294
RoMAN
He admits that
JULIUS CAESAR
if (il)
Caesar were ambitious, that was a bad fault and
he has certainly been punished for it. As he promised Brutus, he explains
that he speaks by permission of the conspirators and he does nothing but
praise them:
-Act III,
scene
ii, lines 83-86
sult.
Speaking in short and moving phrases, as though he were choked with
emotion, Mark Antony disposes of the charge of ambition:
He was my friend, faithlul and just to me;
But Brutus søys hewas ambitious.
And Brutus is an honorable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome,
Illnse røßoms did th¿ general cofrers fiII;
Did this in Caesar seem ambitíous?
Whzn that the poor hnve críed, Caesar hathwept;
Ambítìon should be made ol sterner stuff.
Yet Brutus says hewas ambitious;
And Brulus is an honorabl¿ man.
You ull did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented hím a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice reJuse.Was this ambition?
Yet Brulus søys he was ambilious;
*on
-o*rII,
dience which had earlier been prepared to sympathize with Brutus.
his
will
The crowd is indeed moved and Mark Antony senses that without diffiIt is time for the next step, to appeal directly and forcefully to the
powerful emotion of greed. He says:
culty.
The phrase "Brutus is an honorable man" is to be repeated and repeated by Mark Antony. He gives the praise to Brutus in precisely the
fashion Brutus most enjoys, crying out how honorable and noble he is. Yet
the skillful repetition, in rising tones of irony, builds the anger of the
crowd to the point where the very epithet "hono¡able" becomes an in-
And sure he is an honorable
But all that, of course, doesn't matter. Antony's speech is almost hypnotic in its force, and, properly presented, it can win over a modern au-
. . .'tis
Here, under leave ol Brutus and lhe rest
(For Brutus is an honorable man,
So are they all, all honorable men),
Corne I to speak in,Caesar's funzral.
295
scene
ü, lines g7-101
Antony's arguments are, of course, irrelevant. By "ambition," Brutus
meant Caesar's desire to be king, and norhing Antony says disproves
that desire. Caesar might be a good personal friend, yet plan to be a king.
He might donate ransom money to the public treasury and express pity
for the poor, but intend these acts only to build up the good will with
which to buy the crown. If he did refuse the crown, it was only to force the
mob to insist he take it, a¡d he regretted the failure of the scheme.
But here's a parchmenl wilh the seal ol Caesar;
I Íound it in his closet;'tis hß will.
Let but the commans hear this teslamenl,
'Which,
pardon me,I do nol mean to read,
And they would go and
kiss dead Caesar's wounds,
-Act IIL scene ii, lines 130-34
Yes indeed, Antony has not been idle in the interval between assassination and funeral either. The very night following the assassination, having
made a temporary peace with the conspirators, he took a crucial action.
He seized the funds which Caesar had gathered for his projected Parthian
c¡mpaign and persuaded Calphurnia to let him have access to all of Caesar's papers, among which he found the
will.
it came to bribing senators and
hiring soldiers. The will-well, that would be used now.
Naturally, oncc Antony mentions the will and declines to read it, the
crowd howls for it to be read. Antony hangs back and the more he does so,
the more violently insistent the crowd becomes. Choosing his moment with
artistic care, A-ntony advances his reason for hesitating:
The funds would be important when
I
Íear I wrong the honorable men
IVhose daggers have stqbbed Caesar;
I
-Act
do fear it.
III,
scene
ii, lines 153-54
And one man in the crowd calls out with passion:
They were traílors. Honorable men!
-Act III,
scene
ü, line
155
There is hatred in the repetition of that phrase so often applied to Bruûrs, and which Brutus so loves. Another man in the crowd cries out.
They were víIlains, murderers! The wíll! Read the
-Act III,
will!
scene ü, lines 157-58
296
ROMÂN
JULrus CAESAR
...theNerviì
..
Mark Antony has them now, but it is sdll not enough. He Ìntends to
make them virtually insane with rage. He descends from the rostrum and
has them gather round Caesar's corpse. Antony holds up the cloak Caesar
was wearing when he was killed:
-Act III,
Now he whips away the cloak to reveal caesar's own gashed body,
of crying "Havoc," for the maddened crowd
Revenge! About! seek! Burnr Fire! Kitt! slay! Let not q traitor
live!
-Act III,
scene ü, lines L7z-J5
The Nervü were a ûerce Gallic tribe living in what is now Belgium,
and Caesar had beaten them in 57 s.c. This was a skillful allusion, too, for
it reminded the crowd of Caesar's conquests, not over Romans, but over
barbarian Gauls (whom Romans particularly hated because of the memory of the ancient Gallic sack of Rome in 390 n.c. ) .
