Julius Caesar- Cassius' actions were not driven by his love for Rome

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Cassius’ actions are not driven by his love for Rome
Cassius is a political enemy of Caesar and is a manipulator with ambition. He is very suitable for political survival and has a strong greed for power. He is cunning and dangerous, and together with a group of conspirators, planned a series of actions to get people against Caesar, so that they will be able to achieve their ultimate goal of killing Caesar. These actions include assassination of Caesar to get more power for himself, bribery to get money as well as manipulating Brutus to join the conspirators. The love for country refers to both patriotism to the country (not allowing it to fall into an individual’s hand) and love for the people which would be the fear that people might suffer under Caesar’s tyranny. Therefore, I do not agree that Cassius’ actions were driven by love for country because of his resentment and jealousy towards Caesar, his greed for power and the underhand means he used to get what he want.

Cassius is disgusted at Caesar and is very jealous of Caesar’s high position. In act 1 scene 2 “Why man, he doth bestride the narrow world/ Like a Colossus, and we petty man/ Walk under his huge legs, and peep about/ To find ourselves dishonorable graves.” This shows that Cassius is very disgusted that Caesar exploits his power to command men like him for his own means. He also compares himself with Aeneas the great hero to show how noble and good he is when he tells Brutus that he jumped into Tiber to save the arrogant Caesar who could not even swim. He also mentioned how shocked he was when he realized that Caesar could actually be harmed, when he said the lines, “He had a fever when he was in Spain, / And when the fit was on him I did mark/ How he did shake; / His coward lips did from their colors fly,/ And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world/ Did lose his lustre; I did hear him groan;” This broke the believe of Caesar being immortal, which makes him feel that both of them were quite equal because both of them could get ill and could be harmed or hurt, thus believing that Caesar has no right to rule him. He is angry and disgusted at the fact that Caesar now is very powerful but he is just Caesar’s servant when they were equal at the start. Therefore, I can say that Cassius is very jealous of Caesar and hated him which led to his desire to kill Caesar, but not his love for Rome.

Cassius is dangerous, cunning and manipulative. For example, he said that, “Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet I see/Thy honorable mettle may be wrought from that it is disposed. Therefore tis meet /that noble minds keep ever with their likes; for who so firm that cannot be seduced?” This shows that Cassius knows that Brutus’ character is able to change and get manipulated as good men need other good men’s accompany to remain good, and uses the chance to turn Brutus against Caesar. Cassius knew that he was not a good man, and by speaking to Brutus about all kind of threat that Caesar will be to Rome, he managed to make Brutus wonder if Caesar would really be a good leader, not a tyrant. This had contributed to the progress of Cassius manipulating Brutus. Also, he knew that Brutus will definitely consider his words because he knew that Brutus is unaware of his real intension. In Act 1 Scene 2, Caesar said that “Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous.” This shows that Caesar noticed Cassius’ danger and feel that Cassius is a threat to him. He also said that Cassius reads a lot, is a keen observer and sees the hidden motives in what others do. Thus, Caesar is saying that Cassius should be stopped because he might want to overthrow him. This is proved be the fact that Cassius knows what the conspirators are thinking and use this knowledge to control the conspirators so that they will act to gain benefits for him. Cassius has shrewdly perceived that Brutus’s internal conflict is more likely to be influenced by what he believes the populace to think than by his own personal misgivings. For example, Cassius recognizes that if Brutus believes that the people distrust Caesar, then he will be convinced that Caesar must be thwarted. Cassius aims to take advantage of Brutus’s weakest point, namely, Brutus’s honorable concerns for Rome, thus Brutus’s inflexible ideals leave him open for manipulation by Cassius. This is supported by the quote “I will this night,/in several hands, in at his window throw,/as if they came from several citizens,/writing, all tending to the great opinion” Here, Cassius knows the possibility of Brutus' open mind, so he writes flattering letters that seem to come from the people and will throw them in Brutus' open window. He could not do this with any hope of success, however, were he not aware that Brutus' mind was open to the suggestion. Therefore, I believe that Cassius is dangerous, cunning and manipulative, and he acts like a man with all three personalities, not driven by his love for Rome.

Cassius is a dishonorable man who chose to use underhand means to get what he want. Brutus said that “much condemn’d to have an itching palm;/To sell and mart your offices for gold/To undeservers”. This shows that Cassius is actually involved in bribery that is not approved by Brutus who is disappointed by these deeds. This contradicts with what he said before that “an enterprise/ Of honorable dangerous consequence” and it shows that the conspiracy is started based on a noble reason, and that assassinating Caesar to free the Romans from sufferings brought by his tyranny is honorable. Thus, we can see that Cassius is indeed dishonorable as he claims that the assassination of Caesar is noble and for common good as it frees the Roman citizens from his tyranny, but eventually committed shameful acts like being involved in bribery. Brutus said “do not stain/ The even virtue of our enterprise/Nor th’ insuppressive mettle of our spirits/To think that our cause or our performance/Did need an oath”. This shows that Cassius is dishonorable as he is willing to commit acts like bribery which is for his own personal benefit, staining the noble cause of the assassination of Caesar, as bribery is a quick and easy way to get money that is needed to fight the civil war with Antony. Therefore, Cassius is a lowly and dishonorable man who resorts to underhand means to gain benefits for him, which proves the point that he is not killing Caesar for the general good but rather his personal benefits.

In conclusion, I can say that Cassius’ actions were not driven by his love for country because he is disgusted and jealous of Caesar for the fact that Caesar is getting much more power than him. This had caused his jealousy towards Caesar and there is also a sense of injustice. He is very dangerous and cunning in the process of getting power for himself because he hides himself but seems to know the hidden thoughts of other. Using this knowledge, he tried to control both his friends and enemies. Also, he used it to manipulate Brutus as he know that Brutus is very worried about Caesar being crowned King and perceived that Brutus’ internal conflict is more likely to be influenced by what he believes the populace to think than by his own personal misgivings. Cassius also used underhand means to gain personal benefits for himself which is a shameful act that should not be done by a truly noble Roman. Therefore, I do not agree that Cassius’ actions were driven by love for country because of his resentment and jealousy towards Caesar, his greed for power and the underhand means he used to get what he want.