The second scene begins with a brief section showing Julius Caesar with his wife Calpurnia as well as Mark Antony and others. The scene not only introduces Caesar to the audience, but it also reveals two significant traits of his character. First, the scene reveals how Caesar demands obedience. When Caesar asks Antony to do something, Antony responds by saying, “When Caesar says ‘Do this,’ it is performed” (12). Caesar’s word is law, and his followers know they should not deny him. Moreover,
whenever Caesar speaks, everybody must be absolutely quiet. Music is playing and people are shouting in holiday spirit, but twice the Roman official named Casca orders the musicians and everybody else to be quiet when Caesar wishes to speak (lines 2 and 16). And everybody remains absolutely quiet until Caesar is finished speaking.
The second aspect of Caesar’s character that is revealed is his wavering or inconsistent personality. Antony is about to run in a race, and Caesar asks him to touch Calpurnia as he passes by her. The race is a holy one taking place on a holy day (called Lupercalia), and the runners taking place in this holy event were believed to possess spiritual or magical qualities. Caesar believes that his wife, who is barren (unable to produce children), will become pregnant if Antony touches her during the race:
The barren, touched in this holy chase,
Shake off their sterile curse. (10-11)
Thus, Caesar reveals that he is a superstitious man. Yet, when a soothsayer (a fortune-teller) warns Caesar to “Beware the ides of March” (line 19: the word ides refers to the middle of the month), Caesar thinks that the soothsayer is just an idle “dreamer” (26) and ignores his advice. Thus, Caesar appears to be both superstitious and not superstitious. He accepts some superstitions, but ignores others. Caesar wants to appear before the public as a man of courage, who is somehow above the forces of fate or the supernatural. Yet, one part of Caesar’s personality also believes and fears the supernatural. This aspect of his character plays a role later in the story when his wife Calpurnia has a prophetic dream about him.
After Caesar and his followers pass by, Caius
Cassius and Marcus Brutus remain on the stage.
Cassius is not loyal to Caesar, and he is not his friend.
And now that the Triumvirate (Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus) no longer exists, Cassius fears that Caesar will be crowned as the king or emperor of Rome. As emperor, Caesar will have absolute power, including the power to get rid of his enemies. In order to prevent that from happening, Cassius is plotting a conspiracy to assassinate (to kill) Caesar. But Cassius is also an extremely clever man, and he knows that he needs the support of some notable officials in Rome. Without such support, an act of assassination would result in Cassius’ own death. Brutus is one of the highest officials in Rome; and Cassius knows that if he can get Brutus to join the conspiracy, then it could be successful. And it could also then result in the conspirators becoming the new leaders of the Roman Empire.
Like the character of Iago in Othello, Cassius is a shrewd and clever judge of people. Cassius has observed Brutus carefully and is already aware that he is troubled and bothered by the idea that Caesar will become emperor. But Cassius is also aware that Brutus is an honorable man. Brutus would never willingly play a role in an act of treachery or betrayal unless there were no other choices. Therefore, Cassius must speak slowly and cautiously with Brutus. He wants to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy, but he also realizes that Brutus himself must see the necessity for such an action. Brutus must admit that there is no other choice.
Cassius begins by suggesting that Brutus has been acting in an unfriendly manner toward him lately (lines 35-36). Brutus apologizes for his unfriendly attitude and tells Cassius that he is “with himself at war” (48). That is, Brutus is having an internal conflict (man vs. himself). Brutus is, of course, troubled about what to do regarding Caesar becoming king.