To be sure, this passage doesn't square with actual history. Mark Antony couldn't possibly remember the evening of the day on which Caesæ
overcame the Nervii, since he didn't join Caesar in Gaul till tbree years
later. Moreover, is it likely that Caesar on tle supreme day on which he
expects to be crowned king will put on a thirteen-year-old cloak? All our
information concerning him agrees that he was a dandy, and meticulous
with his grooming.
However, it is an effective prissage and the real Mark Antony would
have used it, regardless of accuracy, if he had thougbt of it.
..
. . . the most unkindest cut ol all
scene
ii,
tines 206-7
. When comes such anolher
But still Ma¡k Antony is not through. He calms them yet again, still
teeping to his promise to praise Brutus, by saying:
I
am no orator, as Brutus is;
But (as you know me all)
a plain blunt man
-Act III, scene
ii, lines 219-20
rt is a piece of praise that openly laughs at Brutus, and
úer all, the will to read. Antony begins the reading and says:
there is still,
To every Roman citizen he gives,
To every several men, seventy-five drachmas.
-Act III,
scene
ii, lnes 24344
There is more:
Now Mark Antony begins to point to the bloodied rents in the mantle
where swords had sliced tbrough (and this he actually did, according to
Plutarch). What's mote, he has progressed to the point where he can begin
to stab the conspirators with poinæd words.
Moreover, he hath lelt you aII his walks,
His prívate arbors, and new-planted orchards,
On this side Tiber; he hqth lelt them you,
And to your heirs forever; common pleasures,
To walk abroad and recreale yourselves.
this place ran Cassiui dagger through;
See what a renl the etwious Cascø mnde;
Look, ín
-Act
Through this the well'beloved Brutus stabbed,
-Act III,
scene
ü, lines 176-78
Antony lingers on Brutus' stroke, for it was this man who had instmcted
him to praise the conspirators, and it is Brutus therefore whom he chiefly
wants to destroy with praise. He says:
ii, lines 183-g5
scene
and that is the equivalent
breaks out with:
You all do know thìs mantle; I remember
The first lime ever Caesa¡ put it oru^
'Twas on a summels evening, in his tent,
That day he overcame the Nervií'-oct
III,
297
Brutus, qs you know, was Caesaf s angel.
Iudge, O you gods, how dearþ Caesar toved him!
This was the most unkindest cut ol øIt;
.
III,
scene
ii, lines 249-53
That brings Antony to his climax. He has wought on the crowd with
¡ity, with greed, and with gratitude, ând they are in the highest state com-
htible.
He gives them one last shout:
Here was a Caesar! VI/hen comes such anolher?
-Act III,
scene
ü, llnre 254
298
JULrus cÀEsAR
RoMAN
They are utterly mad and ready to dewith them if necessary. Ma¡k Antony
ays grimly:
spirators scattered, some
299
to the respective provinces they had been
as-
signed, some elsewhere. Brutus and Cassius are the only conspirators with
whom the play concerns itself in the last two acts. They retire to the easte¡n
provinces.
Now let it work; Mßchíef , thou art øloot,
Take thoughwlnt course tlnuwilt.
-Acf IIf,
..
scene
ü, lnes 263-64
. hìs tume's Cinna
shakespeare shows the mob at its frightening wo¡k in one incident taken
from Plutarch, which involves a minor poet named Helvius Cinna. He was
a friend of caesar's and no relative of Lucius cornelius cinna, the con-
spirator.
Cinna the poet is stopped by elements of the mob who demand he identify him5slf. He says:
-Act IIf,
scene
iii,
lraLe 27
The crowd at once sets up its howl and though the poor fellow shrieks
that he is not Cinna the conspirator but mereþ Cinna the poet, they will
not listen, crying:
is nn rratter, hís namc's Cìnna;
-Act III,
...ridlikemadmen.
scene
üi, liue
33
..
Soon enough, the conspirators realize the two deadly mistakes Brutus
has made for them; letting Antony live, and letting him speak. The mere
name of "conspirator" is now enough to kill.
The servant who had appeared in the earlier scene to talk of Octavius
appea$ soon after the conclusion of Antony's great speech to announce:
..
. Octavius ìs already corne
..
.
But Mark Antony was not to have it all his own way. He had no way
of knowing iÇ but the day of his funeral speech was the climax of his life,
the apex of his power. He had ended it with the rhetorical cry: "Here was
a Caesa¡! When comes such another?" and eleven lines later that question
is answered.
