“Th' abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.” – Brutus (II; i;18-19). This quote, in my understanding, means when a ruler takes their power for granted, the greatness of their visions vanishes into corrupted dust. It showed the toxic effect of power, which even the greatest individuals cannot resist. 

This quote is extremely significant to the play because the idea of power corrupted greatness, and the distrust of human nature behind it is what finally led to Caesar’s death. This quote refers to two essential words in Julius Caesar: power and greatness. Shakespeare connected them by showing power can easily devour a man’s greatness. Brutus believed that if a man had the power of a dictator, even the noblest man like Caesar would become a tyrant. Brutus’s pessimistic belief in human nature caused him to join the conspirators. The fear of Rome under a tyrant acted as the incentive or justification for his assassination. Overwhelmed by Rome’s love and increasing pride, Caesar refused the crown slower and slower each time. Eventually, he forgot to question his legitimacy of being a king in a republic. Intoxicated by power, Caesar became arrogant and prideful. He lost his alert, and even a slight provocation to his pride can easily cause him to fall into the conspirators’ trap. Before Caesar can feel remorse about what it takes to be a king, his arrogance has already caused his death, and his greatness is abused. After the conspirators gained Caesar’s power, they also violated their intention. They became acting like tyrants and killed many civilians. They lost their respect for power, and their vision of a republic Rome vanished into corrupted dust. The conspirators’ stories were ironic because their great intentions were devoured by power, and they fell into the curse of power like Caesar.

Examples in real life also reenforced what Shakespeare implies about power by revealing that greatness always falls for the temptation of power, then it is misused for people’s greed. In 1917 Russia, a group of aspiring people led the Bolshevik Revolution. They overthrew the imperial government and turned Russia into a socialist government. One of the prominent leaders was Joseph Stalin. He sincerely believed in communist ideology and had a great vision of Russia where there are no class divisions and people live in unity and equality. After the death of Lenin, Stalin succeeded and got the taste of power. His greatness was soon used for his desire to maintain control. When some members began to question Stalin’s authority, he started The Great Purge, a brutal political campaign that got rid of any members of the Communist Party that he considered a threat. The Great Purge led to the execution of at least 750000 people, and it was a reign of terror where people were constantly suspicious of each other. It’s also said that the Great Purge eliminated so many people to a point where when WWII started, Stalin had to recruit generals from prison. The situation of the Soviet people during The Great Purge clearly showed that Stalin lost his remorse for power, lost his compassion, and forgot his intentions. Back when Stalin rebelled in1917, he had the intention to overthrow the social hierarchy.

Ironically, after the Revolution, Stalin in the 1930s became the new hierarchy with a dictator power. When the demon slayer becomes the demon itself, the revolutionary becomes the new dictator; greatness is undoubtedly abused. Stalin, just like Caesar and the conspirators, used his greatness for power, and the great vision that he had for Russia all sunk in red during the purge. 

It seems like an abuse of greatness is inevitable when greatness joins with power since Stalin, Caesar, and the conspirators fall into this same curse. However, history also showed that not all greatness was misused when power joined in. George Washington is a perfect example to show that if a ruler keeps his remorse to power, his greatness will not be abused. George Washington was the first president of the United States. In 1782, he rejected the offer to become the king by replying, “I did not defeat King George III to become King George I.” This quote revealed that no matter
how much power he had, Washington never stopped reflecting and questioning himself. He never forgot his original intentions and had always remembered his remorse for power when it was poorly used. Washington’s firm determination against the temptation of power kept his greatness from corrupting, and the maintenance of his greatness set a solid foundation for United States’ democracy. 

Based on the following examples, we can conclude that Shakespeare was
generally right. When a ruler gets numbed with the negative side of power, corruption and cruelty will take greatness’s place. However, I believe that different types of regimes may cause huge differences in outcome. In a democratic government where power is split and placed separately, it’s hard for leaders to abuse their power since numerous institutions are restricting them. In contrast, in an autocratic regime, leaders don’t have those institutions that limit them. In this condition, using power wisely
requires a leader’s understanding of the negative side of power and remembering to remorse for it. Maintaining greatness is challenging in an authoritarian regime because this requires resistance to the temptation of power. Authoritarian rulers are never the same thing as dictatorships; people always connect them because almost every ruler can not help themselves but waste their greatness for the sole occupation of absolute power.