Quote 1
BRUTUS
What means this shouting? I do fear the people
Choose Caesar for their king.
CASSIUS
Ay, do you fear it?
Then must I think you would not have it so.
BRUTUS
I would not, Cassius, yet I love him well. (1.2.85-89)
This passage is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, even though Brutus says he "love[s]" Caesar "well," he says he also fears that his friend will be crowned king, which goes against the ideals of the Roman Republic. Second, even though Brutus, Cassius, and the fellow conspirators want to eliminate Caesar's threat, it's obvious that the commoners, or plebeians, adore Caesar. When Caesar returns from defeating Pompey's sons in the first act, he's met with a huge celebration and is treated like a rock star.
Quote 2
BRUTUS
He would be crowned:
How that might change his nature, there's the
question.
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder,
[...]
And therefore think him as a serpent's egg
Which, hatched, would, as his kind, grow
mischievous,
And kill him in the shell. (2.1.12-15; 33-36)
Here Brutus compares Caesar to a "serpent's egg" that should be destroyed before it hatches and becomes dangerous. This suggests that the conspirators see in Caesar a <em>future</em> threat to Rome. They're afraid of Caesar not because he <em>is</em> a tyrant, but because he <em>might become</em> one if he is crowned king.
Quote 3
BRUTUS
Stoop, Romans, stoop,
And let us bathe our hands in Caesar's blood
Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords.
Then walk we forth, even to the marketplace,
And, waving our red weapons o'er our heads,
Let's all cry "Peace, freedom, and liberty!" (3.1.117-122)
After the conspirators stab Caesar to death, they decide it would be a good idea to wash their hands in his blood, then run through the marketplace announcing that they have liberated Rome from bondage. Good thinking – now everyone will know that Rome is safe from danger...right?