Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare
(excerpt from Act 3, Scene II)

In the prior acts of Julius Caesar, noble Romans have conspired against their leader, Caesar, and assassinated him. In this scene, Brutus, a well-respected man and longtime friend of Caesar, has addressed the people of Rome to explain why they've conspired against Caesar. Marc Antony, another longtime friend of Caesar, also addresses the Roman people.

MARC ANTONY: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interrèd with their bones.
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious.
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answered it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest—
For Brutus is an honorable man;
So are they all, all honorable men—
Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me.
But Brutus says he was ambitious,
And Brutus is an honorable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill.
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept.
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,
And Brutus is an honorable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,
And, sure, he is an honorable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause.
What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?
2
Select the correct answer.
What does Shakespeare emphasize about Caesar in Marc Antony’s speech?

A.
Caesar was disliked by the citizens of Rome.
B.
Caesar brought wealth to the city of Rome.
C.
Caesar did honorable things in his life.
D.
Caesar was a very ambitious leader.