Inauguration of the senate, Kal. Ian. 2763 auc

INAUGURAL SPEECH of CONSUL P. MEMMIUS ALBUCIUS

This inaugural speech has been held towards the SENATE of NOVA ROMA on Kal. Ian. 2763 auc. Its original text may also be found in the Senatorial archives.

Patres et collegae Fabio Buteoni,

I have the honor declaring the inaugural session of this new year 2763 a.u.c. open.

Adressing you, Patres – and this masculine word include naturally our female senators, who often show more qualities than us, male ones – I feel the whole weight of History on my shoulders. Naturally, I could tell me that our organization, Nova Roma, created 11 years ago, is just one organization among the non profit making corporations claiming for Rome heritage.

It is sure that our organization has still two faces, like our God Janus. One face helps it living, making acts, trading, in the frame of the network of current States registered in the United Nations. In this frame, the U.N. Does not recognize Nova Roma as a State, and our group is just a modest non profit making corporation (npmc), registered, currently, in the U.S. State of Maine. It could have been in every other state of the United States of America, as in every other part of the world. History has chosen, and the will of our Patres Patriae.

But this npmc has another face: it claims to be the heir of Rome, or, should I say, Rome reborn after a 1,500 years sleep. This is this consideration that makes me feel humble, while speaking to you in this Curia.

Naturally, thanks to the modern technology, it is a virtual one, but I am sure that all of us feel as if we were in the old Curia, me standing towards our main gate and the sunset, and you, Patres, sitting on each side of the nave of our House, facing each other, 15 on the southern seats, and 15 on the northern ones. And we know that, tomorrow, when and where we will decide it, we will meet physically all together.

Naturally there are other organizations, all as respectable as ours. But, and my statement is still the same the one I made when I became a citizen of Nova Roma half a decade ago, there is, in terms of citizenry, national diversity, goals, knowledge and experience, no equivalence. On this statement, we must build, if we did not have it already deep in our hearts, a certitude: Nova Roma has all the rights to claim for Rome heritage. Nova Roma is Rome.

Hence this weight, this responsibility.

This weight is mine now, as consul maior for 2763 auc, and the first consul, in the history of Rome, brought by Gallia to this magistracy. And the weight is heavier for, all through the centuries, I can see generations of my ancestors who have been the living testimonies of the meeting of Celt, Roman and German blood and genius. I do feel the link I have with unknown or more famous Gaul born Roman citizens, with Ausonius, Aper the orator, Claudius the emperor, Aelius the winner of the Huns, but also with the Gauls who would trade with Greeks when Rome was a small village, with Diviciacos or the ones who fought Rome but finally accepted her rule and became often more Romans than old ones, once the weapons decided the name of the winner. As born in Gallia, where most of the cities are built on a Gallo-roman location, as man who has been taught some Latin and some Greek when he was a child, I feel being a part of this whole history.

Hence my gratitude for the ones who have brought our Rome back to life, our Patres Patriae, Cassius and Vedius, both citizens of the U.S.A.. I could not never be a Gallic consul if American citizens had not created, 11 years ago, Nova Roma. I know, as European, what I owe our Patres, and our first U.S. Citizens. I may bring the buildings, they have brought the Breath.

The idea founding Nova Roma was not so obvious and the dream was great. But Cassius and Vedius understood, probably under Roman gods' guidance, that this idea just needed two things: to be realized, and Nova Roma created, and to be developed, and having a community of citizens working both as a knowledge network and as a state, where the ancient rules, or adapted ones, would allow non U.S. Citizens to become, from the moment they could express a little in English, a part of this new Rome, and, one day, become consuls. During the last ten years, Nova Roma has thus welcome European consuls, but also Latin American ones. It has also given the highest curule magistracy to women, what our ancient Rome would have never done.

We are Rome.

And because we are, we must feel this responsibility, towards the world, and towards ourselves. We must watch our own behavior, and ask ourselves, in every act of the day, if we, and especially we, senators, have a dignified behavior. Auctoritas and dignitas. Here are the two attributes of each of us.

We must look backwards now and state that this first NR decade should have allowed us to let the teenage crisis behind us, and to know and decide what we are and what we want. If Nova Roma will keep being dependant of the wonderful tool that is internet, we must be convinced that being Rome demands that the internet communication must be reduced to its tool aspect. Our organization must live now as a real one, and, as our ancestors did, go beyond the initial boundaries of the seven hills. We must find and define what is our Latium boundaries, where is our Etruria's or our Italy's one, and what Carthage, Celtic or Hellenic world we will find beyond our seas or our mountains.

In this mind, I am convinced that we must, at the same time, have our organization live as a npmc living inside national current states network, and as a republic. Our development and means will be there, our soul here.

We must have NR Inc. working according the laws of its registrated state or country. In this mind, I will, with my colleague, care that NR Inc. meetings normally hold, at least thanks our internet communication, its legal meetings and meet its legal national requirements.

I will start a work which will allow us to get, before the end of this year, at worst and the sooner as possible, real and efficient bylaws, that will meet both the requirements of the registration Law and the need our organization has to be protected against the conscious – or not – attacks coming from the outside as from inside our organization.

