Julius Caesar Essay

“This was the noblest Roman of them all.” (Page 218) This was a very important piece of Brutus decisions. In this play he was conflicted between his honor and his love for his friend. Honor was what chose his path. In the end, Antony said this quote, talking about Brutus after his death, which showed that he really did think that Brutus was honorable. I think that Brutus acted in the manner that he did, driven by the motivators of honor and patriotism. Brutus took his respected honor seriously enough to believe that the assassination of Julius Caesar was an act of honor and would in time benefit the Roman republic.

How far would you go to keep your honor? Brutus’s biggest virtue is honor, mainly his honor to Rome. He believes that a choice that benefits his honor for Rome is a good choice. This motivation, along with some persuasion from Cassius, changes his mind against Caesar. However, before he makes his final decision he is caught between the two choices. He feels sick and can’t sleep well, which causes Portia to worry. In the end this motivation for true honor drives him to put the final wound in Caesar’s body. When Brutus says, “ For let the gods so speed me as I love the name of honor more than I fear death,” he states that his love for his honor is much stronger than his fear for death. This shows that he is driven by the desire to stay honorable to the Roman Republic and to the Roman society. When the time came to discuss the plot, Brutus made it clear when he said, “Let’s be sacrificers, not butchers, Caius.” He wants the assassination to be clean when it happens, and wants for them to be sacrificers not butchers. This is very important to notice that Brutus doesn’t want to tear down Caesar. He just wants to keep his honor for the Roman republic that Caesar may destroy. Brutus loves the name of honor; he believes that this is a noble and honored act. However the people’s response was still unknown.

Brutus loves his honor just as much as he loves Rome. That is why he is motivated very strongly by patriotism. Brutus percepts that a republic government is what keeps Rome in balance and keeps the people happy, thus being motivated to kill Caesar. “It must be by his death and for my part I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general.” This meant that he doesn’t have a real reason to fight with Caesar besides for the general good of Rome. This shows that he isn’t killing Caesar for his own personal gain but for Rome’s gain, showing his motivation from patriotism. When he makes his decision, Brutus assumes a key element, that Rome doesn’t want a king. He bases his argument on history and past experiences. After the deed is done, when Brutus goes to explain the situation, he says “Who here is so base that would be a bondman? If any, speak for him have I offended. Who is here so rude, that would not be a Roman? If any speak for him have I offended.” Here he says that this act was to protect Rome from slavery and to keep a proper government. In his explanation for the good of Rome we can see that he is clearly motivated by patriotism. By the shouts of the people he believes he has won the crowd from his patriotic speech.

In the play Brutus’s conflict was to have to kill Caesar for the good of Rome and for his honor. He was motivated by honor and patriotism to decide that the best path for Rome, not himself, was to keep a republic and remove a tyrant. These motivators caused him to think deep but not come up with the best reasons. I do not think that the end justified the means in Brutus’s case because in the end, Brutus and Cassius both die, causing Octavius and Mark Antony to win the war. Also the only reason that Brutus set out to kill Caesar was to preserve the prestigious Roman republic, which when Octavius and Antony returned was change so that Octavius would become Emperor.