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Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (100–44 BC) was a Roman general who played a vital role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He was dubbed the Republic’s “dictator in perpetuity.”
4,636 Questions
What illness does Caesar have?
he has what is known now as epilepsy but in his time they just called it falling down syndrome
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In the story it says that they have the Falling Sickness, which is today known as Epilepsy.
Why did Shakespeare write Julius Caesar?
One of the themes of Julius Caesar is the method of selection of a leader. At the time when the play was written, Elizabeth I, the English Queen, was too old to bear children and did not have an heir. Shakespeare's selection of themes reflected the interests and concerns of his times.
Of course the real reason Shakespeare wrote the play was that he wanted to make money. He had been writing plays about the problems of transition of power for seven or eight years already by the time he got around to Caesar. He wrote two more after Queen Elizabeth was dead and King James was firmly installed as her successor. (Which sort of squashes the interests and concerns of the time theory.)
What is interesting is that Julius Caesar does not have anything to do with the succession. It has to do with the effectiveness of the use of violence to return a society to an earlier time. One would therefore expect it to be written at the time of the Gunpowder Plot. But it wasn't; it was written five years earlier.
What do Marullus and Flavius think of Caesar?
Marullus and Flavius was very upset to see the way the citizens were behaving. when Pompey was alive they praise him and now that Caesar killed him, they started praising Caesar. They go along with anyone who wants to rule.
In "Juilius Caesar," Caesar himself describes Cassius as "lean and hungry," a man who thinks too much and is "dangerous" (I, ii, 193-195). Cassius is these things and more. He is envious of Caesar, speaking of him as a Colossus. Cassius is manipulative of Brutus, telling him I have not from your eyes that gentleness/And show of love as I was wont to have (I,ii,32-33) In his manipulations, he is fauning before Brutus, flattering him in order to further sway him to think as he does. Cassius, then, is suggestive,telling Brutus that they groan "underneath this age's yoke" (I,ii,61). He is seductive in his language to Brutus, telling him I, your glass/Will modestly discover to yourself/That of yourself which you yet know not of. (I,ii,68-70) Certainly, Cassius is deceptive and dishonorable because he deceives Brutus by playing to Brutus's own sense of honor: I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus,/As well as I do know your outward favor./Well, honor is the subject of my story...(I,ii,90-93) In truth, honor is not the subject of his story. He leads Brutus to believe that he has the same noble principles as Brutus when it is power that Cassius desires, not the good of Rome, as Brutus wants. Clearly, Cassius is shrewd as he knows how to sway his brother-in-law, Brutus. Later in the play, Cassius is quarrelsome with Brutus, but does he defer to Brutus, who is well-respected, thus again showing shredness.
Who is stoic character in the book Julius Caesar?
Brutus is because he doesn't show any emotion when he found out that his wife, Portia, died. Someone who is stoic is unaffected by grief or pain, and that is why I believe that Brutus is a stoic character in the tragedy of Julius Caesar.
What are Antony and Octavius willing to do to avenge Caesars death?
Mark Antony and Octavian (Octavius' name changed to Octavian in 44 BC when he was adopted by Julius Caesar in his will) formed the Second Triumvirate, a tripartite alliance which also included Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. The Triumvirate fought a civil war (the Liberators' Civil War, 44-42 BC) against the forces of Brutus and Cassius, the leaders of the assassination of Caesar. Mark Antony and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi in Greece.
Who is soothsayer in Julius Caesar?
The soothsayer in Julius Ceasar is the man who tells Caear "Beware of the Ides of March." This has significant meaning, for the ides of March (the 15th) is the day of Julius Caesar's death. Caesar is ignorant towards this man, and for his ignorance, the warning did not get across to Caesar, and he is murdered.
Is Cassius the name of Julius Caesar in shakespeare?
No. Cassius is the name of one of the conspirators. His full name is Caius Cassius. He was the brains behind the conspiracy. Julius Caesar's full name in real life was Gaius Julius Caesar, but in the play he's just called Julius Caesar.
Who was flavius in julius caesar?
