Julius Caesar-Citizen Of Rome Essay, Research Paper

Julius Caesar-Citizen of Rome

My name is Felicius Dedecus, and I live in Rome. I am a common

citizen, and work in the local bakery. I am married to a charming lady

named Antonia. We have been married for only a couple of months, and we

do not have any children. We are not yet prepared to have a child,

because we cannot financially support one. Once the bakery starts going

well, we will have a child. I work during the days, and Antonia, being a

lady, does not work so she could take care of the child. I begin to

laugh, when I imagine a woman working somewhere other than in the

kitchen. It would be quite an odd sight. I hear people shouting. It

seems to be coming from the Capitol. I am heading towards there, to find

out the reason for all of this commotion.

The greatest man that I have ever known is dead. His name was Caesar,

and he was a beloved benefactor and a hero. He defeated Pompey’s sons,

and would do anything to benefit Rome. Rome will never profit from this

man again, for he was stabbed by a sword. Honorable Brutus, his best

friend, helped in the killing of Caesar. All actions of this noble man,

in the past, have been admirable. I am at the Forum, and the funeral for

beloved Caesar is about to take place. Brutus will explain his reasons

for murdering Caesar, which will surely be logical. Then, Mark Antony

will be delivering a speech, and conducting the funeral rites. The

funeral speech, or Laudatio Funebris, is a common Roman custom. This

funeral promises to be chaotic, and I am not sure what is to come for

Rome.

Brutus is about to speak. My co-worker at the local bakery, Ragorius,

says aloud what many of us Roman citizens are thinking. He says, “We

will be satisfied; let us be satisfied.” I am anxious to hear Brutus’

speech, for I am very curious to hear the justification of the murder.

Had anyone else killed Caesar, in no circumstance, would I have

listened to their speech. However, Brutus is reputable, and his

dignified presence gets him replies upon his request. He asks us, “Be

patient till the last . . . hear me for mine cause and be silent.” When

Brutus said this, I immediately obeyed him. He says, “…believe me for

my honor, that you may believe: censure me in your wisdom, and awake

your senses, that you may the better judge.” So far Brutus’ pleasant

manner impresses me. I am more than willing to hear his speech, only

wise words have come out of his honorable mouth in the past, I presume

the same to occur now.

“Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” He tells us

that his love for Caesar was as great as any friend’s, but that he loved

Rome and the freedom of her citizens more. I see the truth in what

Brutus is saying. He truly does care about us, and he will do anything

to fight for our rights. I am not quite certain on how Caesar stole our

freedom, but I am sure that some of his actions prove this. Brutus said

that he loved Caesar, but because of his ambition removing him was

necessary, for he was about to make all of the Roman citizens slaves. I

am astonished to hear that Caesar was going to treat us as bondmen. I

had always thought of his as compassionate and admirable. He asks us

whom he has offends, “Who is so vile that will not love his country?”.

All of us reply that we agree with what he had said. I agree with what

Caesar has just said, and I would never dare to contradict him. I would

never disagree with him, for he wiser than I. He ends his speech by

saying, “…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 death.”

Brutus shows us how respectable he is. He cares for nothing but the best

of Rome, and is willing to kill himself, if he ever has the same

ambition that Caesar did.

All of us Roman citizens responded positively to Brutus’ speech. His

role in the conspiracy is to save Rome. He proves that he truly is

dignified. One of my fellow citizens suggests that Brutus be the

replacement of Caesar. One citizen yells, “Let him be Caesar.”, another

on cries, “Caesar’s better parts shall be crown’d in Brutus.” I agree

that we should crown him. He tells us to leave him alone, and to stay to

hear Mark Antony who speaks with his permission.

Noble Antony is starting his speech. I am willing to listen to him, as

that is what Brutus told us to do. He says that he came to bury Caesar,

and not to praise him. Antony says, “He was my friend, faithful and just

to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honorable

man.” I am glad that he sees the truth about Caesar’s flaws as Brutus

did. He tells that Caesar brought more money to the Roman empire, and

asks us if this demonstrates ambition. He tells us, “When that the poor

hath cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus was an honorable man.” He

also asks us if Caesar were ambitious by refusing the crown three times.

He said that must be the case, since Brutus thought so, and he was an

honorable man. After Antony tells us all of these wonderful things

that Caesar had done, I am having second thoughts about him having done

wrong to Rome. I do not understand how Brutus can say that Caesar was

ambitious. The conspirators killed him because he cared about his

people? Antony has said eight times that Brutus was honorable, but I am

not so sure if I still think that way.

