The Mistakes of an Honorable Man

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The Mistakes of an Honorable Man "We must not say every mistake is a foolish one," (Cicero). This quote speaks the truth, however; foolish mistakes are made often. In the playwright Julius Caesar, one of the characters, Brutus, was portrayed to be naive and trusting. Some of his mistakes may have seemed small, but they added up and affected everything. Brutus made many crucial mistakes leading up to his death. The morning that all of the conspirators met, was when Brutus first started making a considerable amount of mistakes. Brutus explained to the others that they should not have to swear an oath of secrecy because their cause should be substantial enough for them to keep it to themselves. This obviously was not the case because word of their plan soon became known by few. For example, Artemidorus, discovered their doings and wrote Caesar a note warning him of the conspirators. Brutus also made the mistake of not adding Cicero into the conspiracy, even though, he is characterized as a great speaker. Including him may have resulted in a diverse ending. The third and biggest mistake Brutus made was not to kill Antony. Antony was the person who instigated the war. If they had killed him, he would not have had the chance to turn the people against the conspirators. Another mistake Brutus made, was that he allowed Antony to speak in Caesar's funeral. When the conspirators were discussing it, Cassius thought it to be a bad idea, but Brutus, as naive and trusting as he is, said yes, but only as long as Antony let him speak first and promised not to say anything bad about them. When they left, Antony, in his soliloquy, spoke of revenge. Brutus knew how loyal and loving Antony was towards Caesar, but he did not think that Antony would be capable of causing such destruction. During Antony's speech, one way he won over the adoration of the Roman Citizens was by
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