Flavius is a character in William Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar." He is a tribune who opposes the celebration of Caesar's triumph and expresses disdain for the common people celebrating Caesar's rise to power. Flavius, along with Marullus, attempts to disperse the crowd and criticizes them for their fickleness in shifting loyalties from Pompey to Caesar. His actions reflect the tension between the ruling class and the populace in the play.
She swallowed hot coals or "swallowed fire"
Portia "swallows fire" or hot coals
she ate hot coal
What does Antony tell octavius servant?
Octavius tells Antony that the enemy is coming forth with a battle at Philippi
Who are the main characters of Julius Caesar by Shakespeare?
It depends on whose "story of Julius Caesar" we are talking about. In most such stories Caesar is the main character. However if we are talking about Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar (which is a play and not a story), Caesar is actually dead for most of the play, which suggests that he is not the main character. Some people have argued that the short appearance of his ghost just before the Battle of Philippi and Cassius's remarks about how he will die by the same sword as Caesar mean that Caesar's spirit is at work even after his death, until his murderers are dead. However, that is stretching a point. It is simpler to say that Brutus is the main character in the play, since the real focus is on him and on the kind of political idealism (or possibly naiveté) he demonstrates.
What is the difference between Brutus' and Antony's funeral speech for Caesar?
Marcus Brutus makes his speech very formally to reason the mob for killing Caesar. He tells them that Caesar too ambitious and would eventually become a much powerful ruler and would make the Romans his slave. Brutus appeals to the people's minds and leaves an impression that Caesar would have become a tyrant. What Brutus terms as his reason is a hypothetical situation and is not reason enough for killing Caesar. He does not provide any evidence to his statement that Caesar was ambitious.
Where as Mark Antony uses flawless logic and genuine emotional appeal in his masterful oratory. first of all, Antony enters dramatically to the pulpit with Caesar's body to win the sympathy of the mob. He began his speech by addressing the mob as "friends". Antony really wants to avenge Caesar and tries to convince the crowd into believing the truth that they killed Caesar out of envy. Antony appeals to people's heart.
Hence, he is successful making the mob rise against the conspirators in 'mutiny' and 'rage'. Also, Antony provides evidences of Caesar's humanity and attachment to people by showing them that Caesar had made the people his inheritors of his wealth, gardens. Also Antony tells the crowd that Caesar had always sympathized with them.
This has a greater effect on the people and Antony's periodical emotional outburst only contributes to Antony's impulsive and improvisatory nature serves him perfectly. Antony is gifted with the power of oratory that helped him to stir the common man. Antony proves himself everywhere Brutus was weak. With caution and gradual persuation, he proves that he is a consummate politician using gestures and skilled rhetoric to his advantage.
Unlike Brutus, who prides himself on acting solely with respect to virtue and blinding himself to his personal concerns , Antony never separates his private affairs from his public actions. Antony directly appeals to the hearts of the roman people. His speech is deeply emotional as he believes that people will not listen to reason. Antony humbles himself as "no orator as Brutus is" hinting that Brutus used trickery in his speech to deceive the crowd.
Thus Antony succeed to inflame the Roman mob to rise in rebellion and seek revenge on the conspirators. The mob finds it easier to accept Antony, an emotional and sincere speaker than Brutus who appears arrogant and forceful.
Marcus Brutus makes his speech very formally to reason with the the mob for killing Caesar. He tells them that Caesar too ambitious and would eventually become a much more powerful ruler and would make the Romans his slaves. Brutus appeals to the people's minds and leaves an impression that Caesar would have become a tyrant. What Brutus terms as his reason is a hypothetical situation and is not reason enough for killing Caesar. He does not provide any evidence to his statement that Caesar was ambitious, whereas Mark Antony uses flawless logic and genuine emotional appeal in his masterful oratory. First of all, Antony enters dramatically to the pulpit with Caesar's body to win the sympathy of the mob. He began his speech by addressing the mob as "friends." Antony really wants to avenge Caesar and tries to convince the crowd into believing that they killed Caesar out of envy. Antony appeals to people's hearts.
