Who says et tu brute in Julius Caesar?

Answer 1

Question: In principle, Et tu, Brute! means "And you, too, brutus?" but i do not understand why the "us" changes to "e" in the name. i assume Shakespeare was just trying to show off his knowledge of how latin endings change because of case, but isn't this still the nominative case?

Correct Answer:

No. The nominative case is used to indicate subjects, as in:

Brutus venit. = Brutus is coming.

BUT, in his tragedy "Julius Caesar,"when the dying Caesar addresses his erstwhile friend Brutus, who has joined the conspiracy to assassinate him, Wm Shakespeare was not showing off; he was correctly applying the vocative case form. The vocative case changes the name of the person who is is being addressed, as in:

Et tu, Brute! = Even you, Brutus!
This sentence means, 'you too, Brutus?' He was absolutely surprised, when he realized that, his son Brutus took part in the assassinate against him.

Answer 2

"Et tu, Brute?" is actually part of a line from the Shakespear play "Julius Caesar". The full line is actually a macaronic line which reads "Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar!". However this line is purely poetic license on the part of The Bard, it was never said by Julius Caesar as he died.

It has been reported that Caesar's last words were the Greek line "Kai su, teknon?" which in English translates as "You too, my child?" or in Latin "Tu quoque, Brute, fili mi", although both Suetonius and Plutarch report that Caesar said nothing, that he only tried to pull his togo over his head when he saw Brutus, a man whom he considered like a son to him, was among his attackers.

It has also been argued that if indeed Caesar uttered the above Greek words, that they were in fact a curse and threat of which Caesar only needed to speak the first part. It comes from a popular Greek proverb at the time which reads "You too, my son, will have a taste of power".

Answer 3

They basically mean "you too, Brutus", and are from a play about Julius Caesar that Shakespeare wrote.

Answer 4

According to legend, Julius Caesar said et tu brute, as he was being assassinated in the Roman senate. One of the assassins was Brutus, supposedly a friend of Caesar.

Answer 5

Julius Caesar

Answer 6

Caesar.