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<title> Brutus and his Influence on the Conspiracy against Julius Caesar: A close reading of Julius Caesar, Act II:1, lines 112-191 </title>
March, 2000
In this passage of the play, all but one of the conspirators against Caesar meet in Brutus's home. Brutus has been asked to join the conspiracy because he is considered to be a noble and honourable man and because he gets along well with Caesar. In this extract Brutus declares that he has decided to join the plot. Furthermore, they all decide on whether or not to ask Cicero to join them and if they should kill not only Caesar, but also Mark Antony. 
	Brutus is the most important character in this section of the book. Here, he is the one who speaks the most and who reveals the most about his character, values and beliefs. Firstly, there is evidence of his political standpoint and of how this affects his involvement in the conspiracy. Brutus is an idealist, whose primary concern is the good of the state and this is where his reason for killing Caesar comes into the picture. Brutus has no personal reasons for joining the conspiracy. His motives are purely political and based on the fact that he sees a possible threat in Caesar's way of ruling and influencing the Roman state. Therefore, Brutus regards the assassination of Caesar as a necessary political action and as a favour to the state. Also, he is convinced that the action will be appreciated and supported by the population.
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar,... 

This shall make 
Our purpose necessary, and not envious;
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be called purgers, not murderers. (II.i.167, 177-180)

	Secondly, Brutus is very concerned about doing what is right and about keeping his honour. As can be seen above, he strongly believes that killing Caesar is indeed the right thing to do - or at least he tries to convince himself and others that it is. Furthermore, Brutus has a strong belief in trust between men, which is ironic since he is a member of a plot. The concern about doing what is right in combination with his belief in trust makes Brutus find it unnecessary for the conspirators to swear their resolution. According to Brutus, they should be able to trust that each and one of them has joined the conspiracy on strong convictions that they are doing the right thing and that everybody therefore will carry through the plan. 	
But if these [reasons],
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? (II.i.119-126)

	In order to do the right thing, Brutus values reason rather than emotions when making decisions. When it comes to the conspiracy against Caesar, his emotions say that he wishes it were not necessary to kill him. However, his reason tells him that the assassination is imperative for the good of the state. Brutus chooses to follow his reason rather than to follow his personal feelings.
O, that we then could come by Caesar's spirit,
And not dismember Caesar! But, alas
Caesar must bleed for it. (II.i.169-171)

	The characteristics of Brutus which have been mentioned so far make him appear neither purely good, nor purely evil. His conviction about the necessity of doing what is right, his struggle for the good of the state and his strong faith in trust between men put him in a rather sympathetic light. Furthermore, he opposes the other conspirators' suggestion to kill Mark Antony, saying that they should not use more violence than necessary. This makes Brutus appear more human than the other conspirators. However, although his intentions may be noble, Brutus does plan an assassination to make his goals come true and at the same time as he is a great believer in trust, he is a member of a conspiracy. In this text it is quite evident that there is a distance between Brutus's ideals and the reality in which he attempts to make them come true. The quotation below shows his reaction to the suggestion to kill Mark Antony.

Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,...
Let us be sacrifiers, but not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar 
And in the spirit of men there is no blood. (II.i.162, 166-168) 

	When Brutus says that Mark Antony should not be assassined, the other conspirators decide that they should follow this suggestion. Brutus also influences two other decisions in this text, namely that the conspirators should not swear their resolution and that Cicero should not be asked to join them. As mentioned in the introduction, Brutus has a reputation of being honourable and noble and therefore, most of the conspirators have very high thoughts of his opinions. This is probably a major reason for why he is so successful in talking them into changing their minds. At first, when the question of asking Cicero to join them is brought up, most of the conspirators are very much in favour of this suggestion. (II.i.141-144) Then Brutus tells his opinion which is a contrast to what the others have just said, as can be seen in the quotation below.

O, name him not; let us not break with him,
For he will never follow anything
That other men begin. (II.i.150-153)

This makes the other conspirators quickly change their minds and it is decided that Cicero should not be asked to join them. (II.i.154-155)

Not all conspirators change their minds after listening to Brutus's arguments though. Cassius still seemes to doubt, but agrees to follow Brutus's suggestion, probably because he knows that this man and his reputation of being noble and honourable are important for the conspiracy. Cassius's and Brutus's divergences in opinion reflect their differences in personality. Whereas the latter relies upon his reason when making decisions, the former is more passionate and tends to follow his emotions. The fact that Cassius submits to Brutus's will on three questions which are important for the conspiracy causes some tension in their relationship. The quotation below shows that Cassius is not quite convinced by Brutus's arguments for not killing Mark Antony. 

Yet I fear him;
For in the ingrafted love he bears to Caesar- (II.i.184-185) 

This extract is very important for the play as a whole because of Brutus's influence on the decisions which are made concerning the conspiracy. The resolutions not to kill Mark Antony and not to let Cicero join the conspiracy soon turn out to be big mistakes. Mark Antony becomes filled with desire of revenge for the assassination of Caesar and talks Brutus into making yet another mistake; namely to let Mark Antony make a funeral speech shortly after the realisation of the plot. In this speech, Antony succeeds in turning people's opinion against Caesar's assassins and this eventually leads to their fall. Cicero, who is a great orator, could possibly have been able to turn the people's opinion back in favour of the plot if only he had been asked to join the conspiracy. The assassination is supposed to liberate the state from a leader with too much power. However, when the conspirators loose support from the people, Octavius Caesar comes to power and gets just as much - if not more - influence over the state and its population than the previous leader. The outcome of the plot is thus the opposite of what is intended and therefore a complete failure. Were it not for Brutus's influence on the decisions which are made in this extract, the result of the conspiracy would probably be much more successful.
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