Brutus Ethos In Julius Caesar

In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the character Cassius wishes to convince Brutus to join him in conspiring against Caesar because he and his co-conspirators believe Caesar is unfit to rule Rome. In this passage, Cassius persuades Brutus through his pathos, ethos, and logos. Cassius exploits Brutus’s pathos in that he compliments Brutus to inflate his ego, as shown when Cassius says Brutus has “hidden worthiness” (1,2,57) and his worthiness earns him “many of the best respect in Rome” (1,2,59). Cassius utilizes these compliments in order to make Brutus see himself as a chosen one to aid Cassius in removing Caesar from the throne. Moreover, Cassius attempts to sway Brutus through his pathos by capitalizing Brutus’s fear for the future of Rome,

However, even though Brutus already trusts Cassius, Cassius knows that he needs to get Brutus to trust not only his character, but also trust his judgments of the importance of Brutus being a co conspirator. He does this by telling Brutus that he should trust Cassius and his judgements because he can see Brutus better than he sees himself, for “you have no such mirrors as will turn your hidden worthiness into your eye” (1,2,56) and further emphasizes his point by asserting “well as by reflection, I, your glass,/ will modestly discover to yourself” (1,2,68-69). Cassius also appeals to Brutus’s ethos by emphasizing the fact that if Brutus were to not trust Cassius, he should “then hold me dangerous” (1,2,78) as a way to make Brutus feel more secure in trusting Cassius. These examples show how Cassius combines Brutus’s trust for Cassius’s character with reasoning to convince Brutus to trust his opinion regarding Brutus, in order to cement the idea that Brutus is a chose one to save Rome. Moreover, Cassius gives Brutus the option ignore Cassius as a way to provide Brutus security in placing his trust in Cassius’s