Cassius immediately realizes that his guesses or beliefs about Brutus are correct, and so he now attempts to move Brutus into action by making an indirect remark. Cassius tells Brutus that many of the noblest officials in Rome “have wished that noble Brutus had his eyes” (64). This is a synecdoche, a kind of metaphor in which a part signifies the whole. For example, a captain in an army may refer to a soldier as a foot. If he says that he has 5000 feet ready to fight, that means he has 5000 soldiers available. In Cassius’s line, the word eyes means “way of thinking.” Cassius is thus telling Brutus literally that many noble Romans wish that Brutus felt the way they did about Caesar. What Cassius is implying is that many nobles object to Caesar being their leader. They do not want Caesar as their king. Brutus understands what Cassius is implying and asks Cassius “what dangers” (65) he wants Brutus to be a part of. Cassius exclaims that he is not “dangerous” (80). Cassius protests that he speaks only openly and directly and to the point. He says that he will simply supply the function of a “glass” (70: a mirror) so that Brutus can better see or understand himself. And Cassius is an accurate mirror of Brutus’ thoughts. Cassius knows what Brutus wants to do about Caesar even though Brutus cannot admit it to himself.
Before Brutus can respond, they are interrupted by a large noise of shouting and cheering from offstage (after line 80). Caesar is making a speech before the citizens of Rome, and the people are shouting in response. When Brutus hears the noise, he responds quite openly, “I do fear the people choose Caesar for their king” (81-82). Cassius then directly asks if that means Brutus does not want Caesar for a king. Brutus then asks Cassius to come to the point and to state what he wants:
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 honour more than I fear death.
(87-91)
There are three main concepts here: honor, death, and public welfare (the general good). Brutus loves honor and fears death. But the idea of public welfare is more important to him than either honor or death.
Looking “indifferently” on honor and death means that Brutus will ignore or forget about his love of honor and his fear of death if he can do anything (“aught” means anything”) to help the people of Rome and the nation of Rome. Brutus believes that the most important task that he can ever do in his life is to help Rome. Brutus is full of public zeal. He has a passion and enthusiasm and eagerness to help Rome above anything else. It is this quality (this zeal) that will move Brutus to join the conspiracy.
Despite his speech, Cassius knows that Brutus also loves honor and will not easily proceed in any activity that might appear to be dishonorable. And treachery and disloyalty are most certainly dishonorable qualities. So, before asking Brutus to join in a conspiracy, Cassius first tries to persuade Brutus that the assassination of Caesar would actually be the honorable path to take.
Cassius then begins the next part of his
strategy: first, to reveal the weaknesses of Caesar and, second, to show the change in Caesar’s personality now that he has become the sole ruler in Rome. Cassius relates an anecdote, a little story, about a time when he and Caesar were younger men and engaged in a swimming contest (lines 102-17: the story may remind the reader of the swimming contest between Beowulf and Breca in the epic Beowulf). Dressed in armor, Cassius and Caesar both jump in the Tiber River. They attempt to swim across it despite the force of the rushing waters. Caesar weakens and starts to drown. Cassius rescues him. Cassius relates a second story about how Caesar suffered from a fit of epilepsy and became weak and shook and cried out like “a sick girl” (lines 121-30). Cassius’ point in these two stories is to emphasize that not only is Caesar a mere man, just like himself or Brutus, but that Caesar is even weaker than or inferior to them. Cassius is thus illustrating the idea that Caesar is unfit to rule over them.
Now that Cassius has spoken of Caesar’s weaknesses, he then moves on to speak of the change in Caesar. Cassius uses the simile of the Colossus of Rhodes. The Colossus was an enormous statue of the god Apollo. It stood in a harbor with its legs spread apart. So tall was it that ships could sail between the legs. Cassius compares Caesar to this statue. Caesar has become a giant in Rome. In other words, Caesar has become the most powerful man in Rome. And everyone else in Rome has become small or “petty” (137) by comparison. The nobles of Rome are no longer equals, and this is a
“dishonorable” situation (139).
Like Iago and other Shakespearean villains, Cassius scoffs (makes fun of) fate.
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves that we are underlings.
