LNELecture Notes in Education, Arts, Management and Social ScienceTBA2705-053XWHIOCE PUBLISHING PTE. LTD.10.18063/LNE.v3i11.1459ArticleA Dialogue Between Julius Caesar and Mencius on the Justice of Warhttps://artdesignp.com/journal/LNE/3/11/10.18063/LNE.v3i11.1459MaSimiao20253112025-12-01This article examines Brutus’s assassination of Caesar in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar through the framework of Mencius’ theory of just war. Using the Mencian criteria of motive, means, and consequence, it offers a cross-cultural reassessment of the legitimacy of tyrannicide in the play. The study argues that Caesar does not meet Mencius’ standard of a tyrant, while the violent consequences of the assassination and the reversal of public opinion undermine Brutus’s claim to justice. From the perspective of Mencian ethics, the assassination lacks a foundation in benevolence and therefore cannot be regarded as a just political act.Mencius, Julius Caesar, outcast, benevolence

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