Question

Which piece of evidence best supports the theme that power can corrupt people? "lowliness is young ambition's ladder, / Whereto the climber-upward turns his face" "scorning the base degrees / By which he did ascend" "I have not known when his affections swayed / More than his reason" "the quarrel / Will bear no colour for the thing he is"

Answer 1

Answer:

"Scorning the base degrees / By which he did ascend"

Explanation:

William Shakespeare's tragedy play "Julius Caesar" tells how the title character was murdered for the 'safety of Rome and its people' by people close to him. The conspirators included Brutus and Cassius, who felt that Rome is better off without the over ambitious Caesar.

The lines "Scorning the base/ By which he did ascend" best supports the theme that power can corrupt people. These lines were spoken by Brutus in Act II scene i of the play where he's shown debating between his dilemma of participating and supporting the murder plan of Caesar or not. By these words, he meant to imply that once people are ambitious, they will do anything to get their goal, even humbling themselves. But, once they get their goal, they turned their backs on those who helped them achieve and tries to gain higher ground while despising and scorning those behind his success. This greed blinded him and let him see only things for himself. Thus is the same case for Caesar. Brutus opines that even though Caesar may be a good leader now, but once he gains more power and become king will be bad for Rome. Thus, the decision to kill him.