Edmond Malone claimed that it appeared in a work that has since been lost- Richard Edes's Latin play Caesar Interfectus of 1582. Ĭaesar saying Et tu, Brute? in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar (1599) was not the first time the phrase was used in a dramatic play. Suetonius mentions the quote merely as a rumor, as does Plutarch who also reports that Caesar said nothing, but merely pulled his toga over his head when he saw Brutus among the conspirators. Caesar initially resisted his attackers, but when he saw Brutus, he reportedly responded as he died. On March 15 (the Ides of March), 44 BC, the historic Caesar was attacked by a group of senators, including Brutus, who was Caesar's friend and protégé. The name Brutus, a second declension masculine noun, appears in the phrase in the vocative case, and so the -us ending of the nominative case is replaced by -e. Contrary to popular belief, the words are not Caesar's last in the play, as he says "Then fall Caesar!" right after. Though the historical Caesar's last words are not known with certainty, the Roman historian Suetonius, a century and a half after the incident, claims Caesar said nothing as he died, but that others reported that Caesar's last words were the Greek phrase Kai su, teknon (Καὶ σύ, τέκνον), which means "You too, child" or "You too, young man" to Brutus. There is no evidence that the historical Caesar spoke these words. The phrase is often used apart from the plays to signify an unexpected betrayal by a friend. The first known occurrences of the phrase are said to be in two earlier Elizabethan plays Henry VI, Part 3 by Shakespeare, and an even earlier play, Caesar Interfectus, by Richard Edes. The quote appears in Act 3 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, where it is spoken by the Roman dictator Julius Caesar, at the moment of his assassination, to his friend Marcus Junius Brutus, upon recognizing him as one of the assassins. Photograph of the Mercury Theatre production of Caesar, the scene in which Julius Caesar ( Joseph Holland, center) addresses the conspirators including Brutus ( Orson Welles, left).Įt tu, Brute? ( pronounced ) is a Latin phrase literally meaning "and you, Brutus?" or "also you, Brutus?", often translated as "You as well, Brutus?", "You too, Brutus?", or "Even you, Brutus?". The Shakespearean macaronic line "Et Tu Brutè?" in the First Folio from 1623 This 1888 painting by William Holmes Sullivan is named Et tu Brute and is located in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. For other uses, see Et tu Brute (disambiguation).
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