For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,
Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech,
To stir men’s blood: I only speak right on.

These lines are spoken by Marcus Brutus in Shakespeare’s Roman tragedy *Julius Caesar*. They occur during the funeral scene after Caesar’s assassination, when Brutus addresses the Roman crowd to justify the conspirators’ act as a defense of the republic. Brutus contrasts his plain, reasoned manner of speaking with Mark Antony’s celebrated oratorical skill, implicitly acknowledging that he lacks the theatrical rhetoric that can “stir men’s blood.” The moment is pivotal: Brutus believes rational explanation will secure public approval, but the scene sets up Antony’s subsequent speech, which turns the populace against the conspirators.

Brutus presents himself as an honest, straightforward speaker who relies on logic rather than emotional manipulation. The self-deprecating list—“neither wit, nor words, nor worth… nor the power of speech”—is partly strategic: by disclaiming rhetorical artistry, he frames his argument as sincere and unvarnished truth. Shakespeare also uses the passage to dramatize a central theme of the play: the political power of persuasion. Brutus’s faith in reason and civic virtue proves naïve in a volatile public sphere where eloquence and emotional appeal can override facts, foreshadowing his loss of control over events.