Hence, he is successful making the mob rise against the conspirators in "mutiny" and "rage." Also, Antony provides evidences of Caesar's humanity and attachment to people by showing them that Caesar had made the people his inheritors of his wealth, gardens, etc. Also Antony tells the crowd that Caesar had always sympathized with them.
This has a greater effect on the people, and Antony's periodical emotional outbursts only contribute to his impulsive and improvisatory nature that serves him perfectly. Antony is gifted with the power of oratory that helped him to stir the common man. Antony proves himself in every place where Brutus was weak. With caution and gradual persuasion, he proves that he is a consummate politician and uses gestures and skilled rhetoric to his advantage.
Unlike Brutus, who prides himself on acting solely with respect to virtue and blinding himself to his personal concerns, Antony never separates his private affairs from his public actions. Antony directly appeals to the hearts of the Roman people. His speech is deeply emotional; he believes that people will not listen to reason. Antony humbles himself as "no orator as Brutus is," hinting that Brutus used trickery in his speech to deceive the crowd.
Thus Antony succeeded in instigating the Roman mob to rise in rebellion and seek revenge on the conspirators. The mob finds it easier to accept Antony, an emotional and sincere speaker, than Brutus, who appears arrogant and forceful.
The angry mob assaults cinna in Julius Caesar because?
The peacekeeper beat up Cinna because he was ordered to.
Cinna designed a dress and told Katniss to spin around in it, when she did so, the dress turned into a mockingjay - the symbol of the rebellion. President Snow couldn't allow Cinna to go unpunished and sent a peacekeeper to beat him up.
President Snow planned it so that Katniss would see Cinna being beaten up just before she entered the arena, providing her with a disadvantage.
the peacekeepers beat up cinna because P. Snow thought he was a rebel, which is dangerous the the country of penem
What excerpt from Act III scene ii of Julius Caesar is an example of Brutus's use of pathos?
". . . believe me for mine honour, and have respect to mine honour, that you may believe: censure me in your wisdom, and awake your senses, that you may the better judge."
What made Julius Caesar a great general?
We don't know that he was a good general. He may have had good advisers. Or he may have been 'lucky'. We need some back ground to understand why he was 'lucky'.
His main claim to fame was the defeat of the Carthaginians in England. After the Punic Wars, Rome thought she had rid herself of her most dangerous enemy - the daughter colony of ancient Tyre. Tyre had virtually ruled the ancient commercial world (900-200 BC) which enabled her to hire armies to protect her economic interests. Tyre received her economic privilege by assisting King Solomon of Israel. The King of Tyre helped Solomon build the great temple that once existed in Jerusalem. Since the Queen Sheba of I Kings 10:1 in the Bible is now thought to be the great Hatshepsut (Hat-Sheba-Sut) of Egypt and Ethiopia (18th Dynasty), the temple she built at Deir el-Bahari is probably a replica of Solomon's Temple. Solomon allowed Tyre to have exclusive access to the Mediterranean to Eilat (Red Sea) trade route.
Thus Rome had much to fear from Tyre, and the resources (capital) she had acquired from centuries of commercial prowess. And much to fear from Carthage and the new bases Carthage (Phoenicians) had built in England. In England they helped (or hired) the Gauls to attack Rome from France. As Caesar wrote, "Omnia Gallia inter tres partis divisi est" [Gaul (France) is divided into three regions]. He went on to describe the geographic and social dimensions of the France of that era. But it was the shadowy Phoenicians from bases in England like Exeter (or Ishtar) that Caesar had to knock out if Rome were to be secure.
(Another point to consider is that "Gaul" or "Galatia" is named after the Chaldeans. The Gauls, Celts or Gelts (the Welsh 'c' and 'g') were Chaldeans who had fled the destruction of their ancient homelands in Southern Iraq (Isaiah 23). In Spain the 'W' is read 'G' so "welsh" is 'Gelsh' or 'Gelth'. The point to make from this etymology is that Caesar realised both 'Babylon' and 'Tyre' were in league against Rome which itself had been settled by Trojan Chaldeans originally from 'Babylon'. In some ways this shows Satan's kingdom is divided against itself until Satan decides who will win. In this case he backed the Chaldeans of Rome against the Phoenicians and Chaldeans of England and France. This principle works itself out in other ways, for example the battle between the colonists of the 13 states of America against Britain.)
