Mark Anthony calls Brutus an honourable man repeatedly when addressing the general (public), and in so doing influences the crowd into thinking the exact opposite to change public opinion against him after his part in slaying Julius Caesar.
Mark Anthony
Antony, in his funeral oration for Caesar, repeated the phrase, "Brutus said he (meaning Caesar) was ambitious and Brutus is an honorable man," in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
After Julius Caesar was assassinated, Antony gave a eulogy purporting to praise Brutus. He kept repeating that Brutus was an honorable man while making it obvious that the opposite was true. The crowd turned against Brutus.
Mark Anthony was speaking at Ceasar's funeral (Ceasar was already dead) and he was Ceasars friend so he was instigating the mob against Brutus, Cassius and the Senate who had just had Ceasar killed. Mark Anthony use several Rhetorical devices as he wasn't allowed to directly insight a riot - one of his chief devices was understatement and sarcasm. ...but Brutus said he was ambisious and Brustus is an honorable man.
Cassius wants Brutus to join in a conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar. He tells Brutus stories of Caesar to poison his mind and make Brutus believe that Caesar wants to set himself up as a tyrant.
this basically means that Brutus was the cause of Caesars death, thus Antony was referring to brutus in that statement
Antony, in his funeral oration for Caesar, repeated the phrase, "Brutus said he (meaning Caesar) was ambitious and Brutus is an honorable man," in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
Mark Antony
Mark Antony's eulogy to Caesar (Julius Caesar, Act III scene 2) : Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears:I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.The evil that men do lives after them;The good is oft interred with their bones;So let it be with Caesar. The noble BrutusHath told you Caesar was ambitious:If it were so, it was a grievous fault,And grievously hath Caesar answered it.Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest - For Brutus is an honorable man;So are they all, all honorable men -Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.He was my friend, faithful and just to me:But Brutus says he was ambitious;And Brutus is an honorable man.He hath brought many captives home to Rome,Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?When that the poor had cried, Caesar hath wept.Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;And Brutus is an honorable man.You all did see that on the LupercalI thrice presented him a kingly crown,Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;And, sure, he is an honorable man.I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,But here I am to speak what I do know.You all did love him once, not without cause:What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,And men have lost their reason! Bear with me;My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,And I must pause till it come back to me.(weeping)
.By repeating the phrase, "he is an honourable man"
In the play by Shakespeare, Brutus' downfall was his belief that every man was as honorable as himself. He had an unmovable desire to do the most honorable things, which caused him to be easily manipulated. Cassius utilized this and talked Brutus into killing Caesar.
That Caesar was ambitious and a bit arrogant. He also trusted in the fact that the Roman military would keep him in control of Rome's affairs. These flaws in his character and trust in the military proved useless to the "dagger. The daggar problem was one that haunted Augustus and all the emperors that followed.
During Caesar's funeral, Antony refers to Brutus as an honorable man. This is said sarcastically as Brutus was a traitor to Caesar.
He refers to Brutus as a "honorable man" and also refers to the rest of the conspirators as 'honorable men'.
'''Text of the speech: ''' '''"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him; The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones, So let it be with Caesar ... The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answered it ... Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest, (For Brutus is an honourable man; So are they all; all honourable men) Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral ... He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man…. He hath brought many captives home to Rome, Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. You all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition? Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And, sure, he is an honourable man. I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, But here I am to speak what I do know. You all did love him once, not without cause: What cause withholds you then to mourn for him? O judgement! thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason…. Bear with me; My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it come back to me." ''' Notes: Brutus has just explained why he killed Caesar: according to Brutus, Caesar's was ambitious and wanted to become a ruler and tyrant over the free people of Rome, and killing him was the only way to keep Rome a republic. Mark Anthony says (several times) that Brutus is an honorable man, and that he himself (Mark Anthony) has not come to praise Caesar, but in fact he argues that Caesar wasn't ambitious (a negative word in Shakespeare's time), but that he was sympathetic to regular people, that he raised money for the public good, and that he refused a crown when it was offered to him. Mark Anthony finally discredits Brutus's careful reasoning by saying that "men have lost their reason," while himself appealing to the crowd's emotions throughout the speech, and particularly in the conclusion, when he alludes to his own pain and pauses, apparently to weep for Caesar (as the members of the crowd say in the lines following the speech).
“To show that audience that Brutus is not trustworthy “
to show the audience that brutus is not trustworthy.
He calls Brutus "an honorable man" distinguishing him as someone who has proper motives while the other conspirators may be wicked