Brutus Is Julius Caesar-Worthy Leader

We believe that Brutus is a more worthy leader than Caesar to a large extent. According to the Oxford dictionary, the word “worthy” means “deserving effort, attention, or respect; good enough; suitable.” From the Julius Caesar text, it can be seen that Caesar is very egoistic and tyrannical, while Brutus is patriotic, noble and honourable.This makes him worthier to lead Rome than Caesar is to a large extent, for he has selfless goals for the country, whereas Caesar has selfish ambitions for himself. However, Caesar’s charisma makes him a strong leader of Rome, and Brutus’ strict moral code blinds him from making wise decisions. Therefore, though both leaders have strengths and weaknesses, we believe that Brutus is the one that deserves more

respect, hence he is a more worthy leader than Caesar.
Firstly, Brutus is very patriotic towards Rome. This can be seen from “What means this shouting? I do fear the people / Choose Caesar for their king / Ay do you fear it?/ Then must I think you would not have it so./ I would not, Cassius; yet I love him well.” (1.2.80-84) This shows that although Brutus loves Caesar dearly, he would still not want Caesar to become king, in fear of Caesar gaining power, then turning his back onto Rome.
His patriotism can also be seen from “If / there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of / Caesar’s, to him I say that Brutus’s love to Caesar was / no less than his. If then that friend demand why / Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer - not / that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (3.2.17-22) This quote shows that Brutus had killed Caesar with the people of Rome in mind and he did not want to see the people become slaves under Caesar's rule.
Furthermore, he tells Cassius, “If it be aught toward the general good, / Set honour in one eye and death i’ th’ other, / And I will look on both indifferently.” (1.2.86-88) This tells us that Brutus is willing to die for the good of Rome. Therefore, it is seen that Brutus is very patriotic towards Rome and always has its people in mind. Everything he does is what he believes is for the good of Rome and its people, which proves that Brutus is a worthy leader of Rome.
Moreover, Brutus has an honourable nature and is held in high regards by the entire of Rome. This can be seen from how he tells Cassius, “I love / The name of honor more than I fear death.” (1.2.89-90) This tells us that he would rather die honourably than live a life without honour, highlighting how much more he values honour over his own life.
His honourable nature can also be seen from how he makes sure that the conspirators proclaim that they murdered Caesar by telling them, “let no man abide this deed / But we the doers.” (3.1.94-95).
This reiterates his nobleness as he does not hide the fact that he was the one who killed Caesar. He believes that nothing should be done without honour, which can also be seen from how public he makes Caesar’s murder.
This also can be seen from Casca saying to Brutus, “O, he sits high in all the people’s hearts; / And that which would appear offense in us, / His countenance, like richest alchemy, / Will change to virtue and to worthiness.” (1.3.157-160) This suggests that Brutus is held in very high regard in the people’s hearts.
Brutus’ nobility and strict moral code makes him a worthy leader as he can be trusted to make decisions that will purely benefit Rome.

Contrasted to Caesar, who has selfish ambitions, Brutus has selfless goals for Rome – he makes decisions not for his own selfish gain. His honourable nature makes him trustworthy, as he would not do something that is against his conscience. He would only do what he thinks is right, as he would not want to act against his moral code. Therefore, Brutus is a respectable and worthy leader for he is more likely to lead Rome in an incorrupt and righteous way.
However, Caesar is a man of the people, a great strength as a leader. This can be seen from how the people welcomed him enthusiastically and celebrated his victory during the Lupercal after he killed Pompey. Their love and devotion to Caesar is even more clearly outlined as it is said that the Plebeians looked up to Pompey and regarded him as a

