answersLogoWhite

0

The word is used twice by Shakespeare in both his Roman history plays, Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. The meaning in both uses is the same: defeated enemies who pay tribute.

The use in Caesar is particularly self-explanatory:

"Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home?

What tributaries follow him to Rome,

To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels?"

The lucrative possibilities of capturing people in wars is also referred to by Antony:

"He hath brought many captives home to Rome, whose ransoms did the general coffers fill."

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

What else can I help you with?