The servant who brings the news of the flight of Brutus and Cassius
also announces news concerning his master:
Sír, Octavius ìs already come to Rome.
-Act III,
Truly, rny nnme ís Cínnn.
It
..
. Brulus and Cassìus
Are rìd líke madmcn llvough lhe gates ol Rome.
-Act III, scene ü, lines 27I-72
They hoped at first mereþ to retire to some nearby town till Rome
had cooled down, and then to return. This was not to happen, however.
Rome did not cool down; Mark Antony remained in control. The con-
scene
ü, lne 265
Here was another Caesar. He was that literally, for he adopted the
name; and he was that figuratively too, for he was even more capable than
Julius, winning that for which the older man had died without getting.
There ,was no way of telling this when Octavius first came; young,
sickly, and seeming to be of little account in comparison to the great, magnetic charisma that now clung to Mark Antony. Antony underestimated
him (everyone did) and could not tell that as he himself had been Brutus'
nemesis, so Octavius was fated to be his-something that will be made
clear enouÊû in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.
But even without foreseeing the future, Antony can see that Octavius'
çoming is a serious embarrassment. Caesar's will, which Antony had read
with such consummate skill at the funeral, contained clauses he tried to
$ppress. Caesar, in his will, had named Octavius as his heir and, what's
more, had adopted him as his son. This meant that Octavius owned all of
Caesar's funds (which Mark Antony had appropriated) and would have
become tle next king if Caesar had lived long enough to gain the monarchy.
Mark Antony wanted the will ratified and had persuaded the Senate
b do so by agreeing to allow them also to declare an amnesty for the con-
çirators. However, Antony fought against the ratification by the Senate
of ihat part of the will that dealt with octavius. Just the same, Gaius octavius changed his name to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, to indicate his
new status as Caesar's adopted son, and is thefeafter known to Englishspeaking historians as Octavian. In this play, however, he remains "Octavius" throughout and I will call him so.
The change in name was a sbrewd move. It enabled him to call him-
3OO
JULIUS
ROMAN
self ,,Caesar', and capitalize on the magic of that name. What's more, Cicero
rallied to him, out of hatred for Ma¡k Antony, and Cicero's oratory was a
tower of strength.
cAEs.lR
301
lievably vituperative speeches that wrecked Antony,s popularity
almost
much as Antony's funeral speech had wecked Brutus'.
as
victory. Decius
was the closest
He and Lepidus
..
senatorial am_
.
There was also the question of the rirmy. In the play, when Mark
Antony hears Octavius is in Rome, he asks his whereabouts atd is told:
He and Lepidus are al caesar"
*ut''
n"rIII,
scene
ä, rine 267
The reference is to a Roman general, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. On the
day of the assassination, he just happened to have a legion of troops on
the outskirts of the city. He wat þreparing to move with them to his province in southern Gaul, but when the news of the assassination came, he
occupied Rome instead. If he hpd been a strong character, this accident
of being on the scene at the crucial moment might have made him fnaster
of the Roman realm.
Lepidus was, however, a weaþing. He lacked Octavius' name, .{n¡pny's
reputation, and the resolution gf both. In later years he remained a Palvn.
Octavius, master of Rome, now forced the
last as hei¡ to Caesar. In September 43 ¡.c. he
Decius. Octavius was no ûghter, but the name
Antony had failed. Decius' soldiers deserted in droves, and Decius himserf had to flee. He was captured and executed and octavius'reputation
st5rrocketed.
had consolidated their power
ft was clear that if Antony
each other, they would both
control.
ntony and Octavius together in a
All three met in Bononia (the
n.c., twenty months after the as-
...toOctavius
Antony, hearing that Octavius is in Rome and with Lepidus, doesn't hesitate. He says to the Servant:
Bring me lo Octavius.
The tlree agreed to combine in a three-man government, an agreement
tssemþling the one that had been made by Caeiar, pompey, and Crarsu,
rænteen years before. In fact, the new agreement is called the second
Triumvirate. The fourth act opens after the Second rriumvirate has been
fumed.
-Act III,
scene
ii, line
274
The short mob scene involving Cinna the poet intervenes and the fourth
act then opels with Antony, ogtavius, and I-epidus in triple confærence. As
far as the play is concerned,little time has elapsed.
In actual history, however, lnore than a year and a half 9f inteqsive poliþ
ical and military jockeying hás intervened between the funeral of Caesar
and the three-way meeti¡1g of a{ntony, Octavius, and tepidps'
After the funeral, Antony found himself in anloying dìfficulties. He was
not the politician caesar had been and he found octavfurs a curiously
capable enemy for the sickly youngster he seemed to be. What's more,
Cicero nolv fose to new prominence and his oratory flamed to new heights.