god.
This can be seen from Marullus, a tribune, saying to the people while they were celebrating Caesar, “Knew you not Pompey? Many a time and oft / Have you climbed up to walls and battlements, / To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops, / Your infants in your arms, and there have sat / The livelong day, with patient expectation, / To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome;/ And when you saw his chariot but appear, / Have you not made an universal shout” (1.1.40-47). The Plebeians were celebrating the man that had killed their hero, which reiterates the fact that Caesar was in fact a man of the people. This hence gives Caesar a huge advantage, making him a great leader as he has almost the entire of Rome supporting him.
His charismatic nature can also be seen from Caesar saying, “Ha! Who calls?” (1.2.13), where he responds immediately when the soothsayer calls for him. This shows the people of Rome that he cares about what they have to say. He then continues, “Who is it in the press that calls on me?/ I hear a tongue shriller than all the music / Cry ‘Caesar!’ Speak; Caesar is turned to hear.” (1.2.15-17) This gives the audience the impression that he is a good leader, for he listens to the people’s opinions and feedback.
Hence, this tells us that he is well-liked and supported by the people, suggesting that should he be the leader of Rome, he would be able to get the people to follow his orders and there would be minimal romans rebelling against him. Thus, showing that he would be a worthy and suitable leader.
Similarly, while one of Brutus’ greatest strengths is his noble nature, this later also leads to his own undoing. This can be seen in how he stubbornly refuses to kill Antony, Caesar’s good friend, as the more machiavellian Cassius suggests they should. This can be seen from, “Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius, / To cut the head off and then hack the limbs, / Like wrath in death and envy afterwards;/ For Antony is but a limb of Caesar./ Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.” (2.1.162-166) His strict moral code and soft heart blinds and restricts him from making wise decisions. He judges Antony by himself, expecting everyone else to be noble and honourable like him, and is mistaken about Antony, and the threat and danger that Antony poses to him and the rest of the conspirators.
This can also be seen from how Brutus allows Antony to speak during Caesar’s funeral, though Cassius tries to persuade him against doing so. Brutus wanted to give Antony the chance to speak during his good friend’s funeral out of the goodness of his heart. Cassius tells him, “You know not what you do. Do no consent / That Antony speak in his funeral./ Know you how much the people may be moved / By that which he will utter?” (3.1.232-235) Even after Cassius warns him, he remains stubborn and still gives Antony the permission.
His stubbornness and compassion eventually leads to his own downfall, as the Plebeians are indeed touched by Antony’s words, and turn against Brutus and the other conspirators. He foolishly allows Antony to make a fool of him, as he delivers a self-deprecating, humble speech that is much more effective than Brutus’ own formal, self-justifying speech. Hence, this shows that Brutus’ strict moral code of honour and his nobleness will lead to his eventual downfall and the downfall of the Romans should he be their leader, ergo he is a less worthy option to lead Rome than Caesar.
On the other hand, Caesar’s arrogance and overconfidence also makes Brutus a better candidate to lead Rome. In Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 199-202, Caesar says to Antony, “But I fear him not; / Yet if my name were liable to fear, / I do not know the man I should avoid/ So soon as that spare Cassius ”. This shows that Caesar, though arrogant by saying that he is unable to feel fear, is actually fearful of Cassius.

Furthermore, “He reads much, / He is a great observer, and he looks / Quite through the deeds of men. He loves no plays, / As thou dost Antony; he hears no music; / Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort / As if he mocked himself, and scorned his spirit / That could be moved to smile at any thing./ Such men as he be never at heart’s ease / Whiles they behold a greater than themselves, / And therefore are they very dangerous.” (1.2.202-211) shows that he believes that Cassius is very dangerous and he should be scared of him.
However, even though he had listed all of the reasons why he should fear Cassius to Antony, he still said “I rather tell thee what is to be feared / Than what I fear; for always I am Caesar.” (1.2.212-213) This shows Caesar's arrogance in believing that he does not need to fear Cassius, based solely on the fact that he is Julius Caesar.

This also shows his overconfidence as he overlooks the possible danger of Cassius plotting against him.
Therefore, it is seen that Caesar is overconfident and egoistic, which would negatively affect the people of Rome if he were to be their leader, thus proving that Brutus would be a more worthy leader of Rome as he is neither arrogant nor overconfident.
In conclusion, we believe that Brutus is a more worthy leader than Caesar to a large extent. This is because although Caesar is a man of the people, and would not be as gullibly honour-driven as Brutus, Brutus is still a more worthy leader as he is very patriotic towards Rome, very honourable in nature, and is not as arrogant and overconfident as Caesar. Furthermore, in Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 234-236, Brutus says to Portia “Portia what mean you? Wherefore rise you now?/ It is not for your health thus to commit / Your weak condition to the raw morning.” and again when Portia kneels before him, he says “Kneel not, gentle Portia” (2.1.278) This shows that he treats Portia as his equal and does not want her to submit to him. However, in their time, wives were supposed to be submissive and serve

their husbands. This implies that Brutus will treat all Romans equally regardless of status and thus proves that he is more worthy to be a leader than Caesar.