Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a play based on a serious of actual events in history, compressed down into three days. Brutus, one of the main characters is made up of an eclectic mix of characteristics and emotions. He is extremely gullible, which leads to his poor judgment and he is too vain and proud for his own good.
             Brutus' gullibility is shown through out Acts I and II. In Act I Scene 2 Cassius flatters him into believing that Caesar is no better than he is. He speaks of Brutus' worthiness and the high respect that the Romans hold for him. He points out Brutus' honorable qualities for him too see. Cassius states " 'Brutus' will start a spirit as soon as 'Caesar'" to Brutus in the middle of one of his speeches about how Caesar is no better than any of them. He is saying that Brutus will start a prayer just as soon as Caesar, that he can do the same thing just as well as Caesar can. Brutus succumbs to Cassius' manipulation and believes that Caesar is not a good King and should be killed. He also falls for Cassius' forged letters on his windowsill that are hinting that the people hate Caesar and want a suitable king like Brutus. Brutus' vanity and pride in being one of the ancestors of the man that conquered the Tarquin King leads him to believe that if he vanquishes Caesar he will be forever honored as one of the great heroes of Rome. This pushes Brutus to eventually say that he also had thought the same thing and would want to discuss it more thoroughly at another time. Brutus' own wife uses flattery to manipulate him into telling her what she wanted to know. She appealed to his own sense of honor by questioning whether he is being honest to her by keeping secrets from her. Brutus responds to this with "True and honorable wife, as dear to me as are the ruddy drops that visit my sad heart." He then promises to tell her as soon as he can.
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