Treść książki

Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
~MarioDomenichelli~
TismovementisimportantasitshapesAntony’sgradualtriumph,inpa-
rallelwithCassius’shopelessdefeat.Antony,nodoubt,istherealprotagonist
ofthetragedyofJuliusCaesar,whileCassiusistherealantagonist,farmoreso
thanBrutus,whoisnomatchforsuchamanasAntony.TefactisthatCassius
andAntonyaresomehowacoupleofdramatictwins,astheyseemtoshare
thesamekindofMachiavellianpoliticalwisdom.ButCassiusisalsoakind
ofideologicaldoppelgängerofBrutus,inthesensethatCassiusistheonewho
hasthepoliticalwisdomandreadinessBrutusutterlylacks,asCassiuswould
alwaysknowexactlywhattodo,andwhen,andhowtoseizeτύχη,theoccasion,
inordertogetcontrolofFortuna,andbeincontrolofhisownlifeaswellas
ofhistory.ButthepointisthatCassiusisanKunderling”withaweaknessof
character,inthesensethathehasprudentia,butnocourageandnofortitude.
Onthataccount,heseemstoadmitinaperfectlyMachiavellimanner:KMenat
sometimesweremastersoftheirfatelTefault,dearBrutus,isnotinourstars,
lButinourselvesthatweareunderlings”(1.2:140-142).
WhentheplotagainstCaesarisripeenough,andalltheplottersmeetso
theycanplanwhattheymustdoinordertoassassinateCaesar,andwhatthey
shoulddoafterwardsinordertoensuretheirownsafety,Cassiusveryclearly
seesthatAntonycannotbespared:
IthinkitisnotmeetMarkAntony,sowellbelovedofCaesar,lShouldoutliveCaesar.
WeshallfindofhimlAshrewdcontriver.Andyouknowhismeans,lIfheimprove
them,maywellstretchsofarlAstoannoyusall;whichtoprevent,lLetAntonyand
Caesarfalltogether.(2.1:155-161)
Brutusdoesnotwanttohearaboutthatasheistheingenuus,whichmeans
Kwell-born”,fromanoblefamily,henceKhonest”(thesamerootasKhonour”)
jatrulygoodman,sinceheisreportedtohavebeennotonlyinPlutarch,
butalsoinCicero’sDeOratore,andBrutus.Brutusisapatrician.Hebelongsto
thesenatorialclasswhosevaluesandpoeticsofexistenceheembodies.Caesar’s
assassinationisapoliticalnecessityasCaesarrepresentsathreatandadangerto
thesuperiorinterests,andtotheveryfreedomofthesenatorialclass,theordo
towhichBrutusbelongs.Terearethereforereasonsofmentalityandcultural
reasonsblindingBrutus’seyestowhatisotherwiseevidenttoCassius.Brutus
cannottaketherightdecision,theprudentdecision,hecannotdowhathesho-
uld,nortakethecautionsheshouldtoensurehisownsafetyandthesuccessof
thecauseheisfightingfor:
(20)