Reading Caesar V (Redux)
Power, personality, prudence, and a puzzle
Here in the first scene of the second act we see the conspiracy finally pulled together. It opens in Brutus’s orchard, where we see him pacing and musing on the question of the effect of power on personality.
BRUTUS
It must be by his death: and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, But for the general. He would be crown'd: How that might change his nature, there's the question. It is the bright day that brings forth the adder; And that craves wary walking. Crown him?—that;— And then, I grant, we put a sting in him, That at his will he may do danger with. The abuse of greatness is, when it disjoins Remorse from power: and, to speak truth of Caesar, I have not known when his affections sway'd More than his reason. But 'tis a common proof, That lowliness is young ambition's ladder, Whereto the climber-upward turns his face; But when he once attains the upmost round. He then unto the ladder turns his back, Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees By which he did ascend. So Caesar may. Then, lest he may, prevent. And, since the quarrel Will bear no colour for the thing he is,Fashion it thus; that what he is, augmented, Would run to these and these extremities: And therefore think him as a serpent's egg Which, hatch'd, would, as his kind, grow mischievous, And kill him in the shell.
Does power corrupt? Or does power merely reveal the true character of the soul, whether virtuous or vicious? How are we best to decide whom to empower and to what extent to empower? What ought to be the relationship between affections (emotions), reason, and power? Do we want a leader who feels our pain or who understands it?
BRUTUS
The exhalations whizzing in the air Give so much light that I may read by them. [Opens the letter and reads] Brutus, thou sleep'st: awake, and see thyself. Shall Rome, &c. Speak, strike, redress! “Brutus, thou sleep'st: awake!” Such instigations have been often dropp'd
Where I have took them up. “Shall Rome, &c.” Thus must I piece it out: Shall Rome stand under one man's awe? What, Rome? My ancestors did from the streets of Rome The Tarquin drive, when he was call'd a king. “Speak, strike, redress!” Am I entreated To speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise: If the redress will follow, thou receivest Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus!
Perhaps most importantly, we see here that Cassius was correct in his understanding of Brutus – the cryptic letters scattered about prove sufficient to win him over to the conspiracy to murder his good friend Caesar. What does this say about Brutus’s character?
The conspirators now arrive.
LUCIUS
Sir, 'tis your brother Cassius at the door, Who doth desire to see you.
BRUTUS
Is he alone?
LUCIUS
No, sir, there are moe with him.
BRUTUS
Do you know them?
LUCIUS
No, sir; their hats are pluck'd about their ears, And half their faces buried in their cloaks, That by no means I may discover them By any mark of favour.
BRUTUS
Let 'em enter. [Exit LUCIUS] They are the faction. O conspiracy, Shamest thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free? O, then by day Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, conspiracy; Hide it in smiles and affability: For if thou path, thy native semblance on, Not Erebus itself were dim enough To hide thee from prevention. [Enter the conspirators, CASSIUS, CASCA, DECIUS, CINNA, METELLUS, and TREBONIUS]
Cassius makes his introductions, and it seems like they are all prepared to follow Brutus in this bloody enterprise.
At this point we know that Cassius has pulled them all together, including Brutus. So, who is the leader? Who should be the leader? Cassius or Brutus. Cassius defers to Brutus and so Brutus leads. How does this work out for them?
Let’s look at how Brutus leads.
BRUTUS
Give me your hands all over, one by one.
CASSIUS
And let us swear our resolution.
BRUTUS
No, not an oath: if not the face of men, The sufferance of our souls, the time's abuse,— If these be motives weak, break off betimes, And every man hence to his idle bed; So let high-sighted tyranny range on, Till each man drop by lottery. But if these, As I am sure they do, bear fire enough To kindle cowards and to steel with valour The melting spirits of women, then, countrymen, What need we any spur but our own cause, To prick us to redress? what other bond Than secret Romans, that have spoke the word, And will not palter? and what other oath Than honesty to honesty engaged, That this shall be, or we will fall for it? Swear priests and cowards and men cautelous, Old feeble carrions and such suffering souls That welcome wrongs; unto bad causes swear Such creatures as men doubt; but do not stain The even virtue of our enterprise, Nor the insuppressive mettle of our spirits, To think that or our cause or our performance Did need an oath; when every drop of blood That every Roman bears, and nobly bears, Is guilty of a several bastardy, If he do break the smallest particle Of any promise that hath pass'd from him.
