`` Among that select band of philosophers who have managed to change the world , '' writes David Sedley , `` it would be hard to find a pair with a higher public profile than Brutus and Cassius â '' brothers-in-law , fellow-assassins , and Shakespearian heroes , '' adding that `` it may not even be widely known that they were philosophers '' . `` Among that select band of philosophers who have managed to change the world , '' writes David Sedley , `` it would be hard to find a pair with a higher public profile than Brutus and Cassius â '' brothers-in-law , fellow-assassins , and Shakespearian heroes , '' adding that `` it may not even be widely known that they were philosophers . ''