Brutus' tragic flaw is that he is nationalistic, very gullible, and is too honest. These flaws allowed people to manipulate his trust, his honesty, and his patriotic beliefs. During Caesars rein, the public was mostly pleased with having Julius Caesar as their emperor but there were people who were outraged and were determined to stop this from happening. The conspirators, as they were called, were a group made up of senators and men of high status in Rome. The two most important men were Marcus Brutus and Cassius.
However, while Augustus was not consummate, he is still considered by many as Rome's greatest emperor. His policies and reforms initiated Roman peace and prosperity that enabled him to administer a close to perfect Empire. Augustus’ political reforms regarding the Senate and judicial system allowed him to enhance the lives of Roman people and perfect Rome’s image in the ancient world. He improved the functions of the senate and magistrate with the restoration of dignity and responsibility by increasing the fines of non-attendance and forbidding senators to leave Italy without permission. He also removed disreputable members, and in 18 BC, more than 300 senators were removed.
His reasoning for killing Caesar was the fact that Caesar was too ambitious. Although this was a good reason it was all an assumption and he gave no evidence on how Caesar was ambitious. Although Brutus did hypothetical situations to the countrymen to convince them further that Caesar could of became a tyrant. For the love of Rome is why Brutus murdered Caesar and that convinced the people that there was no man nobler than Brutus. He had won them over until Antony began his speech.
Caesar was so ambitious that it wasn’t good for high power. Brutus said, “If then that a friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is the answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but I loved Rome more… as Caesar loved me, I weep for him” (3.2.21-26). This shows that Brutus did it for the people and not for himself. Brutus was saddened to see his friend fall dead, but there was no other choice; Caesar was the ambitious person. He would only try to win the crowd and use them for his own good.
Excerpts from Plutarch’s Life of Caesar. However, the Romans gave way before the good fortune of the man and accepted the bit, and regarding the monarchy as a respite from the evils of the civil wars, they appointed him dictator for life. This was confessedly a tyranny, since the monarchy, besides the element of irresponsibility, now took on that of permanence. 2 It was Cicero who proposed the first honours for him in the senate, and their magnitude was, after all, not too great for a man; but others added excessive honours and vied with one another in proposing them, thus rendering Caesar odious and obnoxious even to the mildest citizens because of the pretension and extravagance of what was decreed for him. 3 It is thought, too, that the
The legacies that were promised to the people in Tiberius’ will were honoured, lavish games were staged for the people of Rome and on top of this, unpopular sales tax were removed. All was going well for Caligula and the people of Rome, however following his recovery from a serious illness, any previous notions of respect or cooperation with the senate completely evaporated. Caligula seemed to have taken the idea of his divinity seriously and expected to be treated duly. He no longer sought to work with the senate but rather ruled as an absolute monarch and expected to be worshipped as a god. “…What emerges clearly from the sources is that while he was not clinically mad he was obsessed with a sense of his own importance as to be practically devoid of any senses of moral responsibility.” –Barrett.
He appeals to their emotions by saying that his love to Caesar was no less than that of any dear friend of Caesar’s and that he did this “not that I loved Caesar less but that I loved Rome more. Through this he wants to show that he did not kill Caesar out a jealous rage but rather he did it for the better of the Roman people. This is effective in bringing a solid reasoning to his seemingly crazed killing. Brutus now continues by suggesting that if Caesar were to live they would all become slaves. He questions if anybody there “is so base that would
The audience is initially memorized by the Brutus they love, and are grateful for the ‘honorable acts’ he committed. This element of coercion helps him achieve his intentions of blindsiding the people to all aspects of the truth. But no worries, Brutus’ kind friend Antony will be sure uncover all and nothing but the truth for the commoners to second guesses Brutus’ words. 2nd Textual Quotation: “If, then, that friend demands to know why I rose up against Caesar, this is my answer: it’s not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?...Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman?
How great a success do you think Cicero’s prosecution of Verres was? Give reasons for your view Cicero’s prosecution of Verres was a success; although, many aspects of the trial limit the brilliance of his achievement in winning the case. Gaius Verres was a Roman senator and magistrate, however according to Cicero he administrated the province with unparalleled corruption. The reasoning behind this accusation is that Verres ransacked public places and private homes for works of art and other wealth. Cicero was asked by Plaintiffs to be the prosecutor of this trial due to his previous fairness while serving as quaestor in Sicily’s western district five years earlier.
He was, arguably, ell bent on a path of war, not the type to hesitate to take what he wanted by force. Caesar had crushed Pompey, another supposedly honorable man, as well as his army. He was also of the “falling sickness” or epilepsy, and this would have inhibited his abilities as a tactful and empowering ruler of Rome. Even Marc Antony and Octavius, Caesar’s closest friend and his nephew, had considered Brutus an honorable Roman in the end, to the point of housing his lifeless body within Octavius’ tent, a standard only for the bravest of