SUETONIUS - The portents before the murder of Julius Caesar

Question 1

proximis diebus…pridie and ea vero nocte

Line 2

Answer 1

• the use of time phrases in this section offers a kind of ‘count down’ to the assassination
• At first, we are given brief summaries of the omens which occurred far in advance, then as we draw closer to the deed itself the detail, and the tension, increase

Question 2

in traiciendo Rubiconi flumini

Line 2

Answer 2

• following disagreements with the ruling elite over the extent of his power, in 49BC Caesar led his army from his province in Gaul towards Rome to pressurise the Senate into agreeing with his demands
• The Rubicon River in northern Italy marked the boundary between his province (where he was allowed to command an army) and Italy (where he was not)

Question 3

pertinacissime pabulo

Line 4

Answer 3

the finality of the plosive (p sound) alliteration, coupled with the superlative, mirror the absolute obstinance of the animals

Question 4

flere

Line 4

Answer 4

• like most mammals, horses only use their tear ducts to remove irritants such as dust from their eyes – they never really weep as humans do
• Suetonius, however, is more concerned with the dramatic impact of the scene

Question 5

immolantem

Line 5

Answer 5

• Caesar was sacrificing when the haruspex gave him the omen
• Note that the name Spurinna is Etruscan, linking to his role as a haruspex and giving added portentous weight to his pronouncement
• The verb caveretis brought to the front of the clause for further emphasis

Question 6

Martias Idus

Line 6

Answer 6

• the 15th March
• This was the day planned for the assassination of Caesar

Question 7

avem regaliolum cum laureo ramulo Pompeianae curiae se inferentem volucres varii generis ex proximo nemore persecutae ibidem discerpserunt

when a king bird (= a wren) flew into the senate-house of Pompey with a laurel twig,
some other birds of various kinds pursued it from a nearby wood
and tore it to pieces on the spot

Answer 7

• This omen took place in the curia (meeting hall) attached to the Theatre of Pompey which was where the Senate was meeting on the day of Caesar’s assassination, since the Senate House in the forum was being renovated
• The Theatre had a grove of plane trees next to it, which is where these birds have supposedly come from. Pompey had fought against and lost to Caesar in the previous Civil War
• The omen would have seemed straightforward to a Roman audience which is why Suetonius does not waste time explaining it.

Question 8

avem regaliolum cum laureo ramulo Pompeianae curiae se inferentem volucres varii generis ex proximo nemore persecutae ibidem discerpserunt

when a king bird (= a wren) flew into the senate-house of Pompey with a laurel twig,
some other birds of various kinds pursued it from a nearby wood
and tore it to pieces on the spot

Answer 8

• The volucres varii generis are the senators from a variety of backgrounds and with a range of motives
• The avem regaliolum is Caesar: his dictatorship had brought to mind monarchy for many Romans, something they were very much against
• The laureo ramulo is a reference to the wearing of the laurel crown, a sign of power and leadership
• discerpserunt refers to the murder of Caesar which was brutal – 23 wounds delivered by a crowd of Senators
• and took place in that very Senate House (ibidem)

Question 9

nocte… quietem

Line 10

Answer 9

night is the time for magical happenings

Question 10

supra nubes volitare cum Iove dextram iungere

Lines 10-11

Answer 10

• a reference to Caesar’s subsequent deification
• Following his death, a comet moving across the sky was interpreted by his heir, Octavian (the future emperor Augustus) as his soul ascending to the heavens and he was proclaimed a god

Question 11

imaginata est

Line 12

Answer 11

as in the Pliny text, this formulaic expression indicates a dream

Question 12

fastigium

Line 12

Answer 12

• the fastigium was the triangular gable end of a temple, but Caesar had been voted the extraordinary honour of fastigium in domo (a temple gable on the house)
• The collapse of it in Calpurnia’s dream links Caesar’s unparalleled power to his downfall

Question 13

ob haec simul ob…

Line 14

Answer 13

• the parallel phrasing here shows how Caesar was giving equal weight to the omens and the ill health
• Suetonius creates tension by showing him ‘delaying for a long time’ (diu cunctatus)
• Although the reader knows the final outcome of these events, by prolonging this and by emphasising Caesar’s many opportunities to avoid his fate Suetonius adds drama to a familiar episode

Question 14

Decimo Bruto adhortante

Line 16

Answer 14

• Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus is often confused with another of the assassins, the much more famous Marcus Junius Brutus
• Decimus had served with Caesar in Gaul and was one of Caesar’s heirs, being much closer to him than Marcus Brutus
• He was also a prime mover in the assassination and was active in fighting Mark Antony during the ensuing civil war

Question 15

libellum insidiarum indicem

Line 18

Answer 15

Plutarch goes into more detail on this, suggesting that it was a Greek teacher of philosophy named Artemidorus who wrote down the entire conspiracy and handed it to Caesar

Question 16

sinistra manu

Line 19

Answer 16

• the left-hand side is considered ill-omened
• Of course, although Caesar is mox lecturus (‘intending to read it soon’) he never will – a touch of dramatic irony

Question 17

pluribus hostiis caesis, cum litare non posset

Line 20

Answer 17

Before a meeting, these signs had to be observed. It was common practice for unsuccessful sacrifices to be repeated until a favourable reading was obtained. Caesar is unable to obtain a favourable reading as his fate is now sealed. Suetonius implies later in his text that the awaited sacrifice is in fact Caesar himself

Question 18

spreta…irridens…arguens

Lines 21-22

Answer 18

a tricolon of ironic participles emphasises Caesar’s error as he enters the Senate House, with the verb introiit moved to the start of the clause to emphasise the moment his fate is sealed

Question 19

adessent…is venisse…eas…sed…praeterisse

Lines 23-24

“though he responded that they had indeed come, but
they had not gone”

Answer 19

The sibilance of these lines alongside the forceful brevity of the statement, adds to the sinister tone of this famous pronouncement.