All 4 Uses of
mettle
in
Julius Caesar
- He was quick mettle when he went to school.
p. 33.1mettle = strength of character
- Thy honorable mettle may be wrought,
From that it is disposed: therefore 'tis meet
That noble minds keep ever with their likes;
For who so firm that cannot be seduced?p. 33.5mettle = strength of charactereditor's notes: Cassius is telling Brutus that honorable people should not mix with dishonorable people who might seduce them into ignoble behavior.
Meet is an archaic synonym of appropriate.
Note that this usage of mettle is recorded as metal in some editions. Metal works as a metaphor to say the same thing. Both mettle and metal can be worked into a different shape.
- do not stain
The even virtue of our enterprise,
Nor th' insuppressive mettle of our spiritsp. 59.5mettle = strength of character
- But hollow men, like horses hot at hand,
Make gallant show and promise of their mettle;
But, when they should endure the bloody spur,
They fall their crests, and, like deceitful jades
Sink in the trial.p. 147.2 *mettle = courage
Definition:
courage or strength of character