Act 4
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Manent BRUTUS and
CASSIUS, now in the tent
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BRUTUS and CASSIUS
remain onstage. They are now in their tent.
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CASSIUS That you have wronged me doth appear in this:
You have condemned and noted Lucius Pella
For taking bribes here of the Sardians,
Wherein my letters, praying on his side
5Because I knew the man, were slighted off.
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CASSIUS My evidence that you have wronged me is that you condemned and
disgraced Lucius Pella for taking bribes here from the Sardinians,
and you ignored my letters, where I argued that he was innocent; I
know the man.
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BRUTUS You wronged yourself to write in such a case.
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BRUTUS You wronged yourself to write on behalf of such a man.
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CASSIUS In such a time as this it is not meet
That every nice offense should bear his comment.
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CASSIUS In a time like this, it doesn’t make sense to criticize
every offense.
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BRUTUS Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself
10Are much condemned to have an itching palm,
To sell and mart your offices for gold
To undeservers.
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BRUTUS I’ll tell you, Cassius, you yourself have been called
greedy and been accused of giving your positions to undeserving men
in exchange for gold.
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CASSIUS I “an itching
palm”!
You know that you are Brutus that speak this,
Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last.
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CASSIUS Me, “greedy”! You know, if you were anyone
other than Brutus, that speech would be your last.
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BRUTUS
15The name of Cassius honors this corruption,
And chastisement doth therefore hide his head.
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BRUTUS The name of Cassius gives credit to these corrupt actions, and so
they go unpunished.
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CASSIUS Chastisement!
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CASSIUS Unpunished!
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BRUTUS Remember March, the ides of March remember.
Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake?
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BRUTUS Remember March, March 15th. Didn’t great Caesar bleed for
the sake of justice?
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More Help
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Character List
CHARACTERS -
Brutus: Character Analysis
CHARACTERS -
Plot Analysis
MAIN IDEAS -
Is a Republic Better than a Monarchy?
MAIN IDEAS -
Quotes by Theme
QUOTES -
Themes
MAIN IDEAS -
Review Quiz
FURTHER STUDY
