Julius Caesar: Act 5, scene 4

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Summary Analysis Themes

During the resumed battle, Brutus passes by with Messala and Flavius, leaving Lucillius and Young Cato on stage. Enemy soldiers enter and fight with them. Cato is killed, but Lucillius pretends to be Brutus and is taken prisoner. Antony enters, and recognizes Lucillius, who says that Brutus will never be captured alive. Antony spares Lucillius’s life in the hopes that he will become an ally, and sends men to seek Brutus.

Just as Brutus once spared Antony, Antony now spares Lucillius. But while Brutus spared Antony because he mistook him for being as noble as Brutus himself, Antony spares Lucillius for pragmatic reasons: he thinks he can turn Lucillius into an ally and in that way gain more power.