Few people are aware of the reason why Rome built up its empire. According to her Prophet Daniel, Israel was about to receive her Messiah some 483 years after the Persians approved the rebuilding of the Jewish temple. This meant that in the decades before the 'year zero' of the Vatican calendar we now use, many pretenders to the Messiah-ship of Israel were emerging. The exact date for the Persian decree had been lost due to technical reasons. However, the head of the angels (Satan) knows that when Israel receives her Messiah his career goes down the drain. In order to destroy Israel, Satan either has to destroy the nation, destroy their self belief (by distorting ancient history so that they disbelieve their true historic and prophetic calling) or map the heavens and the floor of the ocean (Jeremiah 31:37). According to various government statements, which are in the hands of this author, the world economy and science system are currently being 'manipulated' to achieve those ends. They don't admit these things are 'manipulated' but it's clear that is what is happening. That explains why and how Mr Madoff managed to cheat so many people of their savings. He was authorised to collect that money for these ends.
Thus Satan is once again under pressure to prepare for the Coming of Christ just as Satan (and this world which he controls) was under pressure when Julius Caesar began his campaign to defeat the Gauls, then Britain (dominated by Phoenicia-Carthage). After Caesar, effectively Satan's servant as his moral behaviour confirmed, won some amazing victories, Caesar went on to control Rome and prepare Rome for world domination on behalf of Satan. Rome became Satan's vehicle for this objective. After Caesar's 'murder' (or removal), Octavian, Caesar's adopted son, carried on the plan until his general Quintilius Varis lost two huge legions in Germany's forests for the same reasons Caesar won his battles - Satan controlled the situation. God, in His permissive, will lets these things happen as the plan for His Kingdom unfolds. We are witnessing the rival plans for control of this world. When Adam took of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (refer the Bible) he handed dominion of this world to Satan. But Jesus (Yeshua) is going to win it back. When the Jewish leaders began rejecting Jesus, or taking no notice of Him at His Bar Mitzvah year when He appeared in the temple and amazed the leaders with His knowledge, Satan began to realise the pressure to establish a world empire to destroy Israel was no longer necessary. So Satan allowed the Romans to be deceived or lured into the trap which Quintilius Varus blundered into.
Another name for Satan is Lucifer and we get the work 'lucky' from that name. Satan can work wonders and his antichrist will appear to do just that as he rises to take over the world. Satan was likened to the King of Tyre in a chapter (28) the Jewish Prophet wrote. The Kings of Tyre became corrupted and proud. Their fall was at the hands of the Romans (Scipio and Caesar). Satan's Fall was at the Hands of God and Jesus said "I saw Satan fall" which showed He is the Son of God because he was at the Throne of God when Satan disobeyed God long before Man was created.
So the background to what happens here on Earth reflects ancient pre-human events. Julius Caesar was just lucky and had a 'successful' career until he grew too big for his boots and Satan had him murdered (removed). The demonic world knew this which was why some demons told the witch to say "Beware the Ides of March". Those who serve Satan lose their lives when he decides. Those who serve Jesus (Christians) die at the time God appoints for them when they have finished their work for Him. Historians do not understand these things. They can record and collect the facts but they cannot explain them without accepting God's Word and the record of that Word in the Bible.
God has allowed Satan to distort ancient history in the Halls of the Academy. That has been done by distorting ancient Egyptian history by adding dynasties that should not exist and by placing them in the wrong millennium to confuse the dates. Thus the world's history prior to Caesar is misunderstood. A proper reading of that history reveals that people like Caesar rise up becaue either God or Satan has a purpose for them. God's servants get a bad press. Satan's servants get a good press.
