What character traits does Cassius show in act 1, scene 2 while persuading Brutus to join the conspiracy?

Cassius reveals his crafty, manipulative personality in act 1, scene 2, as he begins to influence Brutus into conspiring against Julius Caesar. Cassius is an astute man who recognizes Brutus's integrity and noble character. He is aware that Brutus is motivated by honor and is not a selfish individual, which is why he carefully poses the argument for Caesar's death in a way that makes it seem like they will be saving the Roman populace from tyranny. Cassius appeals to Brutus's noble personality and prestigious family history by mentioning Brutus's famous ancestor who saved the Republic by defeating a tyrant. During their conversation, Cassius is also portrayed as an articulate man who displays his capacity for dissembling. He does not betray his true intentions for using Caesar's death for personal gain and instead portrays himself as a concerned senator who desires to protect the Roman populace from tyranny and to defend the Republic, which noble Romans fought to establish. Cassius's psychological insight into Brutus's motivating factors and his ability to pose an intriguing, moving argument depict him as an astute, convincing politician.

How does Cassius convince Brutus to join the conspiracy in Julius Caesar?

In act one, scene two, Cassius tells Brutus to let him be his "glass," meaning his mirror to better see himself. He then proceeds to interpret, for Brutus, all of Brutus's reactions to what they can hear of Caesar's interaction with the citizens. When Brutus says that he fears that "the people / Choose Caesar for their king," Cassius replies that this must mean that Brutus recognizes that Caesar should not be "their king." Brutus, like Cassius, is concerned that Caesar is becoming too powerful.

Cassius then tells Brutus that they are as worthy as Caesar, that they "both have fed as well" and were "born free as Caesar." The implication that Cassius is trying to push here is that they are as worthy as Caesar and, therefore, Caesar should not be more powerful than they are. Cassius continues to mock Caesar's masculinity or supposed lack thereof. He relates a story in which Caesar was drowning and asked for Cassius's help and then says, incredulously, that this same Caesar "is now become a God." Again, Cassius is trying to persuade Brutus that Caesar has become too powerful and is underserving of this power. To emphasize the point, he calls Caesar a "coward" and compares him to "a sick girl."

As persuasive as Cassius's arguments are up to this point, he really hits a nerve, so to speak, when he questions what Caesar is doing to Rome. Brutus truly loves Rome and eventually agrees to join the conspiracy because he genuinely believes that Caesar must be removed for the benefit of his beloved Rome. Cassius points out that Rome has never been ruled by just one man before:

When could they say till now, that talk'd of Rome,
That her wide walls encompass'd but one man?

Indeed, before Caesar, Rome was ruled by three men. Cassius suggests that now Rome is becoming something like a dictatorship. Finally, at the end of their conversation and just before Caesar re-enters, Cassius invokes the name of Brutus's relation, who, long ago, once fought to save Rome:

There was a Brutus once that would have brook'd
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome

In summary, Cassius persuades Brutus to join the conspiracy against Caesar firstly by highlighting how much power Casear has accrued and then by questioning his right to this power given that he is no better than them. Cassius then says that Caesar is in fact less than them—he is cowardly and weak. He then suggests that Caesar is endangering Rome, which Brutus loves and is loyal to, and finally he implies that it is also, for Brutus, a question of family honor to protect Rome.

Which reason does Brutus give to justify killing Caesar?

Brutus offers the audience insight into what motivates him to join the conspirators in assassinating Julius Caesar in act 2, scene 1. When Lucius exits, Brutus contemplates murdering Caesar and begins by mentioning that he has no personal grievances against Caesar. Brutus then wonders how attaining ultimate authority might alter Caesar's behavior. Brutus also questions Caesar's ambition and admits that he has never witnessed Caesar's emotions get the better of him. Brutus then reveals the reason he will join the conspirators by saying,

Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented, Would run to these and these extremities. And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg—Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous—And kill him in the shell (Shakespeare, 2.1.30-34).

Essentially, Brutus is saying that in order to prevent Caesar from ruling Rome as a tyrant, he must kill Caesar before Caesar gets the opportunity to rule as a tyrant and allows his ambition to negatively affect his behavior.

Brutus also justifies assassinating Caesar just before Mark Antony gives his funeral oration. Brutus tells the masses that in killing Caesar, he was doing the Roman populace a favor by preventing the rise of a future tyranny. Brutus reveals his honorable intentions by telling the crowd,

With this I depart: that, as I slew my best lover for the good of Rome, I have the same dagger for myself when it shall please my country to need my death (Shakespeare, 3.2.42-44).

