The great conspiracy against Julius Caesar - Kathryn Tempest

刺殺愷撒的大密謀－凱瑟琳·坦普斯特

譯者: 曼禎 羅 審譯者: 立群 钟

What would you do if you thought your country was on the path to tyranny?

如果你認為你的國家 正在走向暴政，你會怎麼做？

If you saw one man gaining too much power, would you try to stop him?

當你看到一個人掌控太多權力時， 你會試著阻止他嗎？

即使那個人是你最親近的朋友和盟友之ㄧ？

Even if that man was one of your closest friends and allies?

These were the questions haunting Roman Senator Marcus Junius Brutus in 44 BCE,

公元前44年，正是這些問題困擾著

羅馬元老院議員 馬爾庫斯·尤利烏斯·布魯圖斯，

the year Julius Caesar would be assassinated.

也就是尤利烏斯·凱撒將被刺殺的那一年。

Opposing unchecked power wasn't just a political matter for Brutus;

反對無限制的權力對布魯圖斯來說，

並不只是個政治問題，也是個私人問題。

it was a personal one.

He claimed descent from Lucius Junius Brutus,

他聲稱與盧基烏斯·尤尼烏斯·布魯圖斯 意見不一，

who had helped overthrow the tyrannical king known as Tarquin the Proud.

此人曾參與推翻暴君—— 驕傲者塔奎因的統治。

Instead of seizing power himself,

老布魯圖斯並沒有自己手握大權，

the elder Brutus led the people in a rousing oath

而是帶領人民進行了鼓舞人心的宣誓

to never again allow a king to rule.

不再允許任何國王統治羅馬。

Rome became a republic

基於任何人都不可以 單獨掌握太多權力的原則，

based on the principle that no one man should hold too much power.

羅馬成為了一個共和國。

Now, four and a half centuries later, this principle was threatened.

現在，四個半世紀之後， 這個原則受到了威脅。

Julius Ceasar's rise to the powerful position of consul

尤利烏斯·凱撒擢升執政官的經過

had been dramatic.

是十分引人注目的。

Years of military triumphs had made him the wealthiest man in Rome.

多年的軍事成就， 使他成為了全羅馬最富有的人。

And after defeating his rival Pompey the Great in a bitter civil war,

而在激烈的內戰中打敗了對手龐貝後，

his power was at its peak.

他的權力達到了頂峰。

His victories and initiatives, such as distributing lands to the poor,

他的勝利和其他行動， 比如將土地分配給窮人，

had made him popular with the public,

使他深受公眾的愛戴。

and many senators vied for his favor by showering him with honors.

許多議員為了爭寵，不斷地逢迎諂媚。

Statues were built, temples were dedicated,

雕像建成紀念他，寺廟專門奉祀他，

and a whole month was renamed, still called July today.

甚至一整個月份都以他的名字重新命名，

至今七月仍稱為July （以凱撒的名字Julius命名）。

More importantly, the title of dictator,

更重要的是，獨裁者的頭銜

meant to grant temporary emergency powers in wartime,

本是作戰期間授予暫時性的緊急權力，

had been bestowed upon Caesar several times in succession.

卻被連續多次賦予給凱撒。

And in 44 BCE, he was made dictator perpetuo,

公元前44年， 他成為了終身獨裁者（Dictator perpetuo），

dictator for a potentially unlimited term.

即永久無限期的獨裁者。

All of this was too much for the senators

所有這些對一些議員們來說是無法接受的，

who feared a return to the monarchy their ancestors had fought to abolish,

他們有的害怕祖先們努力廢除的 君主制度將捲土重來，

as well as those whose own power and ambition

有的則因凱撒的統治 而妨礙了自己的權力和野心。

were impeded by Caesar's rule.

A group of conspirators calling themselves the liberators

一群自稱為解放者的謀反者

began to secretly discuss plans for assassination.

開始暗中討論刺殺計畫。

Leading them were the senator Gaius Cassius Longinus

領導他們的是議員 蓋烏斯·卡西烏斯·朗基努斯

and his friend and brother-in-law, Brutus.

以及他的朋友兼內兄——布魯圖斯。

Joining the conspiracy was not an easy choice for Brutus.

參與謀反對於布魯圖斯來說 並不是一個容易的決定。

Even though Brutus had sided with Pompey in the ill-fated civil war,

即使在不幸的內戰中布魯圖斯投靠的是龐貝，

Caesar had personally intervened to save his life,

凱撒也親自介入救了他一命，

not only pardoning him but even accepting him as a close advisor

而且不僅赦免了他，還讓他擔任自己的貼身智囊，

and elevating him to important posts.

並將他提拔到重要崗位。

Brutus was hesitant to conspire against the man who had treated him like a son,

面對待己如子的凱撒， 布魯圖斯對於謀反猶豫不決。

but in the end,

但最後，

Cassius's insistence and Brutus's own fear of Caesar's ambitions won out.

