Than honesty to honesty engaged
That this shall be or we will fall for it?”
“Unto bad causes swear
Such creatures as men doubt, but do not stain
The even virtue of our enterprise,
Nor the insuppressive mettle of our spirits
To think that or our cause or our performance
Did need an oath....”[[108]]
In “Cesare,” Brutus has such a hold over the conspirators that they gladly, as in Shakespeare, accept his leadership and decision on all points. To him are left all the details of the murder. When the fateful moment comes, he stands, after the first shock, unmoved by the fears of his fellows, and calms their panic when Lenate speaks to Caesar.
“Respira, ò Cassio, che li parla d’altro,