Why does Cassius want Brutus to join the conspiracy?

Cassius is portrayed as a shrewd politician who is willing to go to great lengths to enact his political agenda, and he attempts to convince Brutus to join the group of conspirators against Julius Caesar. Cassius wants Brutus to join the conspirators for several significant reasons. Cassius is aware that Brutus is an honorable man who is respected and revered by the Roman populace. Having a man of Brutus's caliber and rank on their side gives Cassius and the conspirators much-needed support from the Roman citizens. Cassius is aware that Brutus's honorable reputation will justify their actions to the Roman populace, and the citizens will be less likely to riot against the senators. Cassius also knows that Brutus is a close friend of Julius Caesar. If Brutus joins the conspirators, Cassius will now have an inside man who will be able to persuade and influence Caesar into walking into their trap. Brutus will also be able to relay valuable information to the conspirators that will assure that their assassination attempt is successful.

In Julius Caesar, why do the conspirators want Brutus on their side and how does Cassius plan to win him over?

The conspirators recognize the need of having Brutus on their side because he is considered to be honorable and noble, as well as loved by the people of Rome.  With Brutus on their "team", they don't think they'll be found guilty; without him, their chances of killing Caesar without consequence is minimal. 

Cassius' plan is to appeal to Brutus' sense of honor to country.  He does this by planting several notes written in different handwriting in places where Brutus is sure to find them.  These notes are found and read during Brutus' sleepless night when the storm is raging outside.  The storm represents Brutus' inner turmoil and the difficulty of his decision to join or not to join.  Brutus, of course, is the only conspirator the reader understands as having joined the conspirators' cause for the "right" reasons.  He does so out of love for his country, to protect the people from Caesar's ambition to be King/Emperor or some other all-encompassing title.  The others want Caesar gone for lesser reasons--greed, jealousy, personal dislike.

What reason does Brutus give to join the conspiracy against Julius Caesar?

In deciding whether to join the conspiracy, Brutus must choose between his friendship with (and admiration of) Caesar and his public responsibility to prevent Caesar’s alleged ambition to undermine the Roman Republic. Cassius has convinced Brutus that Caesar plans to install himself as monarch. A monarchy would rob the Romans of their long-held liberties.

In his soliloquy in Act II, Scene i, Brutus resolves his inner conflict. He states that he will join the conspiracy because of Caesar’s ambition to be crowned:

It must be by his death: and for my part
I know no personal cause to spurn at him,
But for the general good. He would be crown’d:
How that might change his nature. . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg
Which, hatch’d, would, as his kind, grow mischievous,
And kill him in the shell.

After Caesar’s assassination, Brutus explains his actions to the plebeians (average citizens) in the Forum (Act III, Scene ii):

. . . If then that friend demand
why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer:
Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved
Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living and
die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live
all free men? As Caesar loved me, I weep for him;
as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was
valiant, I honor him: but, as he was ambitious, I
slew him.

Why is it important for Cassius to have Brutus join the conspiracy in Julius Caesar?

Cassius knows that he is not well liked, whereas Brutus is liked and respected by everybody. According to Plutarch's Life of Brutus, which was one of Shakespeare's chief sources of information for Julius Caesar:

Cassius had the reputation of being an able soldier, but harsh in his anger, and with an authority largely based on fear...

Cassius displays his violent temper in the quarrel with Brutus in Act IV, Scene 2, when Brutus tells him he is "much condemned to have an itching palm."

I, an itching palm?
You know that you are Brutus that speaks this,
Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last.

Cassius' dialogue in this scene is full of such threats and real or affected anger, showing that he habitually uses anger and threats to get what he wants. He is also a miser. Shakespeare uses the plain-spoken Casca to illustrate how people who know Cassius regard him. When Cassius invites Casca to dinner (so that he can try to recruit him for his conspiracy against Caesar), Casca replies:

Ay, if I be alive, and your mind hold, and your dinner worth the eating.                                            Act I, Scene 2

Casca has known Cassius all his life and knows what kind of dinner he can expect from Cassius. It will include the worst wines and small portions of everything. And Casca knows he wouldn't be invited to dinner if Cassius didn't have some ulterior motive.

