Governors, Consuls, Princes, you have come from the Deserts of Egypt, from the Mountains of

Armenia, from the Forests of Gaul, and the Prairies of Spain, you do not resemble each other, nor you
wear the same clothes, nor sing the same songs, nor worship the same gods. Yet, like a mighty tree with
green leaves and black roots, you are the unity which is Rome. Look about you and look at yourselves
and see the greatness of Rome. Two hundred years ago the Gauls were our fiercest enemies now we
greet them as friends. In the whole world, only two small frontiers are still hostile to us, one here in the
north which separates us from those who are called barbarians, the other in the east, Persia. Only on
these two borders, will you find, walls, palisades, forts and hatred, but these are not the frontiers Rome
wants. Rome wants and needs Human frontiers, we've had to fight long wars, your burdens have been
great, but we come now to the end of the road, here within our reach golden centuries of peace, a true
Pax Romana, wherever you live, whatever the color of your skin, when peace is achieved, it will bring
to all, all! The supreme right of Roman citizenship. No longer provinces or colonies, but Rome. Rome
everywhere. A family of equal nations, that is what Lies ahead.

Fellow Romans, I am a teacher, and as a teacher I know that when I've tried to teach the same
lesson for a hundred times and still the pupil does not understand than I am forced to the conclusion
that perhaps there is something wrong either with the lesson or with the teacher. a hundred times we
have taught those we call barbarians what it means to make war on Rome, we've burned their villages,
we've crucified their leaders we have enslaved their young. The fires go out the dead are buried the
slaves die, slowly. But their hatred we leave behind us NEVER DIES. Hatred means wars, wars mean
tribute, torn from our provinces, taxes, hunger, disease, how costly that is, how wasteful, and yet the
answer is simple, we must have no war.

NO War? When your friends continually attack us? This is Treason! These people have proved their
aims very clearly, to destroy us, and to destroy the whole roman way of life.

and yet the answer is simple. Let us transform my friends from men of war to men of peace. Let
us put them on our abandoned farm land, not only will they produce food for themselves but this I
pledge you, one day they will send food to Rome!

Yes I agree! Put them on those lands! Let them produce for us! But as slaves! That is the way it has
always been.
 Niger here used to have 20,000 slaves on his family estate. Where are they now? All sold or
freed. Why? Because Niger's apposed to slavery? - NO! Because it's no longer profitable to keep
slaves. Slaves do not produce as much as free men. Let us do what is profitable, and right. Let us share
the greatest gift of all, let us give these men the right of roman freedom. And they will spread the word
that Rome has accepted them as equals, then we will have our Human Frontiers, the Roman Peace, that
Marcus Aurelius promised.

In the name of Caesar... Caesar has asked me, When has Rome ever been greater or stronger? I say in
answer to Caesar never has Rome been greater or stronger than now! And what is it that has kept our
empire together; our strength, our might! Equality, freedom, peace. Who is it that uses these words but
Greeks and Jews and slaves. Behind him are his people, are the vandals, untold millions of them,
waiting for a moment of weakness, ready to destroy us. If we take these barbarians in amongst us our
enemies will say it is because we are weak then they will pour in on us from everywhere it will be the
end of the roman empire, it will be the end, of Rome.

The end of Rome? How does an Empire die? Does it collapse in one, terrible moment? - No. No, but
there comes a time when its people no longer believe in it. Then, then, does an empire begin to die.
Fathers of Rome, I have lived under four great emperors, Gradum, Hadrian, Antoninus, Marcus
Aurelius, and during all those years our empire grew, changed. The law of life is; grow or die. And you
the senators are the heart of Rome, it is through you that the people speak. Speak up let the world hear
you, let the world know that Rome will not die. There are millions like them waiting at our gates if we
do not open these gates they will break them down and destroy us, but instead let us grow ever bigger
ever greater let us take them among us let the heart of the empire grow with us. Honorable fathers we
have changed the world, can we not change ourselves?

Julius Caesar, speech to the Senate (c. 60 BC)

Our ancestors, gentleman, never lacked wisdom or courage, and they were never too proud
to take over a good idea from another country. They borrowed most of their armour and
weapons from Samnites.... In short, if they thought anything that an ally or an enemy had
was likely to suit them, they enthusiastically adopted it; for they would rather copy a good
thing than be consumed with envy because they had not got it.