Cicero's hatred for Mark Antony showed itself in a succession of unbe-
--.wíthaspot,..
_ shakespeare presents the Triumvirate at the moment they make a grisly
hgain to seal their compact.
What they chiefly need, after all, is money. One way of obtaining it is to
åcla¡e certain well-todo individuals guiþ of treason, execute them, and
tnrfiscate their estates. This also gives each triumvir a chance to get rid of
enemies as well. The enemy of one, however, might be the friend
c relative of anothe¡ member of the Triumvirate; and if one of them sacriËes a friend or relative he woutd naturally expect the other two to make a
psonal
ùrilar
sacrifice.
302
JULrus cAESAR
RoMAN
303
The proscriptions (that is, arbitrary condemnations) include, for instance, Lepidus' brother. As quid pro quo, Antony must allow his nephew
to be marked with a prick in the wax (see page I-290), indicating he is
listed fo¡ execution. Antony says, with a kind of gruesome mapanimity:
He shall not live; look, with a spot
I
damn hím.
-Act IV, scene i, line 6
What Mark Antony demands (something that does not aPpear in the
play at this point) and Octavius is forced to concede, is Cicero's life. Cicero had labored for Octavius and had made all the difierence when the
young man had first come to Rome as an almost ignored young man, and
now Octavius, grown to power, delivers the great orator to his enemy.
However much we might excuse
it
captuf
destroyed
was
¡he rule of Mace
In 133 ¡.c.
over a thousan
of
Tamerlane,
it
remains the blackest single
-.
. an itching palnt
rvarice:
Let me tell you, Cassìus,you yoursell
Are much condemned to hove an itching pølm,
To sell and marlyour offices for gold
To undeservers.
And now, Oclavíus,
Listen great things. Brulus and Cassíus
Are levying powers; we must straight make head.
-Act IV, scene üi, lines
-Act IV, scene i, lines 40-42
The united Caesarians must face the united conspirators. Brutus had
been in Macedonia for a year now and Cassius in Syria. In the face of
the gathering of their enemies, they were getting armies ready for battle and
planning to unite their forces.
. this night in Sardis
..
.
At
once the action moves to the conspirators, who are meeting each
other in Asia Minor, and for the first time the setting of the play is outside
the
cþ
main a great city for
n M02 by the hosts
in ruins ever since.
once Brutus and cassius meet in the former's tent, they have at each
oóer, for both have accumulated grievances. Brutus scorns cassius for his
...
With the immediate financial problem ironed out by mearui of the proscriptions, the Triumvirate can turn to military matters. Antony says:
..
en when Alexander the
laÞr, Sardis fell under
as practical politics, however much we
might argue that Octavius had no choice,
act of Octavius'long and illustrious career.
Are levying powers
It
Crreat
of Rome.
The scene is laid in the camp of Brutus'army outside Sardis, and one of
Brutus' aides, Lucilius, tells him with reference to Cassius' approaching
army:
They mean this night in Sardis to be quartered;
-Act IV, scene ii, line 2E
9-12
The difrculty with the conspirators, as much as with the Triumvirate, is
S
they will desert, and the money must be
tt¡'¡insd.
appointments to high positions for ready
rroey.
ah,
and
Another source of money was from 1þs surreuarting population. The
Hpless civilians had no way of resisting the armies, and during the earþ
part of 42 s.c., for instance, Cassius stripped the island of Rhódes of all
ir precious metals. Asia Minor felt the squeeze too. wherever cassius'
my passed, the natives \ryere sfiipped bare and, in some cases, killed
rt'en they had given the last d¡achma. Brutus scoms this toq for he says:
. . . I can raìse no money by vile rneans.
By heaven, I had rather coin my heart
And drop my bloodÍor drachmas than towring
Frorn th¿ hard hands ol peasants their yile trash
By any indirection.
-Act IV,
scene
üi, lines 71-75
304
RoMAN
JULIUS
This sounds good, but in the course of the pompeian war, Brutus, as an
actual historical character, had spent some time on the island of cyprus.
There he had oppressed the provincials heartlessly, squeezing money out
of them without pity, and writing complaining letters that he was prevented
from squeezing still more out of them by other officials.
Then too, while Cassius was draining Rhodes, Brutus demanded money
of the city of Xanthus in Asia Minor, and when the city would not (or
could not) pay, he destroyed it. He is supposed to have felt remorse after
the destruction of Xanthus and to have ceased trying to collect money in
this fashion.