Cassius knows he is unpopular because of his selfishness, greed, miserliness, and violent temper. That is why he needs Brutus to serve as the putative leader of the conspiracy. Cassius would like to be the real leader but to use Brutus as a figurehead. He thinks the kindly Brutus is malleable, but he finds out he was wrong. Once Brutus has persuaded himself to take part in the assassination, he quickly becomes the de facto leader. Cassius is dismayed and frustrated, but there is nothing he can do because most of the conspirators like Brutus much better, and most of have only joined because they took Brutus to be the leader and the instigator.

It is of the utmost importance to Cassius to get Brutus to join his plot against Caesar. Without Brutus it might be impossible to recruit anyone else, but with Brutus committed to the assassination, Cassius has no trouble persuading a large number of other important Romans to join them.

Why is it important for Cassius to have Brutus join the conspiracy in Julius Caesar?

This is an important question. There are two main reasons why it is important for Cassius to get Brutus to join the conspiracy. 

First, if Cassius can get Brutus to join the conspiracy, then it would be much better for public relations. In other words, the people respect Brutus and trust him. Therefore, if Brutus is marked with the conspirators, the people will believe that Caesar was aiming at kingship and that the assassination was necessary. 

Second, Brutus has a veritable heritage as his great ancestor of the same name was part of a conspiracy to rid Rome of its first kings. This family connection would bring greater legitimacy to the cause of the conspirators. 

In Julius Caesar, what was Cassius' plan to get Brutus to join the conspiracy?

It is clear from the outset that Cassius resents Caesar and feels that he is not worthy of the status he is being given. Cassius himself is hungry for power and believes that he has greater abilities than Caesar. The fact that the general populace seems to treat Caesar as if he is some kind of god greatly troubles Cassius. He is intent on preventing the general from achieving even greater power and has, with a number of other conspirators who share his sentiment, decided to get rid of him.

The first part of their plot is to get the ordinary citizens to turn against Caesar, as is displayed by the actions of Marullus and Flavius at the beginning of the play. They go around encouraging others to deface statues put up in honor of the general and remove whatever tokens of praise these effigies have been decorated with. Furthermore, they criticize others' praise of Caesar and remind them of Pompey's greatness. It is obvious that they wish to turn as many of the citizens as possible against the general and start a rebellion.

Cassius approaches Brutus since he knows that Brutus shares a close bond with Caesar and also that Brutus has great esteem in the eyes of the general public and other senators. He is respected for being honorable and brave. If he should persuade Brutus to join his conspiracy, it would give validity to the plot. Everyone would understand that Brutus would never act out of greed or selfish desire and would, therefore, support him.

Cassius's conversations with Brutus pertinently display his resentment for the general. He continuously reminds Brutus of how weak Caesar actually is and recalls incidents when Caesar's frailties were exposed. He then juxtaposes these with his and Brutus's strengths and especially plays on the latter's sentiment by waxing lyrical about his noble qualities. In this, he attempts to sweet-talk Brutus into joining them in the plot against Caesar.

Brutus promises to consider what Cassius has told him for he also believes that there is some risk in Caesar becoming emperor. At the end of their conversation, he tells Cassius that they will speak again. Cassius is confident that he has baited Brutus enough and urges others to plant letters, supposedly written by ordinary citizens, in Brutus's chambers, which would urge him to take action against Caesar. His machinations are quite effective because, in the end, Brutus joins the conspiracy.

In Julius Caesar, what reason does Brutus give in his soliloquy for killing Caesar?

Brutus's soliloquy occurs in his orchard in the first scene of Act 2.

It must be by his death: and for my part,
I know no personal cause to spurn at him,
But for the general. He would be crown'd:
How that might change his nature, there's the question.
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder;
And that craves wary walking. Crown him?--that;--
And then, I grant, we put a sting in him,
That at his will he may do danger with.
The abuse of greatness is, when it disjoins
Remorse from power: and, to speak truth of Caesar,
I have not known when his affections sway'd
More than his reason. But 'tis a common proof,
That lowliness is young ambition's ladder,
Whereto the climber-upward turns his face;
But when he once attains the upmost round.
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend. So Caesar may.
Then, lest he may, prevent. And, since the quarrel
Will bear no colour for the thing he is,
Fashion it thus; that what he is, augmented,
Would run to these and these extremities:
And therefore think him as a serpent's egg
Which, hatch'd, would, as his kind, grow mischievous,
And kill him in the shell.