(141-42)
The reference to stars is a reference to astrology and how destiny is fixed or determined for all men. But Cassius is like the Humanists. Humanism was the prevailing philosophy of the Renaissance. A humanist believed that he was capable of creating or changing his own destiny simply through the powers of his human intelligence and the desire to make a change. Cassius is telling Brutus that the nobles of Rome have become weak because they are too weak or afraid to make a change. Cassius is essentially telling Brutus that he can make a change. All that he has to do is act. He is telling Brutus that he should not sit idly by and do nothing.
Cassius then compares Brutus to Caesar
(beginning in line 143). He is suggesting that Brutus could be the next leader of Rome just as easily as Caesar. Brutus is intelligent, and he is respected by the citizens of Rome. More importantly, he has a concern for the public welfare whereas Caesar’s concern seems to be only for Caesar himself. To emphasize the comparison and the point he is making, Cassius uses irony:
‘Brutus’ will start a spirit as soon as ‘Caesar.’
(148)
To start a spirit means to raise a spirit from the dead, to bring the dead back to life. Cassius is implying that only gods have this kind of power and that neither Caesar nor Brutus are gods. Thus, neither one can raise a spirit from the dead. Cassius’ point is that some people in Rome now treat Caesar as if he were a god, and Caesar himself almost believes that he is godlike. Caesar thinks that he is superior to the rest of mankind. Continuing the irony and adding sarcasm as well, Cassius asks, “Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed that he is grown so great?” (150-51). With the word meat, Cassius is referring to ambrosia, the food of the gods. In ancient times people believed that by eating ambrosia, they could become godlike. And, quite obviously, Cassius does not think that Caesar is anything like the gods.
The final part of Cassius’ strategy is to make an appeal to Brutus’ noble heritage and his sense of patriotism. Cassius remarks that the people living in the present age should feel shame for allowing a single man, Caesar, to become a king and tyrant over them (line 151). He also remarks that in the past ages the Romans would never allow such an event from happening (lines 155-56). And then he specifically mentions Brutus’s own ancestor:
There was a Brutus once that would have brooked
Th’eternal devil to keep his state in Rome
As easily as a king. (160-62)
Cassius is also using irony here. The word brook means to allow or to endure; and “to keep state” means to rule or to hold absolute power. Cassius is saying that Brutus’ ancestor (who was named Lucius Junius Brutus) would have allowed the devil to rule Rome just as easily as he would allow a single leader (a king) to rule the Roman Empire.
But Lucius Brutus did not allow the Rome to be ruled by one man. Instead, Lucius Brutus expelled the Tarquins, who were kings and tyrants of Rome, so that Rome could be a republic (a political state in which there is no monarch or king). A king or monarch often meant a ruler who was a tyrant back in those times. Thus, having a king or emperor implied a loss of freedom for the citizens. Cassius does not want this, and he knows that Brutus does not want it either.
Brutus responds in a short speech (beginning line 163) that he needs time to think the situation over. But he adds that he will consider Cassius’ offer (line 169). Brutus is still in conflict. Even though he had earlier said that he would most willingly place the general good or welfare of Rome above his own sense of personal honor (see lines 87-89), doing so is not easy. Brutus is considering an act of betrayal and treachery to a man who is both his master and his friend. The reader should remember that Dante, in The Divine Comedy, depicted hell as having nine levels; and the lowest levels were for the worst sinners. Sinners of treachery were placed in the ninth, the lowest, level. Even though Brutus was living in pre-Christian times, the Romans thought of treachery as the Christians did. It was hateful, horrible, and most certainly dishonorable. Taking such a step is not something Brutus would do unless there was no other choice. But Brutus answers Cassius with these words:
Brutus had rather be a villager
Than to repute himself a son of Rome
Under these hard conditions as this time
Is likely to lay upon us. (173-76)
Brutus is essentially stating that he cannot live in Rome if there is a tyrant who rules over it. He is suggesting that a nobleman who lives under the control of a tyrant is worse off than a poor peasant living in the countryside. Thus, Brutus is also suggesting that some action must be taken to prevent a tyrant from ruling Rome. But Brutus is not sure yet if Cassius’ plot is the only means to stop Caesar from becoming king.