I remember a couple of months back, when the bakery was going to close

down. I was going to be out of a job, so I began to cry. I was weeping

along the street, and Caesar joined me in my sorrow. We had a pleasant

conversation, and he invited me to his house for dinner. His wife

Calpurnia cooked a scrumptious meal of baked potatoes, fishes garnished

with olives, spicy beans, fresh bread, and Caesar salad. The dinner was

one of the best that I have ever tasted. The next day, Caesar gave the

owner of the bakery some money, so that the he would not be forced to

close the shop. I loved Caesar, for he had truly cared about the people

of Rome.

Antony is overcome with grief for his friend Caesar. He begins to weep,

and I share tears with Antony, as Caesar had with me. I find woe to be

an infectious emotion, and I can almost feel Antony’s sorrow. I am

seeing much reason in what Antony is trying to tell us. I do not think

that there is a nobler man in Rome than he. He says that he would rather

wrong himself and us, than honorable men such as Cassius and Brutus. He

says that since they think so, Caesar must be an ambitious man. I do not

think that Antony believes this. I think that he is only saying this to

allow us to see otherwise. He does not want to think of himself as wiser

than the conspirators, because he is a humble man. I am very confused

right now, and I do not know what to think. Antony tells us that Brutus

was ambitious, but he is giving us examples that entirely contradict

that.

Antony tells us that had we read Caesar’s will, we would “. . . kiss

dead Caesar’s wounds.” I am now extremely curious to find out the

contents of the will. He says that moving us ” . . . to mutiny and rage”

would not be fair to the conspirators. He says, “I rather choose to

wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you, than I will wrong such

honorouble men. .” I think that he is telling us that we should be on

Caesar’s side, and that we have been wronged, and that mutiny and rage

may be in order. He says, “You are not wood, you are not stones, but

men; And being men, hearing the will of Caesar, It will inflame you, it

will make you mad.” I am now very tempted to hear the contents of the

will. What has Caesar written in his will that will anger us so

profoundly?

I believed in what Brutus had to say during his speech, and I was

pro-Brutus because of his honorable title. However, I am now pro-Caesar

and pro-Antony. I truly believe in what Antony has to say, because

unlike Brutus, he has reasons and explications for why things were done.

He does not simply state an opinion as Brutus did. He supports his

opinion with facts, so that they are no longer opinions but facts.

Brutus said that he killed Caesar for the good of Rome, but he never

told us the harm that Caesar caused. I compare it with Antony’s speech,

and wonder how could I have seen the death of Caesar as a proper action.

Antony says that he will read the will, if we make a ring around

Caesar’s corpse. He shows us Caesar’s bloodstained toga, with a tear. He

shows us the rip, and says, “See what a rent the envious Casca made:

Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabb’d.” When Antony showed us

visual evidence of the bloody treason, and when he said the words

“beloved” and “Brutus” together I sought revenge. I am furious, and

detest Brutus. I hit myself on the head, for respecting him, and

thinking of him as an honorable man. How foolish I had been! Tears come

to my eyes, as I see the dead corpse of the most exquisite man that had

ever existed.

It was after all of this, that the crowd of Roman citizens is truly

enraged. We chant: “…Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay! Let not a traitor live!”.

I am not going to let any of the conspirators get away. They killed the

best thing that had ever happened to Rome, and for that they deserve to

suffer! Antony says that were he an able speaker, he would move “The

stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.” I am not a highly educated man, but

nor I am totally ignorant. I see what Antony is tying to tell us. I

supported Brutus during his speech, but I am truly astounded with

Antony’s speech. Never have I seen a man with more moral, integrity and

honor than he. I will hear him, follow him, and die with him. He makes

me see the righteousness of the death, or the lack of it. The men who

murdered him, in no way deserve the offering of the crown. The only

thing that they merit is death. The crowd and I decide to burn the

conspirator’s houses. Antony has fueled us with anger and we seek

revenge! We set off to find the conspirators.

Antony calls us back to read us the will. He tells us that Ceasar has

left each of us seventy-five drachmas, and that he has given public use

for all of his famous gardens across the Tiber in his will. If Brutus

were here, beside me, right now I would burn his body. I would not

simply stab him, as he had to Caesar, for he would suffer for only a few

seconds. I want to burn him, so that his death is slow and intensely

painful. He told us that Caesar was to treat us as inferiors, as slaves.

He lied to us, telling us that Caesar wished to harm us. Our loving

Caesar had always cared for us, and thought of us as family. I think

that before learning about the will, I was going to act violently based

on a powerful shared emotion. I was wrathful, but much of it was because

everyone else was as well. However, now that I am aware of how truly

noble of a man Caesar was, I am beyond angry. We decide to burn Caesar’s

body in the holy place, “And with the brands fire the traitor’s houses.”

Our crowd has now become a mob, and we are off to burn the houses of the

conspirators. I will not rest until the malicious men who killed him

suffer. I wish for Ate to come by Caesar’s side, to come from hell, and

cry “Havoc!”. I vow not to be content until I put the lives of these

terrible men to an end.