He is being pressured to join in the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar, mainly by Cassius but also by other Roman aristocrats who fear that Caesar would seriously weaken their powers and privileges if he became king. Brutus is an extremely intellectual man. He will not act impulsively based on feelings but, very much like Hamlet, has to think thoroughly and carefully before undertaking any serious action. He has a strong sense of responsibility. He knows that if he agrees to join Cassius and the others in their plot, then they will move forward because he will have given them the justification they need for their violence. On the other hand, if he decides not to involve himself, the plot may come to nothing. Cassius knows this. That is why he is trying so urgently to persuade Brutus to join him, both by direct personal persuasion and by trickery.

In his soliloquy Brutus tells himself that Caesar intends to be crowned king. He says "He would be crown'd." Brutus is a good friend of Caesar's and knows him better than most people. He is concerned about how Caesar might change if he became the absolute ruler of Rome. Caesar has behaved modestly up to now--almost too much so. But Brutus knows that "lowliness is young ambition's ladder." That is a wise observation. Brutus is thinking that Caesar is only pretending to be humble and modest in order to make an impression on the masses. Brutus strongly suspects that Caesar is wildly ambitious and would become a tyrant if he obtained a monopoly on political, economic and military power.

Brutus decides that Caesar must be stopped because of what he could become if he were made king. Brutus is actually coming to the same conclusion as Cassius, who is much more practical, cunning, and worldly wise than Brutus. The key words in the soliloquy are:

So Caesar may.
Then, lest he may, prevent.

In other words, Caesar may become a tyrant, and he should be killed, not for anything he has done, but to prevent him from doing what he might do if he had the power. If they waited until he actually had that power, it would be too late.

Of course, no one will ever know what Julius Caesar actually would have done if he had lived.

In Julius Caesar, why does the letter convince Brutus to join the conspirators?

Brutus found the letter Cassius had Cinna leave for him, and assumed the people of Rome were pleading with him to act against Caesar. The letter convinced him there was popular support for his joining the conspiracy. He pondered it before his guests, the other conspirators, arrived.

'Speak, strike, redress!' Am I entreated
To speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise:
If the redress will follow, thou receivest
Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus! (Act II, Scene 1)

Brutus cared deeply about public opinion and his reputation. This was why he was easily persuaded to join the conspiracy. Cassius arranging the letters just made it easier for him to believe he was important, and people were talking about him as a leader. Brutus already had an exaggerated idea of his own importance. The letter played on that idea and convinced him to take the plunge.

Once Brutus joins the conspiracy, he does so at full-tilt. He takes complete control, not allowing Cassius any say in how things happen and not taking any advice from him. Brutus is convinced he is the one the people want, and he knows best.

What reason does Brutus give in his soliloquy for killing Caesar in Julius Caesar?

Brutus thinks that once Caesar is given power, he will become corrupt.  To prevent him from bringing harm to Rome, Brutus is wrestling with the idea that he should kill him.

Brutus actually has no specific evidence to think that Caesar will become a bad ruler.  He says,

"...for my part I know no personal cause to spurn at him" (II,i,11-12),

yet speaking generally, he is afraid that power

"...might change his nature, there's the question" (II,i,13).

Brutus believes that if Caesar is crowned, that will put in his hands the capability

"That at his will he may do danger with...Th' abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power...And to speak truth of Caesar, I have not known when his affections swayed more than his reason" (II,i,16-21).

Because of Caesar's personality, and in particular his tendency to be completely unemotional while relying solely on reason, Brutus feels that there is a great possiblity that he will let power go to his head and do damage to Rome.  Remembering situations where those who have climbed the ladder of ambition have turned their backs on their more noble inclinations once they have achieved their lofty positions, Brutus reflects,

"So Caesar may.  Then, lest he may, prevent" (II,i,27-28).

To protect Rome from what Caesar might do once he is in power, Brutus resolves to kill him, like "a serpent's egg" (II,i,32) while still "in the shell" (II,i,34).

What reason does Brutus give in his soliloquy for killing Caesar in Julius Caesar?

Well, ominously, he starts without giving any reasons, but with a firm conclusion:

It must be by his death

The rest of the speech then works to justify that conclusion - that Caesar's death is the only way to solve the problem in hand. But here's Brutus' argument:

He would be crown'd:
How that might change his nature, there's the question.

Caesar wants the crown. And that might change the way he behaves.

