Julius Caesar Quotes

This passage is interesting for a couple of reasons.  First, even though Brutus says he "love[s]" Caesar "well," he says he also fears that his friend will be crowned king, which goes against the ideals of the Roman Republic.  Second, even though Brutus, Cassius, and the fellow conspirators want to eliminate Caesar's threat, it's obvious that the commoners, or plebeians, adore Caesar.  When Caesar returns from defeating Pompey's sons in the first act, he's met with a huge celebration and is treated like a rock star.  

Here Brutus compares Caesar to a "serpent's egg" that should be destroyed before it hatches and becomes dangerous.  This suggests that the conspirators see in Caesar a <em>future</em> threat to Rome.  They're afraid of Caesar not because he <em>is</em> a tyrant, but because he <em>might become</em> one if he is crowned king.  

After the conspirators stab Caesar to death, they decide it would be a good idea to wash their hands in his blood, then run through the marketplace announcing that they have liberated Rome from bondage.  Good thinking – now everyone will know that Rome is safe from danger...right? 

Brutus seems to suggest that it's his fate to take up the cause of Rome: he's compelled by the actions his ancestors once took to save it.  He has to follow in his forefathers' footsteps for both public reasons and his own honor.

We don't know how any given day will end, but we do know that it will. This is a truism, but it's a beautiful observation nevertheless: Men never know their fates, but that should be no reason to hang back from acting and living.

When Cassius asks Brutus if he would want Julius Caesar to be crowned king, Brutus says that even though he loves Caesar, he doesn't want him to be a monarch. (Remember, the idea of a monarch ruling Rome with absolute power went against the ideals of the Roman Republic.)

According to Brutus, his decision to assassinate Caesar came down to a choice between his love for Rome and his love for his friend.  Does Brutus' sense of patriotism justify his decision to kill his friend? 

After a heated argument that sounds more like a lovers' quarrel than a fight between friends, Brutus and Cassius finally kiss and make up, so to speak. 

Brutus is pretty crafty here, don't you think? He urges the conspirators to pretend everything is hunky dory so nobody will catch on to their secret plot to assassinate Caesar.  What's interesting is that when Brutus tells the plotters to behave like "actors," Shakespeare makes an explicit connection between stage acting and rebellion. 

Brain Snack: This connection between acting and rebellion is pretty provocative because government censors and officials were always worried that playhouses where large crowds gathered could potentially incite riots and acts of treason. This was even more of a concern if the play portrayed rebellion against a monarch or powerful political leader onstage, or if it used the stage as a political platform.

Brutus knows how dangerous it is for him to argue with Cassius on what amounts to a public "stage."  Because he knows the troops are watching closely, he urges Cassius into the tent, where these two generals can hash out their differences in private.

Brutus' honor gets the better of him here – or does it?  Does this mean he'd rather not deal with the whole mess, or that he'd never be a villager and won't stand by and let Caesar take Rome?

Brutus senses that these dishonorable means can't be justified, even by an honorable cause.  He can tell from early on that the shadow hanging over Caesar's murder will stretch far beyond the act itself.  Even if the murder didn't end up causing civil war, it would have still cost Brutus, in his own mind, some degree of his personal honor.

Does Brutus really believe everyone is as honorable as he is just because they're all Romans? How does he view Cassius' motives, and why then should he distrust Caesar?

Brutus still believes that he retains his honor, even after the whole "murdering our leader" incident.  It's interesting that he relies on his honor to convince the people the murder was justified, when it's likely that the murder is the very thing that compromised his honor.  That Brutus doesn't see this is probably a good indicator that he actually did have honorable intentions: he intended no wrong, and thus can't see how anyone would think so.

Brutus isn't politicking here. They've obviously fled the country, so it doesn't matter so much what the Romans think. Instead, this bribery is a question of personal honor.  For Brutus, his honor is at stake more than anything else, especially given that he's resigned himself to some sad fate after murdering his friend.

Brutus admits that he killed Caesar willingly, but given everything that's transpired, and everything he now knows, he is doubly resigned to kill himself.  This is his honorable acceptance of his own faults, and his fate.