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Julius Caesar never said, “Et tu, Brute?”... And Other Historical Misquotes
History Facts ^ | 09/27/2024

Posted on 09/27/2024 9:35:09 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

A lot of history’s famous quotes are either misattributed or were never spoken in the first place. In addition to the fact that Gandhi never said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” and no one aboard Apollo 13 ever uttered the phrase, “Houston, we have a problem,” Julius Caesar didn’t say, “Et tu, Brute?” (“You too, Brutus?”) as he was stabbed to death by a group of Roman senators that included his supposed bestie. The line comes from Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar and is followed by its protagonist’s last words, “Then fall, Caesar” — as though the betrayal made him lose his will to live more than the stab wounds.

Caesar’s actual last words — or whether he even had the breath to speak any — are unknown. Most ancient scholars, including Roman historians Plutarch and Cassius Dio, believe he said nothing at all, but mention that other sources claim he spoke in Greek: “καὶ σύ, τέκνον,” roughly translating to “You too, my child?” In any case, March 15 — the date of Caesar’s assassination in 44 BCE, better known as the Ides of March — has since become associated with doom and foreboding.

Brutus probably never said, “Sic semper tyrannis.”

There’s another famous quote attributed to Brutus himself, who’s believed to have shouted, “Sic semper tyrannis” — “Thus always to tyrants” — as he stabbed Caesar. There’s just one problem, though, and you can likely guess what it is: There’s no evidence that Brutus said this or anything else while fatally betraying his former friend and ally. The Latin saying has stood the test of time nevertheless; in fact, John Wilkes Booth actually said it after he assassinated Abraham Lincoln. He did so 89 years after Virginia made the phrase its state motto and put it on the state seal.



TOPICS: History; Society
KEYWORDS: epigraphyandlanguage; godsgravesglyphs; juliuscaesar; misquotes; quotations; renaissance; romanempire; shakespeare; williamshakespeare
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1 posted on 09/27/2024 9:35:09 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

“Brutus be so fat, when he sit around da forum, he sit AROUND da forum.” Actual quote.


2 posted on 09/27/2024 9:37:26 AM PDT by Sirius Lee (Trump/Vance 2024 or GFY)
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To: SeekAndFind

3 posted on 09/27/2024 9:38:08 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: SeekAndFind; SunkenCiv

But apparently he did say something to the effect of, “The greatest enemy will hide in the last place you would ever look.”


4 posted on 09/27/2024 9:38:12 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: SeekAndFind

Caesar’s last word was “Ackk!”Was


5 posted on 09/27/2024 9:41:27 AM PDT by Gen.Blather (Wait! I said that out loud? )
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To: SeekAndFind

Too many cats in Springfield?

“Eat two, brute”


6 posted on 09/27/2024 9:42:42 AM PDT by dynachrome (Auslander Raus!)
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To: dynachrome

You win.


7 posted on 09/27/2024 9:44:16 AM PDT by Sirius Lee (Trump/Vance 2024 or GFY)
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To: SeekAndFind

I always cringe a little when words from a movie or play are attributed to the character or the actor spouting them. The quotes should be attributed to the writer (or the real life person who said them.)

In most cases, the “deep” quotes you see on the internet are not accurate. But they sound good.


8 posted on 09/27/2024 9:50:17 AM PDT by Vermont Lt (Don’t vote for anyone over 70 years old. Get rid of the geriatric politicians.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Caesar’s actual last words, “Ow! What the f+++? You a&&holes! ARRGH-uh.”


9 posted on 09/27/2024 9:51:05 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

Or “Come on, really guys!”


10 posted on 09/27/2024 9:52:53 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: SeekAndFind

He did say “you friggin brute” though at his stab fest


11 posted on 09/27/2024 9:55:00 AM PDT by chuckee
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To: SeekAndFind

It’s hard to be all eloquent when you’re being stabbed 23 times.


12 posted on 09/27/2024 9:55:05 AM PDT by Flag_This (They're lying.)
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To: chuckee

“You Brute!..You Brute!...You Vicious Brute!”


13 posted on 09/27/2024 9:56:06 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Socrates: “I drank what?!”


14 posted on 09/27/2024 9:56:48 AM PDT by Flag_This (They're lying.)
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To: Vermont Lt

I find the best source for accurate quotes being the “Deep quotes by Jack Handey”, such as

““Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, you’ll be a mile from them, and you’ll have their shoes.”.”


15 posted on 09/27/2024 9:59:35 AM PDT by Zack Attack (✔)
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To: Flag_This

“Where did all those Indians come from?” - General George Custer.


16 posted on 09/27/2024 10:00:47 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: SeekAndFind

I believe Caesar’s last words were “Ouch! That stings, you a-holes!” Winston Churchill never said that the three traditions of the Royal Navy were rum, buggery, and the lash, either, although he did say he wished he’d thought of it. Pancho Villa covered it nicely with “Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something”, but probably not since you don’t say much after you’ve been shot by a firing squad. History can be boring sometimes.


17 posted on 09/27/2024 10:06:19 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: Vermont Lt

Reminds me of how people think Tina Fay pretending to be Sarah Palin “I can see Russia from my house”


18 posted on 09/27/2024 10:09:20 AM PDT by PvtHudson
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To: SeekAndFind

19 posted on 09/27/2024 10:10:29 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dfwgator

I always preferred Wuthering Heights.


20 posted on 09/27/2024 10:22:02 AM PDT by babaloo999 (Liberals say they're "Progressive". So is cancer.-------------------they're, their, whatever)
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