... 'tis a common proof
That lowliness is young ambition's ladder,
Whereto the climber-upward turns his face;
But when he once attains the upmost round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend. So Caesar may;
Then, lest he may, prevent.

Humbleness and lowliness is like a ladder, which "Ambition" climbs up. When ambition has got what it wants (and got to the top of the ladder), it forgets how it got there, and, rather than look at the ladder, it looks into the clouds. And Ambition "scorns" the way it got where it's got. Caesar could do the same. And therefore, prevent that happening.

...think him as a serpent's egg
Which hatch'd would as his kind grow mischievous,
And kill him in the shell.

Caesar, therefore, is not dangerous at the moment. But he's like a serpent's egg: one day he will become dangerous, because that's what serpents all are. So better to kill Caesar now before he becomes a full-grown danger.

I don't think it's the world's best argument. But I hope it helps!

In Julius Caesar, how does Brutus begin to justify joining the conspiracy against Caesar?

Accessteacher is correct, it is in Act II, scene i that Brutus makes his final decision to join the conspirators.  However, it is in his meeting with Cassius in Act I, scene ii that he begins to justify the action of murdering Caesar.

He hints at his own worries over the potential crowning of Caesar around line 40:

...Vexed I am

Of late with passions of some difference...

Which give some soil perhaps to my behaviours.

And then, when the crowd cheers offstage:

What means this shouting?  I do fear the people

Choose Caesar for their king.

And it is the becoming King in the Roman Republic that Brutus will not tolerate.  His justification for killing Caesar is already forming.  He says to Cassius:

Set honor in one eye and death i' the other

And I will look on both indifferently.

For let the gods so speed me as I love

The name of honor more than I fear death.

So, he is willing to commit treason for the honor of holding up the true government of the Republic against tyranny, against a king.

And so he leaves Cassius, who now holds the firm hope that Brutus will join him in murdering Caesar for the good of Rome.  When we next see Brutus in Act II, he has made his decision, the decision that he has alluded to in Act I.

In Julius Caesar, how does Brutus begin to justify joining the conspiracy against Caesar?

You have asked a question that goes to the heart of one of the themes of the play - the power of rhetoric and manipulation. The speech you want to examine very closely is Brutus' soliloquy in Act II scene 1, where Brutus tries to persuade himself into being involved in the conspiracy. If you were directing this play yourself, you need to think about whether Brutus is actually getting involved for the noble motives he possesses, or whether this speech is actually ironic: in talking about the danger of ambition and how this will probably lead Caesar to become despotic, Brutus is blind to his own ambition and how the same dangers await him.

Brutus starts off my saying there is no personal reason for him to kill Caesar:

It must be by his death; and for my part,

I know no personal cause to spurn at him,

But for the general.

The general good can be the only motive for assassinating Caesar, Brutus assures himself, before moving on to the crux of the issue:

He would be crowned.

How that might change his nature, there's the question.

It is the bright day that brings forth the adder,

And that craves wary walking. Crown him that,

And then I grant we put a sting in him

That at his will he may do danger with.

Note here how Brutus uses a metaphor of an adder to compare what might happen to Caesar if he is crowned. Crowning Caesar would give him more power, giving him a "sting" that he could do serious damage with to democracy.

Although Brutus acknowledges that Caesar has shown himself to be worthy of the power he has received up to now, Brutus falls back on aphorisms and "common proof" to persuade him of the danger were Caesar's power to grow bigger:

But 'tis a common proof

That lowliness is young ambition's ladder,

Whereto the climber upward turns his face;

But when he once attains the upmost round,

He then unto the ladder turns his back,

Looks in teh clouds, scorning the base degrees

By which he did ascend. So Caesar may;

Brutus thus uses such "common proof" to persuade him of the danger, though the use of words such as "may" of course perhaps makes us think that Brutus' conclusion is by no means certain, thus suggesting that other motives come into play that perhaps Brutus is blind to, such as his own ambition and envy of Caesar. Either way, by the end of the speech, Brutus has convinced himself:

And therefore think him as a serpent's egg

Which hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous,

And kill him in the shell.

Brutus and his conspirators must "kill" Caesar now before he "hatches" into the serpent that, according to Brutus, he will obviously become due to the amount of power he is gaining. His choice is made and Brutus has chosen his destiny.

Why do the conspirators want Brutus to join them?

