He recounts the hopes entertained by the bright promise of Brutus’ youth, and exhorts him to prove to the world that these hopes may yet be realized.
The shade does not demand vengeance on his own account; he deplores Brutus’ fealty to a tyrant, and states certain conditions, but nothing specifically tyrannical. In his opening apostrophe to the shade, Brutus indulges in the same generalities. I will quote this entire speech, partly for its bearing on the matter under discussion, and partly for the light it sheds on Pescetti’s conception of Brutus’ character.
“Magnanim’ ombra ecch’io ti seguo, ecch’io
M’accingo all’ alta impresa, a che m’esorti.
Oggi ò del sangue del crudel Tiranno,
O del mio spargerassi il terren sacro.
Oggi ò vendicarò l’empia tua morte,
E riporrò la patria in libertade,
O verrotti a trovar, dovunque sei.
Oggi a Roma farò conoscer, ch’io