Brutus is blithely unaware of the danger that he has allowed to enter the scene. He speaks to the people of Rome in order to make them understand what he has done and why, and with relatively straightforward logic, lays out his rationale before the people and makes them believe that he was right. He describes Caesar's great ambition and suggests to the plebeians that under Caesar's rule they would have been enslaved. Again, the audience is given an understanding of the masses as easily swayed — they do not seem able to form their own opinions but take on the coloration of the most persuasive orator. They are necessary to the successful running of the state, yet they are a dangerous bunch that could turn at any moment. Brutus convinces them of his cause by his use of reason. Even his style is reasonable, here presented in evenhanded prose rather than the rhetorical flourish of Antony's poetry.
Antony is a master of the theatrical. What more dramatic effect could there be than Antony entering the forum bearing the body of the slain leader? No matter what Brutus says, and despite the fact that the crowd is emphatically on his side, from this moment, all eyes are turned to Mark Antony and the corpse he bears. In his trusting naïveté, Brutus leaves the stage to his opponent. What follows is Antony's now-famous "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; / I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him" funeral oration. Antony's rhetorical skill is impressive; he instantly disarms any opposition in the crowd by saying "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him," but quickly follows this with a subtle turn of phrase that suggests Caesar was a good man and that all that was good of him will go to the grave. He has turned his audience's attention from the "evil ambition" of which Brutus spoke.
