“Et Tu, Brute?”

The most famous line of the play “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, uttered by the venerable Dictator Julius Caesar upon being betrayed by his loyalist Marcus Brutus. We often present it as a betrayal by Brutus rather than his sacrifice, all credits to the tone of the background in the play. After all, the innocent Caesar was assassinated by the ambitious senators, republicans, or say, evil patricians. The title of the play seems in itself a tragedy since the patriotism of noble and honorable Brutus was overshadowed by a simple crowd manipulation technique of Antony. Brutus was in a state of Dilemma between his friend and his country. Despite the great accounts validating the greatness of Caesar, Brutus felt that Caesar’s administration was leading to the downfall of Rome. His internal conflicts about Caesar were poisoned by Cassius which led him to believe Caesar was tyrannous. This led him to sacrifice his honor and aid in the conspiracy against Caesar’s regime. This conspiracy could be said to be a coup against the tyrant Dictator.