The Noble Brutus

            In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, one of the main characters was Marcus Brutus, a highly respected man in the upper class of Roman society. At the end of the play, when Brutus is found dead after running upon his own sword, Mark Antony declares him to be "the noblest Roman of them all," stating that he was the only conspirator that killed Caesar with good intentions for the benefit of all Rome. I agree with this statement because there are many examples throughout the play that prove Antony's words to be true. Brutus possesses many characteristics of a noble man; he is ethical, patriotic, and selfless.
             Brutus had high moral standards and strong principles, and he based all of his decisions upon these foundation beliefs. One of these strong values was his patriotism. When Cassius presented him with the idea of the assassinating Caesar, Brutus did not come quickly to a decision; it took him almost a month to finally decide to join the conspiracy. This was obviously not an easy decision for him. For the entire month prior to the ides of March, he could not sleep and paced about, thinking about the troubling decision that would turn him against his dear friend Caesar. Brutus said in the play, "I know no personal cause to spurn at him (Caesar), But for the general." (Act II, sc. I, lines 11-12) Brutus had nothing against Caesar, but he did have a fear of a dictatorship. He had to have good reason to betray his friend, and he came to the conclusion that Caesar was becoming too ambitious and was threatening the Roman Republic. Brutus was motivated to make the decision he did by his love for Rome, and this is a very noble decision. He was very patriotic to his country and did what he thought was best for all Romans.
             Although Brutus made poor judgements and bad decisions throughout the play, he still stuck to his personal honor code. I find this extremely noble and respectable.