However, the most brilliant 'Caesar' is yet to arise. He will call himself "King of Kings". However, only Jesus is legitimately entitled to this name. We actually do know of a child whose name comes from Imperial Roman traditian. The child's eventual surname, assuming he adopts it from the step-father his mother married (c.f., Mary marrying Joseph, who became Jesus' step-father or 'father-in-law'), means "king of kings" if one studies the names given to kings in the Bible. One needs to examine the etymology of the foreign names of the Biblical kings and how the scribes transliterated these into Hebrew. Because it is by doing the transliterations that one can obtain a value for this child's name. We get the value six, six, six. The first name is classical Roman and the surname is simple to understand biblically. The letters used by the Jewish scribes, for ancient imperial or royal titles in the Bible, set the precedents for us to use in transliterating modern names such as this one we are thinking of at the moment.
For reasons of security and sensibility it is unwise to release such a name especially for the reason that the person concerned might actually reject Satan's offers (as Jesus did). But the information to hand does show that it is possible to identify the ultimate 'Julius Caesar' if we can call the Antichrist that. This yet-future 'Julius Caesar' will make the former look a nobody in comparison.
What does Brutus want the conspirators to do to Caesar?
In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Cassius is jealous and envious of Caesar. He sees Caesar as just an ordinary man, like himself. He tells the story of a time when he rescued Caesar...
Which city did Brutus and Cassius gather their armies in Julius Caesar?
Brutus and Cassius met to join their armies at Saris, in western Turkey. They had levied 19 legions. Then they crossed into Macedon (northern and north-eastern Greece) and encamped near Philippi.
Brutus had levied his troops in Greece and Cassius in the Roman province of Asia, in western Turkey. By 43 BC Cassius had gathered 12 legions and was ready to take on Publicus Cornelius Dolabella, the governor of Syria and a supporter of Marc Antony (who at that time was the leader of the Caesarians, the supporters of Caesar) whom he defeated at Laodicea (modern Latakia in Syria).The senate, which had pitted itself against Marc Antony, made Cassius governor of Syria. Cassius then wanted to march on Egypt. However, with the formation of the Second triumvirate, Brutus asked him for help. Cassius turned west and reached Smyrna, on the west coast of Turkey with most of his forces. Before meeting up at Saris, Cassius and Brutus attacked the allies of the Second Triumvirate in the east. Cassius sacked the Greek island Rhodes. Brutus sacked Lycia, in western Turkey.
What is a example of personification in 'Julius Caesar'?
Act 2 scene 2 lines 44-45. "Danger knows full well that Caesar is more dangerous than he."
What reforms did Julius Caesar make?
Julius Caesar's most enduring reform was the calendar. He switched from a lunar to a solar calendar. Apart from some minor changes introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in X, this is the calendar we still use today.
Caesar introduced a land reform to distribute land to the poor and to retiring soldiers. He passed a law which wrote off 1/4 of all debts. He put a limit on the purchase of luxury items by the rich as conspicuous consumption was a problem. He banned professional guilds, except for the old ones, because many of them were subversive political factions.
On the political front he weakened the senate. He replaced the senators who had died in the civil war with his supporters and increased its size from 600 to 900 to fill it with more of his supporters. He ended the election of the officers of state and started appointing them instead. Finally, he had himself appointed dictator for one year (the normal term for this officer was six months), for ten years, and then for life. The dictator was an extraordinary officer of state who was usually appointed briefly to deal emergencies. He had more powers than ordinary officers. Caesar changed this into a permanent post for himself.
Why is Brutus the hero of the play Julius Caesar?
Brutus was Julius Caesar's friend.but, he accidentally betrayed him because he once received a letter from Cassius which was thought to be a citizen of Rome by Brutus , which was a plan to meet him and kill Julius Caesar because he was acting to much like a king.:(
What is the main idea in Antony's speech in Julias Caesar?
In the play, Julius Ceasar was killed by a mutiny of roman senators. Principal among them are Brutus, who was JC's best friend -- bright, charasmatic and naive, and Casius, who Shakespeare renders as heartless, ambitious and disingenuous.
