Wednesday 23 July 2014

In Julius Caesar, what does Brutus mean by his final words: "Caesar, now be still; /I killed not thee with half so good a will"? Why does Brutus...

Brutus utters these words almost at the end of Scene 5, Act 5. He has asked Strato to hold up his sword so that he may run into it. Once he has done so, he utters these final words. 

What Brutus means is that Caesar's spirit can now find peace because it has been avenged. Furthermore, he says that he has now taken his own life with a greater purpose and more determination that he had when he stabbed Caesar. What Brutus also implies is that he has more reason to kill himself now than the ones he had to assassinate Caesar.


Brutus realises that his time has come. They have been fighting a losing war. Antony and Octavius' troops have gained an advantage and there is no chance of a victory. He stated earlier in this scene:



...Brutus' tongue
Hath almost ended his life's history:
Night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would rest,
That have but labour'd to attain this hour.



Whilst he was in his tent, Brutus was confronted by Caesar's ghost and it told him that it would visit him one last time on the plains of Philippi. This has now happened. He has seen Caesar's ghost the second time and knows that his time has come, as he tells Volumnius:



The ghost of Caesar hath appear'd to me
Two several times by night; at Sardis once,
And, this last night, here in Philippi fields:
I know my hour is come.



Added to this, Cassius had also asked Pindarus to stab him with the sword he used to slay Caesar. This gives Brutus a further incentive to also take his own life. In addition, Portia, Brutus' wife, has also committed suicide by swallowing hot coals. He has nothing to return to. It is a matter of honour to him that he not be taken alive for he does not want to be paraded through the streets of Rome as a failure and a slave. It would be humiliating. 


Brutus' suicide links with the promise he had made to the crowd during his speech in the marketplace to explain why Caesar had been killed. He told the citizens, in part, in Act 3, scene 2:



...as I slew my best lover for the
good of Rome, I have the same dagger for myself,
when it shall please my country to need my death.



This moment has now arrived and since Brutus is a man of integrity, he keeps his promise. He has become an enemy of Rome and his country has sworn vengeance and, therefore, seek his death.


Brutus had stated earlier, in Act 5 scene 2, that he deemed suicide a cowardly and despicable act. He told Cassius on that occasion:



...I did blame Cato for the death
Which he did give himself, I know not how,
But I do find it cowardly and vile,
For fear of what might fall,...



He did, however, change his mind when Cassius asked him if he would be happy to be marched through the streets of Rome after his defeat. He then declared:



No, Cassius, no: think not, thou noble Roman,
That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome;
He bears too great a mind.


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