When Cassius finds Brutus looking somewhat disconsolate, he asks him what is troubling him and Brutus tells him that he is at war with himself. During the initial part of their conversation, they hear a shout coming from the forum and Brutus states that he fears the crown is being offered to Caesar.
Cassius asks Brutus if his fear also means he truly would not want Caesar to be crowned. Brutus replies that even if he loves Caesar, he would not want it so. This response is seen by Cassius as an opportune moment to soften Brutus up so that he can approach him about his conspiracy to get rid of the general. He then provides a long report in which he relates Caesar's weaknesses:
For once, upon a raw and gusty day,
The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores,
Caesar said to me 'Darest thou, Cassius, now
Leap in with me into this angry flood,
And swim to yonder point?' Upon the word,
Accoutred as I was, I plunged in
And bade him follow; so indeed he did.
The torrent roar'd, and we did buffet it
With lusty sinews, throwing it aside
And stemming it with hearts of controversy;
But ere we could arrive the point proposed,
Caesar cried 'Help me, Cassius, or I sink!'
I, as Aeneas, our great ancestor,
Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder
The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber
Did I the tired Caesar. And this man
Is now become a god, and Cassius is
A wretched creature and must bend his body,
If Caesar carelessly but nod on him.
In this extract he tells Brutus about Caesar's infirmity and lack of courage. He saved Caesar from drowning, and now this weak man has become a god while he, Cassius, who saved his life, has to bow to him. Cassius' remarks clearly show how much he resents Caesar, and he is obviously bitter that he has to bow to an authority that is less able than him.
He continues his speech in the same fashion by mentioning another incident where Caesar's weakness was displayed:
He had a fever when he was in Spain,
And when the fit was on him, I did mark
How he did shake: 'tis true, this god did shake;
His coward lips did from their colour fly,
And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world
Did lose his lustre: I did hear him groan:
Ay, and that tongue of his that bade the Romans
Mark him and write his speeches in their books,
Alas, it cried 'Give me some drink, Titinius,'
As a sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me
A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world
And bear the palm alone.
Cassius' talk follows a clear and calculated structure. He focuses on Caesar's frailty and lack of fortitude and then contrasts it with the power he now holds. He deliberately wishes to indicate the incongruity of this and emphasize the irony of Caesar's position in relation to the one he himself occupies. The implication is that Caesar is not fit to have such power.
He proceeds in the same vein:
Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that 'Caesar'?
Why should that name be sounded more than yours?
Write them together, yours is as fair a name;
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well;
Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with 'em,
Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Caesar.
Now, in the names of all the gods at once,
Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed,
That he is grown so great? Age, thou art shamed!
Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!
When went there by an age, since the great flood,
But it was famed with more than with one man?
When could they say till now, that talk'd of Rome,
That her wide walls encompass'd but one man?
Now is it Rome indeed and room enough,
When there is in it but one only man.
Cassius uses exaggerated comparisons to further convince Brutus that the two of them have just as much right as Caesar to hold positions of power. He calls it shameful that Caesar has achieved so much and says that Rome has lost the power to generate men of noble blood, for Caesar is not fitting. He shows his bitter resentment by asking a rhetorical question about when last there had ever been one in whom power was solely invested. Not since Noah, he replies. He doubtlessly hates the idea that Julius Caesar should be the only one who holds power.
The above excerpts patently indicate Cassius' jealousy of Caesar. He resents the general's position and would, therefore, do everything in his power to be rid of him. Brutus, who is noble, much respected, and trusted by Caesar, would be the perfect ally in his pernicious scheme.
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