When the play opens, it is only Cassius who shows how much he wants Brutus to become a part of the conspiracy he is trying to organize. Without Cassius there might never have been a conspiracy. He knows how to do such things, and Brutus doesn't. Cassius needs Brutus because he knows that he is not popular with either the common people or the patricians. He is not liked because of his character and personality. He is a miser. He is selfish and greedy. He has a violent temper and uses it to intimidate people and to get his way. He is privately thinking that he can be the real power in the conspiracy and use the mild-mannered, scholarly Brutus as a figurehead. But it doesn't work out that way. Once Brutus decides to become involved, he takes command and hardly listens to Cassius' advice.

Cassius thinks they should kill Mark Antony along with Caesar, but Brutus is too noble and too trusting to agree. Then Cassius is horrified when Brutus permits Antony to speak at Caesar's funeral, but Brutus overrules him. Before the Battle at Philippi, Cassius and Brutus have a violent argument in which Cassius threatens to kill Brutus. But Brutus is immune to the kind of scare tactics Cassius uses successfully on other people. After the quarrel ends, Brutus has obviously asserted his dominance, and Cassius just has to go along with him.

The other members of the conspiracy show their respect for Brutus, but they are not instrumental in recruiting him to their cause. It must have been Cassius who recruited them by telling them that Brutus had agreed to lend his name to their cause. They are all glad to have Brutus as their leader because of his distinguished reputation as well as because he is a descendant of the Brutus who drove the Tarquins out of Rome and established the republic. They are all apprehensive about how the masses will react after they assassinate Caesar, because Caesar has made himself so popular with the lower classes. They fear that what could happen is exactly what does happen after Antony delivers his powerful funeral oration. There is mass rioting. Brutus and Cassius have to flee from Rome, along with the conspirators who are still alive.

Brutus is partially persuaded to join the conspiracy because he thinks there are many Romans beseeching him to do so. Actually, the cunning Cassius tricks him. After the two men separate at the end of Act I, Scene 2, Cassius says to himself:

I will this night,
In several hands, in at his windows throw,
As if they came from several citizens,
Writings, all tending to the great opinion
That Rome holds of his name, wherein obscurely
Caesar's ambition shall be glanced at.
And after this let Caesar seat him sure;
For we will shake him, or worse days endure.

Brutus is made to believe that there are many important citizens who want him to lead a conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar. Actually, most of them are elated after the fact. Cassius is a "user." He manipulates Brutus into joining his purely theoretical conspiracy by making Brutus think it is much bigger than it is, and then he recruits others into the conspiracy by showing them that Brutus is the leader. If Cassius is not a villain, he comes very close to meriting that title.

How does Cassius in Julius Caesar use language to persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy and what does it reveal about his feelings towards Caesar?

I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus

As well as I do know your outward favour. ...

So get the start of the majestic world

And bear the palm alone. (Act 1, Scene 2)

With these words, Cassius is clearly trying to recruit Brutus into the conspiracy, which is already underway, to assassinate Julius Caesar. He does this by playing to Brutus's sense of honor and virtue while disparaging Caesar. In this passage, Cassius implies that the Roman nobility is being desecrated by the elevation of Caesar.

Cassius wonders aloud if the public would be so eager to give acclaim to Caesar if they knew that he is a sickly, vulnerable, and ordinary man. According to Cassius, there is nothing so special about Caesar. In fact, Caesar would have drowned one time if Cassius had not saved him. He goes on to describe other ailments that have afflicted Caesar. This passage reveals that Cassius thinks that Caesar is nobody special. In fact, he believes the dictator to be weak and unworthy of the respect he has garnered among the people of Rome.

It also shows that Cassius will say anything to achieve his personal and political goals. He is savvy and manipulative. He knows just how to play to Brutus's sense of pride by saying what needs to be said, whether he believes his own words or not. However, his resentment of Caesar seems to be genuine.

Throughout this conversation, Cassius plays to Brutus's sense of pride by implying that it would be more proper if the Roman populace held him in high esteem, seeing that Brutus comes from a long and virtuous line of the Roman nobility.

What reasons does Brutus give for joining the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare?

Caesar had a high regard for Brutus's reputation for honesty and for his scholarship. Cassius despised Caesar and began to plot against him. Brutus took a great deal of convincing, but he eventually agreed to become a leader of the conspiracy, and it was in fact Brutus who gave a speech to the people immediately after Caesar was killed.

In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Cassius believes that he must have Brutus as a member of the conspirators.  Brutus had a reputation of honesty and persuasive skills that Cassius knew would be needed one the assassination took place. In addition, Brutus was known for his logical, reasoning and strong oratorical skills. 

