Ancient history

Marcus Junius Brutus

Marcus Junius Brutus (towards -85 - -42) rigid Roman republican, son of Servilia, mistress of Julius Caesar, he gave him the fatal blow, stabbing him on March 15 -44. Julius Caesar would then have said in Greek (Kaì sú, téknon?, in Latin Tu quoque, Brute, fili mihi?), meaning “You too, my son? ”.
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Brutus claimed descent from Lucius Junius Brutus who in -509, after the rape of Lucretius, overthrew the last king of Rome, Tarquin the Superb and, thereby, founded the Roman Republic. He is the son of Marcus Junius Brutus, partisan of Marius, and Servilia, sister of Cato of Utica, and was born in 85 BC.

He followed Pompey's party in the civil war, and fought at the battle of Pharsalia (-48). Caesar, who loved him, and who, it was said, was even his father, called him to his side after his victory, and showered him with favours. These caresses did not prevent him from entering into the conspiracy formed against the dictator. Ringleaders in Caesar's assassination cast Brutus as a faithful follower of family traditions by portraying Caesar as greedy for the title of king and royal authority.

Caesar, on the point of dying, seeing him among the conspirators, exclaimed:“And you too, my son? After this murder, Brutus, pursued by Marc Antony, joined Cassius, and gave battle to Marc Antony and to Octavian in the plains of Philippi in Macedonia.

He was defeated, and, with Cassius, committed suicide in despair, in the year 42 BC. but this despairing word has nothing authentic about it, and “morals are only words” October 23, 42 BC. AD

Brutus cultivated letters and philosophy; he embraced stoicism. He had composed a eulogy of Cato of Utica and other works which have not come down to us; only a few letters remain from him to Cicero and Atticus. Cicero dedicated his treatise De claris oratoribus to him. Plutarch wrote his Life.


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