Read the excerpt from Julius Caesar , act 3, scene 2. 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. 25 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 honourable man, So are they all, all honourable men— (30) 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 honourable man. He hath brought many captives home to Rome, (35) 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, (40) And Brutus is an honourable man. You all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition? Which conclusion does this excerpt best support?
Answer
A
Antony believes that Brutus and the others are as virtuous as Caesar.
B
Antony wants to make the people angry by defending Caesar.
C
Antony agrees with Brutus that Caesar was too persistent.
D
Antony wishes that Caesar would have been more determined.
Explanation
Antony repeatedly calls Brutus and the others “honourable,” but he follows that phrase with evidence that challenges Brutus’s claim that Caesar was ambitious. He points out that Caesar brought wealth to Rome, wept for the poor, and refused a crown three times. This indirect defense of Caesar is meant to make the people question Brutus and become angry, so choice A is best supported.
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