Cassius believes that he must have Brutus as a member of the conspirators.  Brutus had a reputation of honesty and persuasive skills that Cassius knew would be needed one the assassination took place. In addition, Brutus was known for his logical, reasoning and strong oratorical skills. 

In Act II, Scene I, Brutus is at war with himself.  He does not know what he should do.  In the past, he has been close to Caesar.  Now, he fears the power that Caesar will be given by the senate to him one the Ides of March. 

Brutus speaks in a soliloquy trying to establish what he believes. He knows that later in the morning Cassius will be there to again try to enlist him to join the conspiracy. 

The first issue that Brutus raises is that he has decided that Caesar has to die. On the other hand, he has nothing against him personally.  His death is necessary for the good of the people.  He wants to be crowned the king of Rome.  Brutus wonders how that would change Caesar.

Using the image of a serpent or deadly venomous snake, a person must be careful when around one.  If Caesar is crowned, would he become like the snake and have a sting that would endanger the good of Rome.

Crown him? That; And then, I grant, we put a sting in him 
That at his will he may do danger with. 
The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins
Remorse from power...

When men become powerful, often they lose they common touch; however, Brutus has never seen Caesar show anything but love for the people of Rome. 

Another analogy by Brutus compares Caesar to someone who is climbing the ladder of success.  The ambitious person who is going up the ladder keeps his eye on the goal; yet, when he achieves the highest level, the person often forget those who helped and only focuses on his own achievements.  Caesar may do this, so he needs to be eliminated. 

Referring again to the serpent analogy, Brutus extended the argument. 

Think of Caesar as a serpent egg.  In the nest, it is just an egg.  If the snake hatches, then it becomes deadly and could be harmful.  The best thing to do is to kill the snake while it is still in the egg and avoid the possibility of its sting; so that is what the Romans should do with Caesar.  Kill him before he misuses his power.

Brutus further explains that he has not slept since Cassius first asked him to listen to his opinions about Caesar.  He has been haunted by what he should do.

When Cassius and the other conspirators come to speak to him, Brutus immediately becomes a part of the conspiracy.  The beginning of the end of normalcy for Rome and its citizens has begun. 

How does Cassius, in Julius Caesar, use language and logic to persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy, and what does this reveal about his character and feelings?

Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world / Like a Colossus. ... / Th' eternal devil to keep his state in Rome / As easily as a king. (act 1, scene 2)

In act 1, scene 2, of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Cassius is trying to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy against Caesar, and he uses all of his powers of persuasion to do so, showing us how much of a grudge he holds against Caesar and how persistent he can be. Let's explore this in more detail.

Brutus and Cassius are standing where they can hear the people cheering for Caesar, and neither of them likes it too well. Cassius declares that he and Brutus have been "born free" just like Caesar. In fact, Cassius claims that they are both stronger and fitter than Caesar physically. Cassius once had to save Caesar from drowning, and he also tells Brutus about how much Caesar whines when he is sick, just like a little girl.

This speech sets the scene for Cassius's primary argument. This weak man, Caesar, he says, wants to stand like a Colossus, like a powerful giant, across the whole world with everyone else peeping out from behind his legs until they find themselves in "dishonourable graves." Cassius uses some vivid imagery here to show what he thinks Caesar wants.

Cassius then goes on to say that if he and Brutus allow such a thing, it is their own fault. It is not fate. They are not born to be "underlings." In fact, they are just as noble as Caesar is. Brutus's name is just as powerful. Cassius asks a rhetorical question about what meat Caesar is eating to have grown so great. He is being sarcastic, of course, for Caesar is not that great according to him.

In fact, Rome ought to be ashamed to hold up one man so high. Rome has room for plenty of noble men. It does not need a king. In fact, Brutus's own ancestor once stepped up to stop Rome from having a king. Cassius implies that the Brutus standing before him ought to do the same.

We can see here that Cassius is an excellent speaker, creative, persistent, and logical. He clearly disdains Caesar and thinks him to be unworthy of the kingship. Rome does not need a king and should not have one. It is better as it is: a republic with room for honor for many, including Cassius and Brutus.

What are the strategies that Cassius uses to persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare?

In 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was going to be named dictator for life.  Marc Antony offered the crown to Caesar, and he refused it three times.  However, Caesar does have a lust for power.  He knows that the authority that he desires must come from the Roman senate. 

