Conscript fathers,

Lucius Servilius Casca,

With all due respect, I ask that this bill before the house be modified. We are all in agreement that Rome should be the cultural center and home to the world’s greatest knowledge. Most of us also seem to agree that to take the contents from the Library of Alexandria will further inflame tensions in a province that is already in open revolt. In the spirit of cooperation and Roman good will, I request the simple solution to the matter be adopted for the Servilia Aemilia Bibliotheca.

The manuscripts in the Library of Alexandria should be copied before removal, and I propose at the cost be burdened by Aegyptus Province. The bill in its current form houses the scrolls in grain silos. Many of these documents are in fragile condition as they are. Heat, humidity, insects, will claim a certain percentage of the works. Sea storms and other accidents will claim another portion. Oh how I should hate to think of a priceless masterpiece of Aristotle being used to wipe the arse of an illiterate pirate who is unable to fathom the treasure he holds in his hands.

Senators, please don’t think this as a meaningless amendment to legislation. What is at stake here is more than a library and a love of verse. As Marcus Tullius Cicero once said, "to add a library to a home is to give that home a soul." We can all understand the breadth of this by extending that library to a national level. The Library at Alexandria is a cultural icon and symbol of a people’s pride. It is a source of economy for those that reside there. What is the gain in having the library contents sitting in a silo when they could be copied for the benefit of all in the same allotment of time that it would take to complete this new construction? Our haste can only lead to further unrest in a province on the verge of open rebellion. It will cost our republic in blood and the expense of legions that will be required to defend and maintain security. I want the Trojans to pay for their disregard of our treaties. It is prudent on our part to take the necessary measures to bring peace to Aegyptus while we watch the civil war in Illium unfold so as to limit the number of war theaters that we must operate in at a single time.

To Catulus Aemilius Princep Senatus, I know you read these senate transcripts. I appeal to your sense of honor to speak in favor of this amendment. Aegyptus Province was not taken by means of conquest. Ptolomy Sotor was your friend. He bequeathed you as such and entrusted his daughter Arsinoe to you. For Rome, he gave his country in good faith that our people would defend her. Is our removing the contents from his library to leave vacant pigeonholes and barren shelves the intent Ptolomy had for his legacy to his people? I ask you Princep Senatus, what would your friend Ptolomy Sotor ask you to do if he was standing here before us now?