In parallel I will ask you, Patres, if you think that Nova Roma, as Rome itself, must, as an organization, come back to Rome and register there. Even if the symbole is strong, I will however oppose every proposal which would place our community under a worser legal situation than the one it currently lives. As seducing the return to Rome be, things must be studied, with the need of external specialized attorneys.

Our senate must take benefit of the reform that have impulsed former consul Galerius and last consuls Complutensis and Severus. More regular meetings, the work of our committees reassessed, a more efficient organization during the session, will help the Curia being able to speak loud inside as outside Nova Roma. The dignity of senators will be, with the help of censors, protected but also reassessed. For there is no place, in my mind, for senators who do not take part to the work of the House, or use the Curia benches as a fish market tribune. Here, I will as my colleague, take my responsibilities as our both censors will have to. At the same time, I intend, with the precious help of my experienced colleague, to set a open dialogue with the opposition.

For if the recent elections have issued very clear results, and have well said that our People does not want that the Opposition's thesis be implemented this year by our State and inside our Corporation, this Opposition has nevertheless a place in our institutions, and Its representatives, ex-candidates Ti. Galerius Paulinus and G. Equitius Cato - or the ones this oppositional factio would wish to design for itself – have brought interesting arguments and must be heard and listened in the Senate and in NR Inc. Board. In this mood, I will myself guarantee, inside re-organized contiones, the full right of every senator to express, even if sometimes rough style, her/his opinions.

In the view of the census that our censors have to complete in the coming months, I will propose to you, Patres, to think about our citizenry and our organization. I think that we cannot, in our State organization, afford the same positions with a few hundreds of paying citizens, as if we were a few thousands. As Hon. Consularis M. Audens well knows that, as good captains we must be here, we will have to think about reducing our sails or taking a reef in them: when every year we face difficulties to fill in the various open public positions, can we still afford all of them?

Pontifex maximus Moravius will have my whole support reorganizing our religious institutions. I will be ready to bring to him my assistance in the frame of our institutions each time he will need. I will confirm, if necessary, the preeminence of the religio romana in our public sphere, and watch that our various non Roman cults (Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Muslim and others polytheist ones not historically linked to our Religio) be protected from the moment they do not confuse private practice, informations and proselytism.

As consul, I will respect the full place of our tribunes of the Plebs without forgetting that the consuls are in charge of the governmental action, and the natural leaders of the political majority and presiding magistrates of the senate. As in every office I had the honor to hold, I will use if necessary my intercession power if I am convinced that Rome interests are at stake and time or special circumstances cannot let opportunities enough to dialogue and to the full and daily powers of our various magistracies and powers. As my colleague Fabius Buteo, I will not admit that non elected magistrates, even good willing or skilled citizens, may oppose or infer with the action of our government: Rome is in Its institutions, not in the brilliant gifts some of his children may have.

With an active and working Senate, we should thus be able to propose our People through Its comitia, the needed adaptations or reforms.

With my colleague, we will open a discussion on the means we need to get Rome's action increased (web site, translation, relations with provinces etc.) and the relations these tracks will have with our provincial organization. On this last point, we should be able, all together, to better up current lex Fabia, to give legal bases to our provincial organization, most of our provinces having no legal existence, and to try to give the best frame as possible for an efficient action at the provincial level.

Outside, once redefined and reassessed what we are and what we want, we should be able to build new or renewed relations with "real world organizations", beyond the respectable micronations that Nova Roma has been the honor, in its first life, to be the partner. Foundations, Libraries, Universities, Public Institutions must be in the number of these new partners.

For the action of our Rome, our Nova Roma, will not florish if it does not use the means that its legal national environment puts at its disposal. We will have, in the narrow frame of our current budget, to make choices on which projects and actions we want to be realized and enhanced, and how.

I wish that be studied the possibility that we could "externalize" our various projects, so that NR Inc., keeping a real and efficient control on them, be not involved in their daily management.

We must stop turning around our decided projects and must implement our budget releasing monies where and when we can. In this frame, every magistrate or Project leader should be in charge of her/his own budget, once this one is voted by the Senate or NR Inc. board, according the concerned field. If necessary, we must adapt our institutions. This way, NR Inc. will become the dignified partner of several institutions which will thus know our existence, goals and beliefs. For that, we must stronger our financial means and keep them working as simply as possible.

Inside, we will tend to separate our various public fora, for example keeping a wide open forum where discussions on every side of Roman culture will be welcome. This wide open forum would be the interface between us and outside interesting members. Beside this open forum, we will keep a real Forum Romanum, reserved to citizens who wish to take part to the political daily life, with all its aspects.

The time of this ending inaugural session, Patres, is not enough to allow my colleague or myself to present all the ideas that we would wish to lay in your hands. We are conscious of our ambitions, but also of the formidable power of time in the limited frame of a consular one year term.

But as true Roman consuls, we will act, and make you proposals in the frame of our institutions. Grant us, Patres, your good will assistance, and Rome will be able, under the wing of Victoria, making a step forward.

Thanks for your attention, Patres et collegae Fabio Buteoni.

Pro Roma, cum gloria honorque !

P. Memmius Albucius
consul maior 2763 auc.