CASSIUS
But what of Cicero? shall we sound him? I think he will stand very strong with us.
CASCA
Let us not leave him out.
CINNA
No, by no means.
METELLUS
O, let us have him, for his silver hairs Will purchase us a good opinion And buy men's voices to commend our deeds: It shall be said, his judgment ruled our hands; Our youths and wildness shall no whit appear, But all be buried in his gravity.
BRUTUS
O, name him not: let us not break with him; For he will never follow any thing That other men begin.
CASSIUS
Then leave him out.
CASCA
Indeed he is not fit.
So Brutus decides there will be no oath, merely a promise, and that they will not try to get Cicero.
Notice at this point that everyone readily accedes to Brutus on these points, but as readers we should ask: why not swear an oath? Why not try to get Cicero? Are Brutus’s reasons against either or both convincing?
Does an oath add anything, does it spur one to fulfill a promise one otherwise might not? It does if one believes in the gods and in divine sanctions.
But what of Cicero? Assuming Brutus is correct that he will never follow what other begin, then perhaps this is the right course of action – to exclude him.
But given the track record of Brutus’s judgment concern others, including one of his closest friends, that is, given the fact that Brutus has been demonstrated to be wrong each time we could check his judgment, perhaps Shakespeare is subtly indicating that one should have or in fact that requires such individuals – orators, rhetoricians, philosophers, statesmen – if such a conspiracy is to be successful.
Now given that Brutus is driven primarily by honor, perhaps his decision to exclude Cicero is driven by a desire not to have to share the honor of saving Rome.
DECIUS
Shall no man else be touch'd but only Caesar?
CASSIUS
Decius, well urged: I think it is not meet, Mark Antony, so well beloved of Caesar, Should outlive Caesar: we shall find of him A shrewd contriver; and, you know, his means, If he improve them, may well stretch so far As to annoy us all: which to prevent, Let Antony and Caesar fall together.
BRUTUS
Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius, To cut the head off and then hack the limbs, Like wrath in death and envy afterwards; For Antony is but a limb of Caesar: Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius. 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! But, alas, Caesar must bleed for it! 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 hounds: And let our hearts, as subtle masters do, Stir up their servants to an act of rage, 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 call'd purgers, not murderers. And for Mark Antony, think not of him; For he can do no more than Caesar's arm When Caesar's head is off.
CASSIUS
Yet I fear him;
For in the ingrafted love he bears to Caesar—
BRUTUS
Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him: If he love Caesar, all that he can do Is to himself, take thought and die for Caesar: And that were much he should; for he is given To sports, to wildness and much company.
TREBONIUS
There is no fear in him; let him not die; For he will live, and laugh at this hereafter.
Now, we get to a sticking point between Cassius and Brutus: the matter of killing Mark Antony.
We should notice that this discussion between Cassius and Brutus echoes the earlier discussion between Antony and Caesar regarding Cassius. The outcomes of these differ, however, because Antony proved to be educable on the issue of Cassius’s dangerousness, where as Brutus is not educable on the subject of Antony.
So here we have Brutus making three decisions on behalf of the group: no oath, no Cicero, and no extra killing. What is the power that Brutus has over the group, including Cassius who always gives way to Brutus even when he is right?
Brutus has the appearance of moral rectitude, which has a very powerful influence on people. This appearance makes him appear virtuous, but he cannot live up to it. This is the problem of stoicism – the appearance of virtue is given preference to virtue itself.
Brutus is concerned with how the motive behind Caesar’s assassination appears to others in Rome; he is not concerned with the good of Rome. The good of Rome here demands that one not act ‘morally;’ that one kill those who need to be killed even if one does not have a completely just reason for killing them.
As Machiavelli would teach us, that which is necessary must be done. The end here – the freedom of Rome and the preservation of the republic – justifies the means – murder and assassination. The decision not to kill Antony leads to the death of 1000s of Romans, including 100 Senators of which Cicero was one.
Puzzle at the end of the scene: we have Brutus bringing Caius Ligarius into the conspiracy – since he knows about it, why is he not at the assassination? Did you notice that one of the conspirators was missing?