Question

read the excerpt from julius caesar, act 2, scene 1. decius. shall no man else be touched, but only caesar? cassius. decius, well urged. i think it is not meet mark antony, so well beloved of caesar, should outlive caesar. we shall find of him a shrewd contriver. and you know his means, if he improve them, may well stretch so far as to annoy us all; which to prevent, let antony and caesar fall together. brutus. our course will seem too bloody, caius cassius, to cut the head off and then hack the limbs, like wrath in death and envy afterwards— for antony is but a limb of caesar. let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, caius. we all stand up against the spirit of caesar, which conclusion does brutus’ excerpt best support? mark antony’s life will be spared because he will be useless without caesar. mark antony should also be assassinated because he and caesar are so close. all of caesar’s followers should be put to death, not just mark antony. no matter whom brutus and the others kill, the people will see brutus and the others as murderers.

Explanation:

Brutus argues that killing Mark Antony along with Caesar would make their group seem like butchers, not just sacrificers targeting Caesar. He compares Antony to a "limb of Caesar," claiming Antony will be powerless and irrelevant without Caesar, so there is no need to kill him.

Answer:

Mark Antony's life will be spared because he will be useless without Caesar.