And yet he lists one of his grievances against Cassius as:
I
did send to you
scene
305
According to Plutarch, she ch
h mouth. This seems so strange
mt unbelievable. Is it possible
embers into
as to be al_
much more
Ebly death-that she allowed a charcoal fire to burn in a poorþ ventilated
m and died of carbon monoxide poisoning?
- -.farewell,Portìa. .
.
And now an odd thing happens. An officer, Marcus valerius Messala,
in with news from Rome. Brutus maneuvers him (with considerúle effort) into revealing the fact that Portia is dead. Without saying he
oes
rtready knows the fact, Brutus says calmly:
For certaín sums ol gold, which you deníed me;
-Act IV,
CABSÀR
iii, lines 69-70
Why,farevvell, Portia. We must die, Messala.
With meditating that shc must die once,
It is immediately after that that he says unctuously that he "can raise
no money by vile means." In other words, he cannot steal but he is willing
I
to have Cassius steal, share in the proceeds, and then scorn Cassius as a
robber. Neither Brutus' intelligence nor his honesty ever seem to survive
the words Shakespeare carefully put into his mouth.
...swallowedfire
In the quarrel, it is Cassius who backs away, and the scene ends in a
¡econciliation. Characteristically, Brutus praises himself unstintingly as one
who is slow úo anger and quick to forgive. He says:
O Cassius,you are yokèdwith a lamb
Thal carries anger as the flintbears fire,
lVho, much enforcèd, shows a høsty spark,
And straight ß cold agaín.
Act IV, scene iii, lines 109-12
Brutus fu¡ther explains his momentary anger by telling Cassius that his
wife, Portia" is dead:
Impatienl ol my absence,
And griel that young Octavius with Mark Antony
Have made themselves so slrong-for with her death
Thot tidings came-with this she tell dßtract
And (her attendants absent) swallowed fire.
-Act IV, scene iii, lines 151-55
have the patience to endure it now.
Act
IV,
scene
iü, lines 189-91
Brutus adhered to that school of philosophy called Stoicism. It had been
&mded, some th¡ee centuries earlier, by a Greek philosopher, Z,eno of
Gim (who possibly had Phoenician ancestry as well). He lectured at a
fu Poikile (a "painted porch"; that is, a corridor lined vvith frescoes) in
.àfuns. From this porch the philosophy took its name.
Sroicism saw the necessity of avoiding pain, but did not feel that choos'ilE pleasure was the best way to do so. The only safe way of living the good
&, Stoics felt, was to put oneself beyond both pleasure and pain: to train
æ-elf not to be the slave of either passion or feal, to treat both happiness
d woe with indifference. If you desire nothing, you need fear the loss of
ding.
Brutus, with his "Why, farewell, Portia," was greeting the death of a
brod one with the proper Stoic response.
But why didn't he tell Messala that he already knew of the death in detail
d had just been discussing it \r,ith Cassius? One theory is that, having
Tritten the proper Stoic scene with its "farewell, Portia," Shakespeare felt
il pesented Brutus in an unsympathetic light. He felt, perhaps, that an
Ég!¡sh audience could scarcely feel the proper sympathy for so extreme a
lman attitude; they would feel it repeflently heartless. He therefore wrote
& ea¡lier scene in which Brutus is still Stoical but shows. enough feeling
b grow angry with Cassius. Then, the theory goes on, both versions apg:red, through carelessness, in the final printed copy of the play.
Yei it seems to me that this cannot be so. Shortly after Messala enters,
Cersius, still brooding over the nsws, says to himself:
306
JULIUS CAESA.R
ROMAN
If
Porlia, arl thou gone?
-Act IV,
scene
üi, line 16ñ
To this Brutus makes a hasty response:
No more,
I
307
Cicero, sixty-three years old and ti¡ed of the wild vicissitudes of public
EB found at the end the physical courage he had so conspicuously lacked
tloughout his life. Foúidrring resistance, he waited calmly for the soldiers
i was cut down on December 7, 43 8.c., t\ryenty-one months after Julius
lhar's
assassination.
pray you.
-Act IV, scene iii, Iine 16S
- - .towardPhilippi
It is as though he does more
than merely neglect to tell Messala of lÈ
knowledge. He takes special pains to keep Cassius ftom telling him.
Why? Perhaps precisely so he can strike the proper Stoic note. Since b
already knows and the shock is over, he can greet the news with marvelcs
caln, and strike a noble pose.
lVe might find an excuse for him and say that he was seizing the f
portunity to be ostentatiously strong and Stoical in order to hearten lÈ
ofrcers and his army with a good s¡ample. On the other hand, he migL
have done it out of a vain desi¡e for praise. After all, ¿¡s soon as Bruu
makes his Stoic response, Messala says, worshipingly:
Even so great men great bsses should endure.
