If it be aught toward the general good,
Set honor in one eye and death i' th' other,
And I will look on both indifferently,
For let the gods so speed me as I love
The name of honor more than I fear death. (1.2.85-89)
Also early on in the play, Brutus allows himself to be torn between two systems of belief, each contradicting the other. High-minded and committed to freedom, he believes that to live under tyrannical reign is to allow a wrong to be endorsed. But he also accepts that to murder Caesar is to commit a wrong. After much struggle and debate he decides that the murder of Caesar is a duty he must undertake for the benefit of Rome. The irony, however, is that Brutus’ idealism brings to Rome only anarchy and the horrors of civil war – not the peace, freedom, and liberty he had envisioned. Although warped, this unwavering love for his country is a quality which appears even in his discourse to the Roman people, when given the chance to rectify his actions and reveal the goodness behind his true intentions: “If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against / Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, / but that I loved Rome more.” (3.2.20-23)
At this point, the tragic hero has made his error in judgment, yet it can be very difficult to decide whether or not his actions were truly flawed. On one hand, the man has a strong sense of righteousness and can present powerful arguments to justify his action. On the other hand, his passionate sense of integrity can appear to be more a matter of pride than principle, inviting another possible tragic flaw: Hubris. Hubris is an inflated sense of privilege caused by an unrealistic estimate of one’s freewill, but Brutus never acts intentionally out of arrogance. Although he acts upon principles pertaining to honor, he makes his moral decisions very painstakingly; constantly at war with himself even after he has decided on a course of action. This diligence is first seen in 1.2 and affirms his position as more a man of humility than of pride: “But let not therefore, my good friends, be grieved / … that poor Brutus, with himself at war, / Forgets the shows of love to other men.” (1.2.45-49) This quote also introduces his goodwill as a person; warm-hearted enough to ensure that his friends should not be troubled by his inner turmoil. Unfortunately for him, this generosity, coupled with his renowned obligation to act out of honor, and a love for the Roman republic is what makes him the perfect man to lead the conspiracy against Caesar. Brutus’ soliloquy at the beginning of Act II is a sympathetic attempt to make sense of the potential for the tyranny he sees with his beloved emperor. Ultimately, he behaves heroically by putting the “general” before his own good: “It must be by his death, and for my part / I know no personal cause to spurn at him / But for the general.” (2.1.10-13)
The conspiracy against Julius Caesar is concocted and hatched almost entirely by Caius Cassius, possibly out of envy for the power held by Caesar. This is certainly not heroic, and completely different from Brutus’ reasons for the removal of Caesar from his throne. Despite this, Cassius is devoted to Roman freedom, and is motivated by the belief that no Roman should be greater than another. Clever enough to twist Brutus’ honorable mentality for his own benefit, he could not have put his plan in motion unless someone with the prestige of Brutus was to lead it. This is true for a variety of reasons. First, the conspirators want to have as many powerful men as possible on their side, so the public would be convinced that Caesar was killed with good reason and intentions. Second, because Brutus is one of Caesar’s closest friends, and Caesar would never suspect him of betrayal. The nobility and status attributed to Brutus by the plebeians would have been most important though, as Casca, a fellow conspirator, describes in 1.3: “Oh, he sits high in all the people’s hearts, / And that which would appear offense in us, / His countenance, like richest alchemy, / Will change to virtue and to worthiness.” (1.3.159-62) As long as someone as well-respected as Brutus led the campaign against Caesar, Romans would look upon it as an act of virtue rather than one of envy.
by
namsot (student)
