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Julius Caesar's last words; according to William Shakespeare's play of the same name.
There seems to be a difference of opinion regarding the exact translation and thus, too, perhaps, the true meaning of the phrase.
What is the exact, literal translation of the aforementioned phrase? What are other, possible meanings?
Feel free to also include your own interpretation, if you wish to do so.
Well, without too much knowledge of any deeper, ulterior meanings to the phrase, I can certainly provide and analyze the literal translation for you:
And you, Brutus?
Alternative, fairly literal translations:
Even you, Brutus?
You too, Brutus?
Suetonius, in his work Vita Divi Iuli, reports the last words of Caesar being Greek καὶ σὺ τέκνον; which is the original source of Shakespeare's line, translated into Latin fairly literally:
An alternative Latin translation, familiar to readers of Astérix, is the similar Tu quoque, fili: here τέκνον is translated by the equivalent filius, but the conjunction et "and, too" becomes quoque "as well, too, even."
In any case, the meaning is simple: Caesar was chastising Brutus for being among the conspirators, that he expected better from him. "Even you, son?" or "You, too, Brutus?" are standard renderings in English. Because of the simplicity of the phrase, it is rather straightforward to interpret and difficult to ascribe variant readings.
