historyWikipedia44 BC · Rome
Julius Caesar probably never said Et tu, Brute, and the line came from Shakespeare
The famous line 'Et tu, Brute?' is one of the best-known dying words in literature, but there is no evidence Julius Caesar ever said it. Historians think he either stayed silent during his assassination in 44 BC or said something in Greek, with the most cited candidate being a phrase meaning 'You too, child?' The Latin version comes from William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, written around 1599, which shaped how generations imagined the moment. The misconception is a good example of how a dramatist's invention can become accepted as history.
It is a clean case of a myth hardening into fact. Many people's picture of ancient history comes from plays and films, so checking the sources changes how we remember famous moments.
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"Et tu, Brute?" (pronounced [ɛt ˈtuː ˈbruːtɛ]) 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 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. Contrary to popular belief, the words are not Caesar's last in the play, as he says "Then fall, Caesar" right after. 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 phrase is often used apart from the plays to signify an unexpected betrayal by a friend.
From Wikipedia: Et tu, Brute? (CC BY-SA 4.0) ↗
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0
Illustrative photo · William Holmes Sullivan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
