It is no matter; let no images Be hung with Caesar’s trophies. I’ll about, And drive away the vulgar from the streets: So do you too, where you perceive them thick. These growing feathers pluck’d from Caesar’s wing Will make him fly an ordinary pitch, Who else would soar above the view of men And keep us all in servile fearfulness.
It doesn’t matter; let no statues Be decorated with Caesar’s triumphs. I’ll go ahead, And drive the common people off the streets: You do the same, where you see them thick. Pull these growing feathers from Caesar’s wing, And he’ll be flying at a lower level, When he would otherwise soar above our heads And keep us all in fear and servitude.
Flavius · Act 1, Scene 1
Flavius and Marullus move through the streets of Rome before Caesar's triumph, tearing decorations from statues and dispersing the crowds. The lines reveal their strategy: shrink Caesar's image and power by removing his visible symbols, so he cannot soar above the common people. Flavius believes that controlling what Rome sees will prevent tyranny, but the play will show that symbols matter less than the man himself.
Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home? What tributaries follow him to Rome, To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels? You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things! O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome, Knew you not Pompey? Many a time and oft Have you climb’d up to walls and battlements, To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops, Your infants in your arms, and there have sat The livelong day, with patient expectation, To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome: And when you saw his chariot but appear, Have you not made an universal shout, That Tiber trembled underneath her banks, To hear the replication of your sounds Made in her concave shores? And do you now put on your best attire? And do you now cull out a holiday? And do you now strew flowers in his way That comes in triumph over Pompey’s blood? Be gone! Run to your houses, fall upon your knees, Pray to the gods to intermit the plague That needs must light on this ingratitude.
Why celebrate? What victory has he won? What conquered people are following him to Rome, to honor him by dragging them in chains behind his chariot? You blocks, you stones, you are worse than mindless objects! Oh, you cold-hearted, cruel people of Rome, Don’t you remember Pompey? How many times have you climbed up walls and battlements, To towers and windows, even to the tops of chimneys, Holding your babies in your arms, and sat there All day long, waiting patiently, To watch great Pompey walk through the streets of Rome: And when you saw his chariot appear, Didn’t you all shout so loudly That the Tiber River shook beneath its banks, Hearing your voices echoing back from her shores? And now you dress up in your finest clothes? Now you’re choosing a holiday? Now you’re throwing flowers in his path, The man who triumphs over Pompey’s blood? Go home! Go to your houses, fall on your knees, Pray to the gods to stop the curse That is sure to come because of your ingratitude.
Marullus · Act 1, Scene 1
Marullus shames the Roman people for celebrating Caesar's victory over Pompey, reminding them of how they wept for Pompey not long ago. The speech is unforgettable because it asks a hard question: why do you love the man who defeated your hero, and so quickly forget the last one. It shows how the common people are fickle and how power depends entirely on who wins, not on principle or loyalty.
