Sic semper tyrannis
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Sic semper tyrannis is a Latin phrase meaning "thus ever (or always) to tyrants." Recommended by George Mason to the Virginia Convention in 1776, the phrase is attributed to Marcus Junius Brutus[1] at the assassination of Julius Caesar. It is sometimes mistranslated as "Death to tyrants." It is the state motto of Virginia in the United States (and also that of the USS Virginia). The Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia shows Virtue, sword in hand, with her foot on the prostrate form of Tyranny, whose crown lies nearby. The Seal was designed by George Wythe, who signed the United States Declaration of Independence and taught law to Thomas Jefferson. The phrase is also the motto of the U.S. city Allentown, the third largest city in Pennsylvania, and is referenced in the official state song of Maryland.
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[edit] Meaning
The meaning of Sic Semper Tyrannis is that tyrants will always get what they deserve, literally, "Thus Ever to Tyrants." As seen in the Virginia state seal Virtue has slain the "tyrant".
[edit] Modern use
According to some witnesses[2] and an excerpt from John Wilkes Booth's diary,[3] he is said to have shouted the phrase after shooting United States President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Coincidentally, both his father and his brother's names were Junius Brutus.[4]
Timothy McVeigh was wearing a T-shirt with this phrase and a picture of Lincoln on it when he was arrested on April 19, 1995, the day of the Oklahoma City Bombing.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ http://pointvcounterpoint.blogspot.com/2007/11/roman-republic-proto-libertarian-state.html
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=7r8LAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA39&vq=sic+semper+tyrannus&dq=booth+%22sic+semper+tyrannus%22&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1
- ^ http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/boothdiary.html
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=SiU5AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=junius+brutus+booth&ei=3lgfSKjoFIuCyQS0vIDRCA#PPR9,M1
- ^ Kilzer, Lou and Kevin Flynn. "Did McVeigh Plan to get Caught, or was he Sloppy?", Denver Rocky Mountain News, 1997-12-19.
[edit] External links
- Webster entry - audio pronunciation
