Un giorno a noi crudel.”—P. 27.
Yet this Brutus, just like Shakespeare’s Brutus, is so carried away by the conviction of the irresistible justice of his cause that he abruptly terminates this vital discussion by the lofty statement:
“Chiunque ama virtù, figlio è di Giove.”
This overpowering sense of the righteousness of his cause is strong throughout. In his opening speech he exclaims, as he addresses Jove:
“. . . . . . . nè sdegnar, ch’io sia,
Benchè indegno, ministro, et instrumento
Della giustizia tua; nè perchè sacro
Luogo alla morte del Tiranno abbiamo
Eletto, riputar, ch’in noi s’annidi
Altro pensier, che pio: Rimira al cuore,