"Beware the Ides of March" is traditionally attributed to Spurinna,
the Roman haruspex (a priest who read the entrails of sacrificial
animals for omens), who is quoted by the Roman biographer Suetonius in
the The Life of the Deified Julius (LXXXI.2) as having warned Gaius
Julius Caesar, "Et immolantem haruspex Spurinna monuit, caveret
periculum, quod non ultra Martias Idus proferretur." "And when he was
sacrificing the haruspex Spurrina warned, beware of danger, which will
come no later than the Ides of March." The story was repeated by the
Greek author Plutarch in his biographical sketch of Caesar. "One finds
it also related by many that a soothsayer bade him prepare for some
great danger on the Ides of March." (Parallel Lives of the Greeks and
Romans, translated by John Dryden et al, revised by Arthur Hugh
Clough.)
Shakespeare used this incident in his play, The Tragedy of Julius
Caesar, Act I, Scene 2, when the anonymous Soothsayer call out to
Caesar from the crowd, and Caesar has him brought forward.
Caes. Ha! Who calls?
Casca. Bid every noise be still! [Music ceases.]
Caes. Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue shriller than all the music
Cry "Caesar!" Speak. Caesar is turn'd to hear.
Sooth. Beware the ides of March.
Caes. What man is this?
Bru. A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.
Caes. Set him before me; let me see his face.
Cass. Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar.
Caes. What say'st thou to me now? Speak once again.
Sooth. Beware the ides of March.
Caes. He is a dreamer. Let us leave him. Pass.
Later in the play, Act III, Scene 2, after Antony has delivered his
famous funeral oration for Caesar and has incited the crowd, who rush
off to cremate Caesar's body, Antony remarks:
Ant. Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot,
Take thou what course thou wilt.
References
Julius Caesar: Primary Sources -- virgil.org
http://virgil.org/caesar/primary-sources.htm
Suetonius: Divus Julius
http://www.gmu.edu/departments/fld/CLASSICS/suet.caesar.html
http://www.gmu.edu/departments/fld/CLASSICS/suet.caesar.html#81
Ancient History Sourcebook:
Suetonius (c.69-after 122 CE):
De Vita Caesarum, Divus Iulius
(The Lives of the Caesars, The Deified Julius), written c. 110 CE
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/suetonius-julius.html
(From: Suetonius, 2 vols., trans. J. C. Rolfe, (Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press, and London: William Henemann, 1920), Vol. I,
pp. 3-119)
The Internet Classics Archive | Caesar by Plutarch
http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/caesar.html
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare: A searchable online version at
The Literature Network
http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/julius_caesar/
SEARCH TERMS
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Julius+Caesar+Shakespeare+text
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Julius+Caesar+Suetonius+text
hlabadie-ga |
