TODAY'S TWD: ET TOOB, BRUTE

As I mentioned in my tribute to Paul Newman, I mentioned the rumor that Brutus was the bastard son of Julius Caesar. (Paul Newman played Brutus on an episode of 'You Are There'.)

Here's some more about Brutus from Wikipedia:

Marcus Junius Brutus (85–42 BC) or Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus was a Roman senator of the late Roman Republic. He is best known in modern times for taking a leading role in the assassination conspiracy against Julius Caesar.

Brutus was the son of Marcus Junius Brutus the Elder and Servilia Caepionis. His father was a legatus to Pompey the Great; his mother was the half-sister of Cato the Younger, and later became Julius Caesar's mistress. Some sources refer to the possibility of Caesar being his real father, but this is unlikely since Caesar was 15 at the time of Brutus' birth.

Brutus' uncle, Quintus Servilius Caepio, adopted him when he was a young man and Brutus was known as Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus for an unknown period of time.Brutus held his uncle in high regard and his political career started when he became an assistant to Cato, during his governorship of Cyprus. During this time, he enriched himself by lending money at high rates of interest. He returned to Rome a rich man, where he married Claudia Pulchra. From his first appearance in the Senate, Brutus aligned with the Optimates (the conservative faction) against the First Triumvirate of Marcus Licinius Crassus, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Gaius Julius Caesar.

Around this time, many senators began to fear Caesar's growing power following his appointment as dictator for life. Brutus was pressured into joining the conspiracy against Caesar by the other senators and he also discovered messages written on the busts of his ancestors. Brutus, influenced by his loyalty to Cato and Porcia, finally decided to move against Caesar in 44 BC. His wife was the only woman privy to the plot.

The conspirators planned to carry out their plot on the Ides of March that same year. On that day, Caesar was delayed going to the Senate because his wife, Calpurnia Pisonis, tried to convince him not to go. The conspirators feared the plot had been found out. Brutus persisted, however, waiting for Caesar at the Senate, and allegedly still chose to remain even when a messenger brought him news that would otherwise have caused him to leave.

When Caesar finally did come to the Senate, they attacked him. Publius Servilius Casca was allegedly the first to attack Caesar with a blow to the shoulder, which Caesar blocked. However, upon seeing Brutus was with the conspirators, he covered his face with his toga and resigned himself to his fate.

The conspirators attacked in such numbers that they even wounded one another. Brutus is said to have been wounded in the hand.

BCnU!
Toby O'B