Quote 4
ANTONY
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,
And sure he is an honorable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause.
What cause withholds you then to mourn for
him?—
O judgement, thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason!—Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me. [He weeps.] (3.2.107-117)
Antony doesn't suggest the people adopt his judgments; instead he masterfully suggests they think back on their own past judgments. It's not just that Antony loved Caesar, but that the people did too. This is a masterful rhetorical move: Antony gets the crowd to come to the conclusion he wants them to without their realizing it. Now if they go against what they used to believe, they'd seem fickle, which nobody likes. Antony even gives them the time they'd need to reflect on their past beliefs and come to his conclusion.
Quote 5
ANTONY
Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it.
It is not meet you know how Caesar loved you.
You are not wood, you are not stones, but men.
And, being men, hearing the will of Caesar,
It will inflame you; it will make you mad.
'Tis good you know not that you are his heirs,
For if you should, O, what would come of it? (3.2.152-158)
This is the point at which Antony begins using some really questionable methods of rhetoric (the art of persuasion). It's obvious to the reader that Antony wants a disastrous outcome, and he's inviting it by playing on the public's own willingness to be taunted and deceived by this game of peek-a-boo with a dead man's will. For shame.
Quote 6
ANTONY
Here is the will, and under Caesar's seal:
To every Roman citizen he gives,
To every several man, seventy-five drachmas.
SECOND PLEBEIAN
Most noble Caesar! We'll revenge his death.
THIRD PLEBIAN
O royal Caesar!
ANTONY
Hear me with patience.
PLEBEIANS
Peace, ho!
ANTONY
Moreover, he hath left you all his walks,
His private arbors, and new-planted orchards,
On this side Tiber. He hath left them you,
And to your heirs forever—common pleasures
To walk abroad and recreate yourselves.
Here was a Caesar! When comes such another?
FIRST PLEBEIAN
Never, never!—Come, away, away!
We'll burn his body in the holy place
And with the brands fire the traitors' houses.
Take up the body. (3.2.254-270)
Something like ten minutes ago, the people swore with Brutus that they loved their freedom as Romans above all else. But Antony, with the promise of two months' wages and some public gardens, convinces the people to riot. They forget all about the tyranny Brutus just warned them of.