[BRUTUS.] Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins

Question

Remorse from power. And to speak truth of Caesar,
I have not known when his affections swayed
More than his reason. But 'tis a common proof
That lowliness is young ambition’s ladder,
Whereto the climber-upward turns his face;
But when he once attains the upmost round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend. So Caesar may.
Then lest he may, prevent. And since the quarrel
Will bear no colour for the thing he is,
Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented,
Would run to these and these extremities;
And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg
Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous,
And kill him in the shell.

Which quotations support the central idea that Brutus thinks Caesar is dangerous and needs to be killed before he becomes even more dangerous? Select three options.

“Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented, / Would run to these and these extremities;”
“But 'tis a common proof / That lowliness is young ambition’s ladder”
“Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins / Remorse from power.”
“And since the quarrel / Will bear no colour for the thing he is”
“And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg / Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous, / And kill him in the shell.”

Answer 1

The three quotations that support the central idea that Brutus thinks Caesar is dangerous and needs to be killed before he becomes even more dangerous are:

1. “Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented, / Would run to these and these extremities;”
2. “Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins / Remorse from power.”
3. “And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg / Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous, / And kill him in the shell.”

These quotations express Brutus's belief that if Caesar continues to gain power, he may become a threat, and he uses the metaphor of a serpent's egg to illustrate the need to eliminate the danger before it fully develops.