Lines 162-183 also strengthen the idea that Brutus has a high level of respect towards Caesar. “Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius…And, gentle friends, Let’s kill him boldly, but not wrathfully; Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods; Not hew him as a carcass fit for the hounds.” These quotes from Brutus solidify the notion that he believes Caesar is worthy of the utmost honour. Although Brutus will be involved in his assassination because he believes it will be better for the people of Rome, Brutus still knows his friend deserves to die with respect and honour. Brutus knows that Caesar is a great man and this is proved when he speaks of wanting to ‘kill him boldly’ instead of killing him angrily and slaughtering his body. By wanting to ‘carve him as a dish fit for the gods’ Brutus is articulating that he believes Caesar is one of the most mighty and potent men in Rome and thus must die with dignity. Brutus knows Caesar accomplished a great deal in his lifetime and knows they should not ‘hew him as a carcass fit for the hounds.’
When Brutus speaks of ‘the spirit of Caesar’ he is using ‘spirit’ to represent Caesar’s ambition for Rome. “We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar, And in the spirit of men there is no blood. O, that we then could come by Caesar’s spirit And not dismember Caesar.’ In these lines Brutus speaks of wishing to able to kill only Caesar’s mind and aspirations instead of Caesar’s entire body. However, he knows it is impossible to kill Caesar’s mind without taking his life because he is such a powerful man. Caesar’s mind and ambitions are so strong and so large that they are referred to a ‘spirit’ as if they have a mind and body of their own. In these particular lines Shakespeare is personifying Caesar’s ambitions and dreams.
Brutus also indirectly brings forth how strongly he feels about how the Roman people perceive him as an individual. “And after seem to chide’ em. This shall make Our purpose necessary, and not envious; Which so appearing to the common eyes, We shall be called purgers, not murders.” By killing Caesar with the dignity that he deserves (there is sense of irony here because it is almost impossible to kill a person with dignity) the conspirators will be seen as heroes for saving Rome from a so-called tyranny. However, if the conspirators were to kill Antony along with Caesar, they would be perceived as acting in self-interest instead of murdering for the greater good of Rome. Although the other conspirators are members of the Senate, none care as much about the perception of themselves in the citizens’ eyes as Brutus does. This is proven simply because Brutus was the first to bring up what the effect the death might have on the Roman people (line 178).
In its entirety, Brutus’s twenty lines in Act 2 Scene 1 state his opposition to killing Antony because he assumes that Antony will have no power and say in the Senate without Caesar. He also solidifies his love for Caesar and Rome by wanting to have Caesar’s body still have the stateliness it had before his death. Brutus also wants to be viewed with the great respect by the Roman people after the assassination as he thinks of the Roman people when planning the conspiracy.
