Sic semper tyrannis
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Sic semper tyrannis is a Latin phrase meaning "thus always to tyrants". It is a shortened version of the phrase Sic semper evello mortem tyrannis ("Thus always I bring death to tyrants").
History
The phrase is sometimes said to have originated with Marcus Junius Brutus during the assassination of Julius Caesar on 15 March 44 BC,[1][2] but according to Plutarch, Brutus either did not have a chance to say anything, or if he did, no one heard what was said:
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Caesar thus done to death, the senators, although Brutus came forward as if to say something about what had been done, would not wait to hear him, but burst out of doors and fled, thus filling the people with confusion and helpless fear.[3]
The phrase has been invoked historically in Europe and other parts of the world as an epithet or rallying cry against abuse of power.
Usage in the US
In American history, John Tyler's father uttered the phrase to a school-teacher who had been tied up by Tyler and his fellow pupils.[4]
John Wilkes Booth wrote in his diary that he shouted "Sic semper" after shooting U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, in part because of the association with the assassination of Caesar.[5][6]
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.[7]
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.
Motto of Virginia
The phrase was recommended by George Mason to the Virginia Convention in 1776, as part of the commonwealth's seal. The Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia shows Virtue, spear in hand, with her foot on the prostrate form of Tyranny, whose crown lies nearby. The Seal was planned by Mason and designed by George Wythe, who signed the United States Declaration of Independence and taught law to Thomas Jefferson.[8] A joke referencing the image on the seal that dates as far back as the Civil War, is that "Sic semper tyrannis" actually means "Get your foot off my neck."[9]
The phrase is the motto of the United States Navy attack submarine named for the state, the USS Virginia (SSN-774). Before that, it was the motto of the nuclear-powered cruiser USS Virginia (CGN-38).
The phrase also appears on the Insignia of the 149th Fighter Squadron which is located at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. The 149th Fighter Squadron is the first Air National Guard fighter squadron to fly the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.
The Insignia of the 149th Fighter Squadron
See also
References
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- ↑ Plutarch, "Caesar", Plutarch's Lives, with an English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1919. ch. 67. On Line text.
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External links
- Webster entry - audio pronunciation
