ACT IV – Scene.ii

Summary

The conspirators’ army is camped near a town called Sardis.  There is tension between Brutus and Cassius, as the latter feels he has been offended, and he has not received a suitable explanation.  When Cassius and Brutus meet, Brutus says that he would not wrong a friend and that they should not argue in public, and so they go inside Brutus’ tent.

Interpretation

Just as the previous scene dealt with the struggle between Octavius and Mark Antony, this scene deals with the conflict between Brutus and Cassius. Cassius must feel that Brutus has been responsible for the position they are in.  He had recommended that Mark Antony should be murdered too. 

There is a further similarity, just as Mark Antony likened Lepidus to an ass, Brutus speaks to his servant saying of Cassius, “but hollow men like horses hot at hand, make gallant show and promise of their mettle.  But when they should endure the bloody spur, they fall their crests and like deceitful jades sink in the trial.”  (Jades are horses without spirit or stamina).

It is evident that Brutus is not impressed with Cassius.