-Act fV,
scene
üi, line
lgl
If this is so, and certainly it is a reasonable supposition, what a monsfrr
of vanity Shakespeare makes out Brutus to be.
Brutus, meanwbile, has told of the news he himself has received; news
eastward, taking the
¡ üe effect that the triumvi¡s are on the move
*nsive. He says:
Messala,
I
have here received lelters
Thatyoung Oclavius and Mark Antony
Come down upon us with a mighty power,
Bend.ing their expedition toward Philippi.
-Act IV, scene iii,
Philippi was an important crty in the province of Macedonia, and was
about ten miles north of the Aegean Sea. It had been built up on
& site of an earlier village in 356 B.c. by Philip II, King of Macedon and
Þted
trr
of Alexander the Great. The city was named for PhiliF.
- - -takenattheflood. .
Cicero is dead
Before Messala has the news of Portia's death forced out of him, h
delivers the news of the proscriptions of the Second Triumvirate. Deens of men of senatorial rank have been executed. What's more, saF
.
The question now is how best to react to the Triumvirate ofiensive.
Csius takes the cautious view. He suggests their forces remain on the
&nsive.
'
Messala:
Cicero is dead,
enemY seek us;
meøns, weary his soldiers,
his
he
waste
So shall
'Tis better that the
Doing himsefi offense, whilst we,lying still,
Are full of resl, defense, and nirnbleness.
And by thal order of proscription.
Act IV, scene üi, lines 178-79
As soon as the Second Triumvirate was formed, Cicero, knowing th*
any accommodation between Octavius and Antony would have to be at hÈ
o\ryrì expense, tried to escape from Italy. Contrary winds drove his sþ
back to shore, however, and before he could try again, the soldiers sent b
kill him had arrived.
Those with him, his servants a¡d retainers, made as though to resisL
lines 166-69
-Act IV, scene üi, lines 198-201
Brutus, however, disagfees. He points out that
&
tle
provinces between
eneny army and themselves are angered by the looting they have
mdergone and would join A:rtony and Octavius. Their owl army, on the
6her hand, is as large as it is evef likely to be, and if they wait it will start
&lining. He says, sententiously, in a famous Passage:
308
JULrus CAESAR
ROMAN
30g
There is a tide ín the afiairs of men
lVhich, laken at the flood,leads on to fortunc;
Omitted, atl the voyøge of their life
ls bound in shallows and' in miseries'
-Act IV, scene iü, lines 217-20
way and the result
Once again, Bruqs contradicts Cassius and has his
play'
Brutus consistently
the
proves his judgment to be wrong' Throughout
to place this pasand
flood'
the
is
at
misjudges the moment when the tide
sage in his mouth seems to þtend irony'
..
The triumvir army n
cavalry. What is more,
tion in the hilts, while
hrial plain.
. this monstrous aPParition
of conBrutus makes ready for sleep, in an almost family atmosphere
good
truth'
in
noble'
cern for his serv4nts land he is portrayed most nearly
out:
cries
he
settles down to read a book when suddenly
here). He
Ha! Who comes here?
I lhink it is the weakness of mine eyes
That shapes this monstrow apparition'
-Act IV,
scene iü, lines 274-76
ItistheghostofCaesar,whichBrutusboldlyaccosts.Ittellshimonly
that they will meet again at Philippi'
One might supPose that this was a Shake
for dramaiic efiect, for the chancp of turning
and chilling the audience, but, in actual fa
Brutus is to be
to inveqt it. The t"pti, thut bu"'u''s ghost appeared to
found in Plutarch'
It is with a forward look to this scene, perhap¡' that Shakespeare
Antony still did not
rg¡in opposed Cãssius
Brutus. Brutus
e again Brutus
ixisted on having his w
- . . the Hybla bees
had
had Mark Antony speak earlier of "Caesar's spirit'"
It proves nol so . .
.
th9 opposing armies
The fifth act opens in the plains near Philippi' withat the scene
looking
facing each other u"¿ *"iti"g for battle' Octavius'
with grim satisfaction, saYs:
Now, AntonY, our hoPes are answered;
You said the enemy would not come d'own'
But keep the hìtß and upper regíons'
It proves not so
'''
-Act v,
But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees,
And leave thern honeyless.
-Act V,
i' lines 1-4
i, lines 34-35
rrybla was a town in sicily, on the southern sropes of Mount Etna,
some forty miles northwest of syracuse. It was famous,
almost protrbial, for its honey.
d
scene
scene
310
,.
