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Home : Julius Caesar : Act 2, scene 1 : page 54 Read the Study Guide: Julius Caesar
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Julius Caesar
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65 Between the acting of a dreadful thing
  And the first motion, all the interim is
  Like a phantasma or a hideous dream.
  The genius and the mortal instruments
  Are then in council, and the state of man,
70 Like to a little kingdom, suffers then
  The nature of an insurrection.
From the time when you decide to do something terrible to the moment you do it, everything feels unreal, like a horrible dream. The unconscious and the body work together and rebel against the conscious mind.
Enter LUCIUS
LUCIUS enters.
 LUCIUS
  Sir, 'tis your brother Cassius at the door,
  Who doth desire to see you.
LUCIUS
Sir, it's your brother-in-law Cassius at the door. He wants to see you.
 BRUTUS
                                  Is he alone?
BRUTUS
Is he alone?
 LUCIUS
  No, sir, there are more with him.
LUCIUS
No, sir. There are others with him.
 BRUTUS
                                          Do you know them?
BRUTUS
Do you know them?
 LUCIUS
75 No, sir. Their hats are plucked about their ears,
  And half their faces buried in their cloaks,
  That by no means I may discover them
  By any mark of favor.
LUCIUS
No, sir, their hats are pulled down over their ears and their faces are half buried under their cloaks, so there's no way to tell who they are.
 BRUTUS
                                  Let 'em enter.
BRUTUS
Let them in.
Exit LUCIUS
LUCIUS exits.
  They are the faction. O conspiracy,
80 Shamest thou to show thy dangerous brow by night
  When evils are most free? O, then by day
  Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough
  To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, conspiracy.
  Hide it in smiles and affability.
It's the faction that wants to kill Caesar. Oh, conspiracy, are you ashamed to show your face even at night, when evil things are most free? If so, when it's day, where are you going to find a cave dark enough to hide your monstrous face? No, don't bother to find a cave, conspiracy. Instead, hide your true face behind smiles and friendliness.

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