Mark Antony was the leader of one of Ceasar's armies. It was assumed knowledge in the Elizabethan era that Roman generals could not legally lead their armies over the Rubicon river, into Rome, lest they foment insurrection (hence the phrase, "crossing the rubicon"). Antony's motives are not clearly examined until after JC's death. Up until then it is apparent that Marc Antony is a soldier, not exceptionally witty, not terribly formidible without his troops, but a dear friend to JC (but perhaps less so than Brutus).
To really grasp this part, you need to understand that this is a political drama of the highest order -- something Shakespeare loved to play with (consider his historical plays around the War of the Roses, Henry VI-1, Henry VI-2 and RIchard III). In Julius Ceasar, everyone has their own agenda and, in the end, perhaps only JC himself is guileless.
After the murder of Ceasar, Brutus and the cadre that rna the assassination (including Cassius) temporarily lead Rome. And at the beginning, the ROman populace is convinced that Ceasar was about to dissolve the democracy and take of the crown of an emperor. Hence, this rebellion is popular but shaky. We enter as Antony asks Brutus if he can speak at Ceasar's funeral, over his body.ANTONYThat's all I seek:
And am moreover suitor that I may
Produce his body to the market-place;
And in the pulpit, as becomes a friend,
Speak in the order of his funeral.
BRUTUSYou shall, Mark Antony.
Brutus, as we see, is actually sort of a noble spirit. He'll allow this. But Cassius, more cynical and a better politician, interjects:CASSIUSBrutus, a word with you.
Aside to BRUTUS You know not what you do: do not consent
That Antony speak in his funeral:
Know you how much the people may be moved
By that which he will utter?
Evil, cynical or political realist, Cassius senses that this may be more than just a eulogy (and it is -- it is perhaps one of the most famous soliloquies of all time). Brutus considers this and claims the right to speak first:CASSIUSI know not what may fall; I like it not.
BRUTUSMark Antony, here, take you Caesar's body.
You shall not in your funeral speech blame us,
But speak all good you can devise of Caesar,
And say you do't by our permission;
Else shall you not have any hand at all
About his funeral: and you shall speak
In the same pulpit whereto I am going,
After my speech is ended.
ANTONYBe it so.
I do desire no more.
BRUTUSPrepare the body then, and follow us.
Exeunt all but ANTONY
Shakespeare's appeal was to the masses and, as such, he felt a need to explain the subtleties of his plays to his not-too-noble audience. So we get to hear Antony's inner dialogue here. Antony truly does feel a loyalty to Ceasar and a heartfelt friendship, but he's going to be somewhat manipulative when he speaks to the crowd -- this, in order to preserve Ceasar's Rome -- and perhaps to elevate himself. So Antony, now alone with Ceasar's corpse, speaks to the body and explains:ANTONYO, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever lived in the tide of times.
Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy,--
Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips,
To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue--
A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;
Domestic fury and fierce civil strife
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;
Blood and destruction shall be so in use
And dreadful objects so familiar
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war;
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:...
In short, Antony appologies to the corpse of Ceasar, and says his wounds will speak, and the reality of the assassination will cause a revolution so awful that "...mothers shall but smile when they behold their infants quarter'd (killed most horribly) with the hands of war..." In other words, Antony is going to cause hell. In fact, he anticiipates and will try and cause a war, and says so when, near the end of this lengthy speech, he says,"Cry Havoc! And let slip the dogs of war!"
Antony is so sure of himself, he calls Octavius Ceasar -- the next in line -- back to Rome, to prepare for the revoution that will overturn Brutus and company.
As you recall, the next day, Brutus will speak first. And his speech to the people of Rome is wonderful. He says he loved Ceasar, but could not let him overturn the democracy of Rome. And the crowd agrees with him, finally saying they'll appoint Brutus in Ceasar's place.
Then it's Antony's turn to speak. He has promised Brutus he won't say anything bad about Brutus's or his group's part in the assassination. Here then is what he says:ANTONYFriends, 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 answer'd 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 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.