R9MAN
JULrus cAESAR
. Brutus, thank yoursell
who let himself be overruled, reminds himself,
similarly forced into battle at pharsalia, six years
among his councilors, when cautious delay might
In the wordy quarrel, Antony does have the best of it and cassius finally is forced to become aware of Brutus' misjudgments. He says to Bnr
tter.
tus angrily:
.
. Now, Brutus, lhank yourself;
?/zrs [Antony'sf tongue had not offended so tod,ay,
Il Cassius might have ruled,
-Act V,
scene
i, lines 45-47
- . . I held Epicurus strong
To unavailing regret that he had allowed himself to be swayed by Brutus,
C¡ssius finds trouble in supernatural omens. He says:
surely he must have thought how, in all likelihood, the conspirators
would have been long in control of Rome if only Antony had been kile¿
You know that
I
held Epicurus slrong,
And his opinion; now I change my mind,
And partly credit things tlnt do presage.
along with Caesar, as he had advised.
-Act V,
Was Cassius born
There is nothing, then, but to make ready for the actual battle. cassius is
t has been borne in upon him, forcethrough, and because he bitterly re.
It
is now october 42 n.c., more than two and a harf years since the as-
sassination of Caesar, and Cassius says to his aide:
Messala,
This is my birrhday; as thßvery day
Wqs Cassius born.
-Act V,
scene
d
i, lines 76-78
þicurus of Samos was a Greek philosopher who was a contemporary
ùe Zeno who had founded Stoicism. Epicurus' philosophy (Epicurean-
to)
adopted the beliefs of ce¡tain earlier Greek philosophers who viewed
Ée universe as made up of tiny particles called atoms. All change consisted
d the random breakup and rearrangement of groups of these atoms and
he was little room in the Epicurean thought for any purposeful direction
d man and the universe by gods. Omens and divine portents were conËered empty superstition.
Now, however, Cassius begins to \ryaver. It seems two eagles, having
æompanied the army from Sardis to Philippi, have now flown away, as
lbgh good luck were departing. On the other hand, all sorts of carrion
ihds a¡e now gathering, as though bad luck were arriving.
- - . the rule ol that philosophy . .
.
Cassius' pessimism forces him to question Brutus as to his intentions in
æ the battle is lost. Brutus answers in high Stoic fashion. His actions
dl follow:
Even by the rule of that philosophy [Stoicism]
By which I did blame Cato tor the death
|Yhich he did give himsell . . .
Be lhou my witness that against my will
(As Pompey was) am I compelled to set
Upon one battle aII our liberties.
-Act V,
scene
scene
i, lines 70-72
Since we don't know in what year Cassius was born, \rye can't say how
old he was on the day of the Battle of philippi. However, plutarch refers
to him as older than Brutus (a view Shakespeare adopts) and Brutus may
have been born in 85 s.c. It would seem then that cassius must be in his
mid-forties at least and possibly pushing fifty.
cassius does not find the fact that the battle will be fought on his birtÞ
day to be a good omen. He does not want to fight it. He says to Messala:
-Act V,
311
i, lines 73-75
This is a reference to the fact that it is Brutus, not Cassius, who is push-
scene
i, lines 100-2
Stoicism held it wrong to seek refuge in suicide. The good man must
his fate, whatever it is, unmoved.
Cassius asks, sardonically, if Brutus is ready, then, in case of defeat,
ct
312
ROMAN
JULrus cAESAR
313
to be led in triumph behind the conqueror's chariot through the Roman
streets (and, undoubtedly, with the jeers of the Roman populace ringing
in his ears).
At
once, Brutus' Stoicism fails him. As long as his Stoic demeanor brings
him praise, it is well. If it is going to bring him disgrace he abandons iL
But he does so with characteristic self-praise:
No, Cassius, no; think nol, thou noble Roman
Thnt ever Brutus will go bound to Rome;
He bears too greal ø rnirtd,
-Act V, scene üi,
lines 5_g
InParthia...
-Act V, scene i, lines 110-12
Since both plan to die
Brutus says:
in
case
of defeat, they may never meet
Forever, and lorever, farewell, Cassius!
-Act V,
Cassius answers
scene
again-
i, line
116
Cassius therefore calls his servant, pindarus, saying:
in kind and both are now ready for the battle, which
In Parthía did I tqke thee prisoner;
And then I swore thee, saving of thy life,
takes up the rest of the plaY.
..
