After they have formed the Second Triumvirate, Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus meet in Rome to decide which Romans shall live and which shall die. Lepidus agrees to the death of his brother, and Antony agrees to the death of a nephew.
Antony then sends Lepidus to obtain Caesar's will so that they can reduce some of the bequests. After he exits, Antony tells Octavius that Lepidus may be fit to run errands but that he is not fit to rule one-third of the world; after they are through using him, they will assume the power he temporarily enjoys.
Octavius does not want to argue with Antony, but he recognizes Lepidus to be a proven, brave soldier. Antony answers that his horse also has those qualities; therefore, Lepidus will be trained and used. Antony and Octavius then agree that they must make immediate plans to combat the armies being organized by Brutus and Cassius. In his funeral oration, Antony spoke to the people of Caesar's will. He told them of a bequest of money and property to the people of Rome.
With blinding speed, Antony seeks to revoke that will, keeping the money and properties for himself, for Octavius, and for the third member of the triumvirate who will rule Rome, Lepidus. In this manner, you can confirm what you may already believe — that Antony has manipulated the people with his own advantage in mind. The question, then, is not whether these men will respect Caesar's final wishes they will not , but which of the three men now in power will dominate.
Lepidus, who is, in effect, Antony's messenger, sent to retrieve Caesar's will, has no power. The real battle takes place between Octavius and Antony with no clear winner established.
He left 75 drachmas in his will to be given to every Roman. In his message, Antony declares allegiance to Brutus and swears that even though he loved and was loyal to Caesar, if Brutus can explain why Caesar had to be killed, then Antony will be even more loyal to Brutus.
Casca explains to Brutus and Cassius that, in the arena, Caesar refused the crown every time Antony offered it because each time he refused, the crowd responded uproariously. On the other hand, Antony uses the same incident to reveal that Caesar refused the crown because he was not ambitious or power-hungry. He refused it the third time, and as he refused it the commoners hooted and clapped their chapped hands, and threw up their sweaty hats, and let loose such a great deal of stinking breath because Caesar refused the crown that it nearly choked Caesar, because he fainted and fell down.
He succeeds in turning the Roman people against Brutus and the other assassins. Caesar had migraine headaches. Or hypoglycemia. He had a tapeworm in his brain. Most commonly, he has been diagnosed with morbus comitialis, the Latin term for epilepsy. The assassination of Julius Caesar, which occurred on this day in 44 B. Lepidus proves an effective tool for them in that he is malleable and apparently not intelligent enough to devise his own motives. Meanwhile, questions of honor plague the conspirators as well, as Cassius and Brutus exchange accusations.
Their argument seems to arise partially from a misunderstanding but also partially from stubbornness. Though Brutus claims that his honor forbids him from raising money in unscrupulous ways, he would still use such money as long as it was not he himself, but rather Cassius, who raised it. We see that Brutus speaks against corruption, but when he has no other means of paying his army, he quickly consents to unscrupulousness, if only indirectly.
That is, alone with Cassius, he admits that his distress at the loss of his wife, but before his men, he appears indifferent or dispassionate.
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