![]() Cicero was quite fond of this his famous Catilinian Orations, for example, open with the same rhetorical question in three different phrasings. * This one is specifically a hendiatris, expressing a single concept in three different ways to emphasize it and make it stick in listeners' minds. Ciceronian rhetorical devices are, in my opinion, a very important aspect of this particular Latin. Even apart from fidelity to Shakespeare's words, the style and tone are crucial to any translation, and as it happens we know a lot about the style and tone favored by Roman politicians of that era. You mention that "the concern is not for the drama, or the history, but for the Latin"-but remember that our (and Marcus Antonius's!) understanding of "good Latin" is heavily influenced by rhetoricians like Cicero. He may not have turned to it in a situation like this, but I don't think it's a stretch to conjecture that he would have considered amīcī, civēs, Quīritēs more elegant than simply amīcī, civēs. While Quīritēs alone would be a fine way to address a crowd, putting the three nouns next to each other is a rhetorical flourish that a politician like the historical Marcus Antonius certainly would have known about. The tricolon*, a statement with three parallel sections, was a famous and much-vaunted device in Classical rhetoric (compare Caesar's legendary vēnī, vīdī, vīcī: "I came, I saw, I conquered", but it's both alliterative and metrical in Latin). If so, then, "Romani" could be deployed: this was more political than "Quirites", which would fit the burgeoning (civil-war) crisis, wouldn't it? Giving:Īdding on to Sebastian Koppehel's answer: Isn't this another reason to preclude the use of "Quirites"? The peace of Rome was already dying, in what clearly were no longer "normal circumstances". Mark-Antony's speech was given after the assassination of Caesar. Why not just, "Amici, Cives."? This lacks the rhetorical force of the three-term substantive but the concern is not for the drama, or the history, but for the Latin. Whereas "cives" does not appear to have any limitations on its use. There is a difference: "Quirites" applies to the Romans in normal circumstances in times of peace. Quae bene simul cum ossibus sepulcro abscondi solent " Quae male homines fecerint mortuis supersunt "Amici, Cives, Quirites, commodate mihi aliquantis per aures vestras Īdsum ut efferam Caesarem, non ut laudem. The good is often interred with their bones ". I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears Antony was able to harness the public grief of the Roman people to his political advantage, igniting a civil war between Caesar’s assassinators and his avengers.Mark-Antony's speech (Act III, Scene II), from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", is well-known at least, the opening lines are: Julius Caesar’s funeral was a political turning point for Marc Antony and Gaius Octavius, Caesar’s grandnephew and adopted son. Antony and his followers created the wax replica and inflicted the same 23 wounds onto its body to show the violence suffered by Rome’s beloved leader. The deification of Caesar at his funeral showed public adoration for the assassinated leader, while they paraded a wax figure of his corpse to create horror and outrage. This madness can be attributed to the work of Marc Antony and his political allies. The flames are said to have flown out of control, nearly burning the Forum down as the crowds moved against the conspirators. According to legend, the riled crowd threw branches, robes, jewels, and other possessions into the burning funeral pyre in their grief. Julius Cae sar was cremated publically in the Roman Forum. This famous speech has been recited and captured dozens of times, most famously by Marlon Brando in the 1953 film Julius Caesar. He roused the passions and spoke to the grief of the Roman people, resulting in lamentation and chaos. “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears…” captures the same passion and emotion cultivated by Antony’s oration. While the speech he actually gave is unknown, Shakespeare’s version is often remembered and held as true. The intense public reaction to his assassination can be traced to his funeral specifically, as Marc Antony gave a stirring funeral oration to rouse the crowd. Often, Caesar is remembered simply as the ambitious dictator assassinated by the senators of Rome.Ĭaesar’s funeral was a massive event. Surprisingly, the play about the famed Roman dictator focuses far more on his death and funeral rather than his lifetime achievements. The end of his life is described in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. ![]() “Beware the Ides of March” echoes the tension of Caesar’s last day in 44 BC. The death of legendary Julius Caesar is brought to mind every year on March 15th. ![]()
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