That whatsoever I did bid thee do,
Thou shouldst auempt it,
. the word too early
-Act V, scene ü, lines 37-40
On both sides there was double command. Cassius on the seaward side
opposed Antony; Brutus on the intand side opposed Octavius. The fortunes dlifiered on the two fla¡ks. Brutus had the advantage over Octavh¡s
and advanced vigorously. He sends messages of victory to the other flank
by Messala, saying:
He had not despaired then, but he did now. He orders his srave to kill
him with the same sword that had once pierced caesar. It is done and
...Iperceíve
But cold deme,anour in Octaviui wing,
And. sudden push gives them the overthrow.
Ride, ride, Messala!
-Act V,
But even now, itl
€¡ssius dies.
4r
scene
ii,
lines
the midst of victory, Brutus judges wrongly'
}{
arny from advancing in sucb
part in case of need. Instea{
ng, when they ought to haw
Antony's anny manages instead to drive hard against Cassius' wing
That wing breaks and flies and can receive no heþ. Titinius, cassius' aidg
bitterþ:
Ifu
Last
ol all Romans
...
BruE
wheeled down upon Antony's men.
says
had
arehad
ft
when the news of cassius'death is brought to Brutus, he comes to view
body and says:
O lulius Caesat, thou art mighty yet!
Thy spiril walks abroad, and, turns our swords
In our own proper entraiß.
-Act V, scene iii, lines
94-96
314
JULrus cAESAR
ROM^A,N
His eulogy over Cassius is:
There remains only the eulogy to be delivered over Brutus. Antony,
srveying the dead body, says:
The last of aII Romans, fare thee well!
is impossible that ever Romc
Should breed thy lellow . , .
It
-Act V,
This was lhe noblesl Roman of thcm aII.
the conspirators save only he
Did that they did in envy ol great Caesar;
He, only ín a general honest thoughl
And common good to all, made one ol them.
AII
scene
iü, lines 99-101
The statement is a gross exaggeration. Except for his conduct at the
shown little real ability. Even in orgauz_
at killed Caesar, his weakness in attowing
Bat
ing
the
315
ruined all.
-Act V,
scene
v, lines 68-72
"it
was said" that Antony had, on a number of
it to win over those who had been
æ Brutus' side for the wa¡ that was to follow between himself and
Oaavius? Was it out of gratitude, since Brutus had refused to allow
Antony to be killed on the ides of March? Did A-ntony really believe what
Plutarch reports that
æcasions, s¿id sqrnsrhing like this. Was
Caesar, now be still
shakespeare has the battle continuing as though
That is not so in actual history.
it
were all one piece.
After the drawn battle in which Cassius killed himself rrnnec€ssarily and
Brutus was victorious on his wing the two armies withdrew to lick their
wounds.
Brutus' army still held the stronger position and, whafs more, Brutus
controlled the sea approaches so that supplies were denied Antony and
Octavius. He had but to stay where he was and he would still win.
But he could not. The habit of wrong judgments could not be broke.n
and this time there wasn't even Cassius present to argue vainly with him
After twenty days he marched to the attack again in a straightforward
b
said?
In
terms of Shakespeare's play, this final eulog¡l is so devastatingly
tnong, it can be accepted only as irony. How can we possibly follow
alntony in saying that Brutus was the only one who didn't act out of envy,
.ròen Shakespeare shows us that he was the only one who surely acted olut
od envy.
In the great seduction scene in Act f, scene ii, Cassius turns all his arguænts against Brutus' weak point, his monstrous vanity. He paints a world
e which Caesar is all and Brutus nothing, knowing that Brutus cannot
bar such a thought. Finally, he makes the comparison a brutally direct
@3:
head-to-head battle.
He lost again, brought the remnants back to a súong position once again,
and might have sold his last bit dear, but that his soldiers refused 1s fight
any more.
There was nofhing left to do but find somebody to kill him. This service
was performed for him by his servant, Strato, who hetd the sword wbile
Brutus ran upon it, saying:
I
To the end the talk is of Caesar.
Weiþh them, il is as heavy; conjure with'em,
"Brutul' will start a spirit ss soon as "Ceesar."
-Act I, scene ü, lines t4247
It might be argrred that
Caesar, now be still:
killed not thee with halÍ so good a will.
-Act V,
Brulus and Caesar: what should be in that"Caesar"?
I4rhy slnuld thal name be sounded more thenyours?
Write lhem together, yours is as lair ø name;
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well;
scene
v, lines 50-51
as painstakingly revealed in every other facet of the play
we can be certain that he was nol the only conspirator not driven by
caay. On the contrary, he was the one conspirator who was diven only
ùutus' character
d
b
..
. lhe noblest Roman of them all
Cassius was speaking generally, comparing
C.sû to any other Roman citizen, but the fact is that he made the comgircn to Brutus specifically, and Brutus listened. Take this together with
envy.