William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar begins on February 15, 44 B.C. It is the Feast of the Lupercal. The setting is a public place.   Act I, Scene ii, introduces the conspiracy plot to assassinate Caesar.  Cassius, a Roman general and senator, has begun a plot to kill Caesar.  Cassius sees Brutus standing off not taking part in the festivities.  He knows that Brutus needs to join the conspiracy because of his popularity and close association with Caesar.

Cassius needs to have Brutus as part of his plan to put Caesar to death.  He goes to Brutus and asks him what is wrong.  Brutus tells him that his problem is that he is at war with himself.  Cassius says that everyone in Rome acknowledges Brutus as a great man with the exception of Caesar.

Brutus asks Cassius: “Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius…”

Cassius defends he reasons for not wanting to live under the rule of Caesar. He would rather be dead than to live under the domination of Caesar. He was born the same as Caesar. Why is Caesar given so much power?

Cassius offers several anecdotes which demonstrate his disdain for Caesar. He further tries to show that there is no reason that Caesar should be the only man to rule Rome. 

What main points does Cassius make to persuade Brutus to join the plot in Julius Caesar?

In Act I, scene ii of the play, the two friends Cassius and Brutus discuss Caesar, who has grown to be the most powerful man in Rome. Cassius does most of the talking as he seeks to convince Brutus to join a conspiracy against Caesar. Cassius wants to curtail Caesar’s power, and indeed, to dispose of him altogether.

Cassius begins by pointing out the injustice of the situation, that Caesar, who started on the same level as himself and Brutus –‘I was born as free as Caesar, so were you’ (I.ii.97) – has forged so far ahead. Cassius goes on to paint an unflattering picture of Caesar as being weak and incapable, recalling a day when he had to save him from drowning. Cassius deliberately plays up his own image here, comparing himself to ‘Aeneas’  (I.ii.112), the illustrious ancestor of Rome,  bearing ‘the tired Caesar’ (I.ii.115) from the water, and marvels at the fact that such a weak man has gone on to wholly surpass his rescuer.

Cassius further emphasises Caesar’s weaknesses by referring to his epileptic fits, when he would turn pale ‘as a sick girl’ (I.ii.128). Clearly, Cassius deeply resents having to serve under a man whom he feels is actually inferior to himself.

Cassius is therefore motivated by personal envy of Caesar, but he also cites political reasons for taking measures against him. He points out that Rome is a republic, where no one man should be able to exert so much influence, and rails against the inaction of the general public:

Age, thou art shamed!

Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!

When went there by an age, since the great flood,

But it was famed with more than with one man?

When could they say till now, that talk'd of Rome,

That her wide walls encompass'd but one man? (I.ii.149-154)

It is this latter appeal that will touch Brutus, who is renowned for his political idealism. Brutus is moved to act against Caesar, a personal friend, solely due to political reasons. He is already feeling uneasy about Caesar’s rise; Cassius knows this, and exploits the situation.

 Brutus is aware, at least to some extent, that Cassius is manipulating him: ‘what you would work me to, I have some aim’ (I.ii.161), but allows himself to be persuaded because his desire to safeguard Rome against the possibility of one man’s dictatorship ultimately overrides all other concerns.  Cassius, on his side, is very anxious to have Brutus as part of the conspiracy against Caesar, as Brutus’s good name in Rome will make the conspiracy appear more acceptable.

In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, what is Cassius planning to do to persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy against Caesar?

Cassius is planning to write a petition with signatures from discontented or dissatisfied citizens in reference to Caesar becoming too ambitious. Cassius fabricates a petition. He pretends that the petition is the voice of angry citizens desiring or insisting that Caesar be removed from power.

Cassius sends the petition by Cinna:

Don’t worry. Good Cinna, take this paper,
And see that you lay it on the praetor's chair,
Where Brutus may find it, and throw this
In at his window. Seal this up with wax
On old Brutus' statue.

Cassius writes the petition and signs false signatures. He leaves the petition where Brutus can find it. By doing this, Brutus feels confirmed in his feeling that Caesar is or has become too ambitious. Brutus is concerned with the welfare of Rome, and Cassius knows Brutus will give the citizens of Rome what they desire.

Caesar is right to be aware of Cassius' "lean and hungry look.". Cassius is quite dangerous to Caesar's safety, and he will do anything to convince Brutus to become one of the conspirators.