卡西烏斯的堅持和布魯圖斯 對凱撒野心的恐懼勝出了。

The moment they had been waiting for came on March 15.

三月十五日， 他們殷殷期盼的那一刻來臨了。

At a senate meeting

在凱撒啟程前往他的下一次軍事戰役前

held shortly before Caesar was to depart on his next military campaign,

短暫舉辦的一場元老院會議上，

as many as 60 conspirators surrounded him,

多達60位的謀反者包圍了他，

unsheathing daggers from their togas and stabbing at him from all sides.

從寬外袍中拔出匕首並從四面八方刺向他。

As the story goes,

據說凱撒奮力抵抗

Caesar struggled fiercely until he saw Brutus.

直到他看見了布魯圖斯。

Despite the famous line, "Et tu, Brute?" written by Shakespeare,

盡管莎士比亞曾寫道「吾兒，亦有汝焉？」，

we don't know Caesar's actual dying words.

但是我們不知道凱撒臨終前究竟說了什麼。

Some ancient sources claim he said nothing,

根據有些古籍記載，他什麼都沒說，

while others record the phrase, "And you, child?",

而其他的記載了這樣一句話： 「還有你嗎，孩子？」

fueling speculation that Brutus may have actually been Caesar's illegitimate son.

為布魯圖斯可能是凱撒私生子 的推測提供了有力證據。

But all agree that when Caesar saw Brutus among his attackers,

但大家都認同的是， 當凱撒在攻擊者中看見布魯圖斯時，

he covered his face and gave up the fight,

他以罩衫覆面並放棄了抵抗，

falling to the ground after being stabbed 23 times.

在被刺23刀後倒地身亡。

Unfortunately for Brutus,

對布魯圖斯來說不幸的是，

he and the other conspirators had underestimated Caesar's popularity

他和其他謀反者低估了

凱撒在羅馬大眾之中的聲望。

among the Roman public,

many of whom saw him as an effective leader,

許多羅馬人認為他是位有能力的領袖，

and the senate as a corrupt aristocracy.

並認為元老院議員是一群腐敗的貴族。

Within moments of Caesar's assassination, Rome was in a state of panic.

在凱撒遇害的當下，羅馬陷入了恐慌。

Most of the other senators had fled,

大多數議員都已逃離，

while the assassins barricaded themselves on the Capitoline Hill.

而刺客們則躲在卡比托利歐山上。

Mark Antony, Caesar's friend and co-consul,

馬克·安東尼，凱撒的朋友及副官，

was swift to seize the upper hand,

迅速地佔了上風。

delivering a passionate speech at Caesar's funeral days later

幾天後，他在凱撒的葬禮上發表了激昂的演說，

that whipped the crowd into a frenzy of grief and anger.

煽動群眾陷入了瘋狂的悲痛及憤怒。

As a result, the liberators were forced out of Rome.

結果，解放者們被逐出羅馬。

The ensuing power vacuum led to a series of civil wars,

隨後造成的權力真空引發了一連串的內戰。

during which Brutus, facing certain defeat, took his own life.

在此期間，布魯圖斯面對確鑿的失敗而自殺了。

Ironically, the ultimate result

諷刺的是，最終的結局

would be the opposite of what the conspirators had hoped to accomplish:

與謀反者想達成的理念正好相反：

the end of the Republic

羅馬共和國的結束，

and the concentration of power under the office of Emperor.

權力集中在了羅馬皇帝手上。

Opinions over the assassination of Caesar were divided from the start

對刺殺凱撒的觀點從一開始就有分歧，

and have remained so.

也持續至今。

As for Brutus himself,

而對布魯圖斯本人，

few historical figures have inspired such a conflicting legacy.

一些歷史人物受這一矛盾的遺物所啟發而誕生。

In Dante's "Inferno," he was placed in the very center of Hell

在但丁的地獄篇中，他被擺在地獄的最中央，

and eternally chewed by Satan himself for his crime of betrayal.

且因為他的背叛而永遠被撒旦本尊啃咬咀嚼。

But Swift's "Gulliver's Travels"

但斯威夫特的《格列弗遊記》

described him as one of the most virtuous and benevolent people to have lived.

稱他為世上最有道德且仁慈的人之ㄧ。

The interpretation of Brutus as either a selfless fighter against dictatorship

布魯圖斯被視為一位反抗獨裁的無私鬥士，

or an opportunistic traitor

抑或是一個投機取巧的叛徒，

has shifted with the tides of history and politics.

這兩種解讀隨著歷史與政治的潮流而不斷輪換。

But even today, over 2000 years later,

但即使在2000多年後的今天，

questions about the price of liberty,

有關自由的代價的問題，

the conflict between personal loyalties and universal ideals,

個人忠誠與普世理想之間的衝突，

and unintended consequences remain more relevant than ever.

和非預設的結果，

卻比以往任何時候都更有意義去思考。