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All Site ContentJulius CaesarAct 4Scene 2
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Pluto or Plutus
Allusion
Act 4,
Scene 2
Lines 144-158a

An explanation of the reference to Pluto or Plutus in Act 4, Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Cassius

Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come;
Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius,
For Cassius is aweary of the world,
Hated by one he loves, braved by his brother,
Checked like a bondman, all his faults observed,
Set in a notebook, learned and conned by rote,
To cast into my teeth. O, I could weep
My spirit from mine eyes! There is my dagger,
And here my naked breast; within, a heart
Dearer than Plutus' mine, richer than gold.
If that thou be'st a Roman, take it forth;
I, that denied thee gold, will give my heart.
Strike as thou didst at Caesar; for I know,
When thou didst hate him worst, thou lov'dst him better
Than ever thou lov'dst Cassius.

Shakespeare, like many writers, is combining the attributes of Pluto (also known as Hades), god of the underworld and therefore of mines; and Plutus, the god of wealth.