Tag: Phrases

Secret Library

The Curious Meaning and Origin of ‘Et Tu, Brute?’

In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle explores the curious meanings of Julius Caesar’s ‘dying words’ Let’s kick off this week’s Secret Library column with a short quiz about those three famous words: ‘Et tu, Brute?’ Okay, if you’re ready … Question 1): Which famous Roman […]

Secret Library

The Meaning and Origin of ‘Age Cannot Wither Her, Nor Custom Stale Her Infinite Variety’

In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle analyses one of the most famous lines from Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra ‘Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety’: these words are among the most well-known and oft-quoted from William Shakespeare’s late tragedy, Antony and Cleopatra, […]