Et Tu, Brute?

Literary Devices ^ | ? | Lierary Devices

[DallasBiff]

Origin of Et Tu, Brute

“Et Tu, Brute?” are perhaps the most popular three words ever written, uttered in literature, and then quoted in different contexts. This phrase also comes from the genius of Shakespeare. It occurs in his play, Julius Caesar, (Act-III, Scene-I, Lines, 77). Julius Caesar utters this phrase as his last words, addressing his close friend, Brutus, in the play. However, the history does not seem to support this, as it is a widely debated subject among historians and dramatists alike. Like so many other countless phrases, Shakespeare vouchsafed this phrase an everlasting life after using it in his play.

[DallasBiff]

Learned about this time in history, by a teacher back in 6th grade.

There is a corollary between Brutus and Judas.

Have your opinions, and discuss.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Lesser known, but what did Julius Caeser say to his friend when he found a rip in his toga?

"Etui Brute?"

[Liz]

What happened to Brutus after killing Caesar?

The killing of Caesar led to a second civil war, in which Mark Antony and Octavian fought the liberatores led by Brutus and Cassius.

The Caesarians decisively defeated the outnumbered armies of Brutus and Cassius at the two battles at Philippi in October 42.

After the defeat, Brutus took his own life.

[Herodes]

Et Tu, Brute?

Yeah...me too.

[ALPAPilot]

Shakespeare may have gotten that line from Ovid:

Upon waking Ariadne discovers her abandonment by Theseus

Heroides X line 5

in quō mē somnusque meus male prōdidit et tū,

on which (beach) both my sleep and you maliciously betrayed me,

[scrabblehack]

Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars
καὶ σὺ τέκνον

“and you, child.”

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks! Julius Caesar's murder by ancient deep state thugs caused massive unrest in Rome, and the murdering thugs eventually had to flee the city. To this day the place where Caesar was cremated by thousands of mourners still exists, and a search for photos of it will generally show fresh flowers left there.

While it is true that the burial places of famous people of history are generally unknown (or have been repurposed, and the remains long gone), it still doesn't surprise me that none of Caesar's murderers' graves or monuments are known.

[ALPAPilot]

Thanks! Julius Caesar's murder by ancient deep state thugs caused massive unrest in Rome, and the murdering thugs eventually had to flee the city. To this day the place where Caesar was cremated by thousands of mourners still exists, and a search for photos of it will generally show fresh flowers left there.

An interesting take. I know Dante would agree with you as Brutus and Cassius live out eternity it the depths of the Inferno. Lucan I'm sure disagrees and I suspect Ovid does too. But the former was suicided by Nero and the later banished by Augustus.

I'm quite curious about Dante's hero Virgil, he seems more a fan of the Republic than the empire, but I have not read him in a long while.

[SunkenCiv]

Rome as an empire began with the conquest of Ostia.

imho, calling pre-Caesar Roman gov't a republic shouldn't be taken seriously. It was run by leaders of well-to-do households belonging to about 35 families, and they served in the senate when it suited them, not due to any elections or pesky stuff like that.

The supposed end of the so-called republic really just marked the evolved addition of an obviously necessary fulltime permanent chief executive. The emperors received consulships and generally chose their own colleague (consuls were two at a time). Claudius (formally emperor #4) revived the lapsed office of Censor and filled it with himself.

• Ovid: The Poet and the Emperor [08/15/2020]

[SunkenCiv]

I couldn’t find the one I remember, showing Satan forever gnawing Judas, Brutus, and Cassius.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Lucifer_devouring_Cassius,_Brutus_and_Judas