Question

read the passage. then answer the question that follows.

brutus. o antony, beg not your death of us!
though now we must appear bloody and cruel,
as by our hands and this our present act
you see we do, yet see you but our hands,
and this the bleeding business they have done.
our hearts you see not; they are pitiful;
and pity to the general wrong of rome-
as fire drives out fire, so pity pity-
hath done this deed on caesar. for your part,
to you our swords have leaden points, mark
antony.

-the tragedy of julius caesar,
william shakespeare

which line supports the central idea that antony does not understand the conspirators motives?

\antony, beg not your death of us!\
\you see we do, yet see you but our hands, and this the bleeding business they have done.\
\our hearts you see not; they are pitiful; and pity to the general wrong of rome\
\to you our swords have leaden points, mark antony.\

Explanation:

Identify the central idea

The question asks for the line that supports the central idea that Antony does not understand the conspirators' motives. The conspirators, led by Brutus, claim they killed Caesar out of pity for Rome's general welfare, not out of malice or cruelty.

Analyze the passage

In this excerpt from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Brutus addresses Antony:

• "O Antony, beg not your death of us!" shows Brutus telling Antony he is safe.
• "You see we do, yet see you but our hands, / And this the bleeding business they have done. / Our hearts you see not; they are pitiful;"

Here, Brutus directly addresses Antony's perception. Antony only sees their bloody hands ("the bleeding business"), but he cannot see their hearts, which are actually filled with pity ("pitiful") for Rome. This contrast directly supports the idea that Antony only perceives the violent act itself and does not comprehend the inner, supposedly noble motives (pity) driving the conspirators.

Evaluate the options

• "Antony, beg not your death of us!": This is a reassurance of safety, not an explanation of misunderstood motives.
• "You see we do, yet see you but our hands, And this the bleeding business they have done.": This line explicitly states that Antony only sees their physical actions ("our hands" and "the bleeding business") rather than their internal motivations. This directly supports the central idea that Antony does not understand their true motives.
• "Our hearts you see not; they are pitiful; And pity to the general wrong of Rome": While this explains their actual motive (pity), the previous line is the one that directly establishes what Antony fails to see/understand (he only sees the hands, not the hearts).
• "To you our swords have leaden points, Mark Antony.": This is a metaphor showing they have no intention of harming Antony, which does not address his misunderstanding of their motives for killing Caesar.

Using Central Idea Identification and Textual Evidence Analysis, we confirm that the second option is the correct choice.

Answer:

• "Antony, beg not your death of us!"
• "You see we do, yet see you but our hands, And this the bleeding business they have done." (Correct answer)
• "Our hearts you see not; they are pitiful; And pity to the general wrong of Rome"
• "To you our swords have leaden points, Mark Antony."