13. Why would Antony refer to Brutus as “the noblest Roman of the all”?

Julius Caesar Act 5, scene 5, 68–72

The noblest Roman of them all, according to Marc Antony, was Brutus—one of Caesar's assassins, and now a corpse at Antony's feet. The note of regret here is ironic, to say the least, because Antony raised the army which has destroyed Brutus.

Yet Antony now comes to praise Brutus, not to bury him. Of all the conspirators, only Brutus thought of the "common good," and had honest intentions toward the general populace [see THE SERPENT'S EGG]. The rest merely envied Caesar's greatness; Brutus thought it a real threat to the Republic.

Antony's words once again reveal his penchant for superlatives. "The noblest Roman of them all" directly echoes "The most unkindest cut of all" [see p. 173]. In effect, he paints Brutus, at different times, both as a superlative villain and as a superlative Roman. In both cases, Antony is supremely aware of the rhetorical necessities of the situation.