Unknown Quotes

Context

This famous line was spoken by Julius Caesar.

…or was it?

There's a bit of controversy over whether or not Caesar actually said those famous words. Some claim his last words were, "Ow, that really hurt," or "I forgot to set the DVR to record Girls."

Of course, the most famous instance in literature of these words being uttered occurs in Shakespeare's famous play, in which Caesar responds to the betrayal of his right-hand man, Marcus Brutus, as he and several other senators stab their leader to death. Although…how "right-hand" could he really be if they weren't even on a first-name basis?

The Latin translates roughly to "And you, too, Brutus?" It was basically Caesar's way of saying, "Gee, man…I expect this sort of thing from this bunch of goobers…but you? You've let me down, hard." We imagine Brutus probably felt pretty bad after this stern admonition. But…probably not as bad as Caesar felt, since he had about two dozen holes in his body.

Guess Caesar has to take some of the blame, though. He did get that warning about the Ides of March. He could have scheduled a cruise or something and made himself scarce.

Where you've heard it

People love to drop this line when they feel like they've been betrayed by someone—whether a co-worker has gone behind their friend's back to get that big promotion or J.K. Simmons is caught buying Allstate Insurance.

The quote has found its way into the world of video games, articles about international betrayal, and political posts. And if Benedict Arnold were still around today, people would probably be throwing it in his face all the time.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

It's in Latin. You could be saying the equivalent of, "I really need to take a dump," but if it's in Latin…you're going to be awarded the highest level of pretension there is. Sorry.