasma of this odious cult.

[Postumus Caesonius Tacitus]

Proxy for Caesonius Tacitus would, after being initially utterly dumbfounded, speak.

"These accusations are indeed shocking. An investigation should be carried out at once and those who are guilty of these accusations should be punished to the maximum extent of the law. Given the severity of these accusations, I think it should be consul Cassius Vecellinus who carries out the investigation."

[Gaius Cassius Vecellinus]

The Consul sprung to his feet. The fire in his eyes from his year as Censor clearly rekindled by the obscene report.

Hispana Faecenia,

Let it be known that if what you say is true, and I sincerely believe it may be, that your bravery in coming to us with this knowledge shall be rewarded, from my own purse if necessary. By breaking your oath of silence you have risked your reputation, but that didn't stop you from trekking the virtuous road to save our Republic.

Turning towards the Curia.

Conscript fathers,

We are under siege! Not against our walls, as in past years, but insidiously against our morals and religion! What they could not take by force, they threaten to take by poisoning our society from within; by turning our sons and daughters into vermin of idleness and degenerates, tearing asunder our martial spirit and making a mockery of our Gods.

While we cannot know for certain if what this woman says is true as of this moment, we have all the reason to believe it is. One needs only to look into the streets of our city to see the tentacles of corruption creep into their hearts; indeed, one may not even need to look into the street, but merely gaze at some faces in this chamber!

In the absense of a Censor, I wish to ask the Curia's support to conduct an investigation into these proceedings, to punish the wrongdoers and, pending the report, propose a motion to settle the matter once and for all.

I yield the floor.

[Allectus Fabius Maximus]

Primus Proximus Maximus stands to speak

Good and Honored Conscript Fathers,

Let’s continue the current discussion at hand and consider the rituals and practices of foreign cults at another time. It seems this belongs in the domain of the Pontifex Maximus and the college pontiffs to take action rather than in the halls of the Roman Senate. Religious matters are best handled by those most knowledgeable in the ways of the gods. Any investigation led by the Senate must include representatives of the college of pontiffs to fully realize the extent and gravity of these foreign cults and their effects on Roman society.

He pauses for a moment before continuing.

As for Hispania, I would have preferred a more fleshed out discussion on the possibility of unifying the commands of both governors so we can have a more efficient command structure of the forces in the region. We do not want a repeat of Proconsul
Marcus Claudius Marcellus refusal to lend his forces to another governor in need. If it would please Consul Cassius Vecellinus and the Curia, I feel it would be both appropriate and necessary to have this discussion of creating a military region in Hispania which would see an overall commander over all campaigns to pacify tribes and expand Roman territories in Hispania.

I yield the floor.