All through this speech Antony never says one bad thing about Brutus. However, he keeps repeating the phrase, "...and Brutus is an honorable man... ", each time more and more ironically, until it becomes more than an insult -- an accusation. And SURE He is an honorable man!...
Then, rather miraculously (and possibly dishonestly?) Antony produces Ceasar's last will and testiment:ANTONYBut yesterday the word of Caesar might
Have stood against the world; now lies he there.
And none so poor to do him reverence.
O masters, if I were disposed to stir
Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage,
I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong,
Who, you all know, are honourable men:
I will not do them wrong; I rather choose
To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you,
Than I will wrong such honourable men.
But here's a parchment with the seal of Caesar;
I found it in his closet, 'tis his will:
Let but the commons hear this testament--
Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read--
And they would go and kiss dead Caesar's wounds
And dip their napkins in his sacred blood,
Yea, beg a hair of him for memory,
And, dying, mention it within their wills,
Bequeathing it as a rich legacy
Unto their issue.
Antony now says, "If I tell you what's in the will, I'll break my word to Brutus and Cassius -- and stir you to revolution - because his will is going to break your hearts..." At this point, the mob has swayed from Brutus' standpoint and are now remembering Ceasar very kindly. And the will has them more than interested.
The citizens beg and beg to hear the will, and Antony refuses, saying it will drive them to rebellion -- and all the time repeating "...and Brutus is an honorable man..."...ANTONYWill you be patient? will you stay awhile?
I have o'ershot myself to tell you of it:
I fear I wrong the honourable men
Whose daggers have stabb'd Caesar; I do fear it.
He's saying that he shouldn't even have mentioned the will. This is pure, overt manipulation of the mob, but they don't notice, rememebering the good in Ceasar now....
Now he "warns" the mob not to be swayed against Brutus, because the will is a heartbreaker. He carefully notes each cut in Ceasar's gown, and each wound. And the final stroke -- Brutus -- Ceasar's most loved. By now the mob is frothing.ANTONYIf you have tears, prepare to shed them now.
You all do know this mantle: I remember
The first time ever Caesar put it on;
'Twas on a summer's evening, in his tent,
That day he overcame the Nervii:
Look, in this place ran Cassius' dagger through:
See what a rent the envious Casca made:
Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabb'd;
And as he pluck'd his cursed steel away,
Mark how the blood of Caesar follow'd it,
As rushing out of doors, to be resolved
If Brutus so unkindly knock'd, or no;
For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel:
Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!
This was the most unkindest cut of all;
For when the noble Caesar saw him stab,
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms,
Quite vanquish'd him: then burst his mighty heart;
And, in his mantle muffling up his face,
Even at the base of Pompey's statua,
Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell.
O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!
Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,
Whilst bloody treason flourish'd over us.
O, now you weep; and, I perceive, you feel
The dint of pity: these are gracious drops.
Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold
Our Caesar's vesture wounded? Look you here,
Here is himself, marr'd, as you see, with traitors.
Then the will:ANTONYHere is the will, and under Caesar's seal.
To every Roman citizen he gives,
To every several man, seventy-five drachmas.
Serious money! But there's more....ANTONYMoreover, he hath left you all his walks,
His private arbours and new-planted orchards,
On this side Tiber; he hath left them you,
And to your heirs for ever, common pleasures,
To walk abroad, and recreate yourselves.
Here was a Caesar! when comes such another?
He leaves them land -- a huge deal because ownership of land, even as a populace, was very restricted. By this time, the mob has completely been won over and is ready to revolt.
The citizens are screaming for the blood of Brutus and Cassius now, and the mob takes to the street.
With Octavius on his way in, and the entire populace of Rome uprising against Brutus and Cassius, the power has swung completely to Antony. The crowd leaves and Antony is alone, when he reveals the fruits of his plan:ANTONYNow let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot,
Take thou what course thou wilt!
Antony has turned the mob completely against Brutus' cadre and, together with Octavius, make war on Brutus and Cassius....
Thus ends the funeral scene :}
