Alea iacta est
Alea iacta est is a Latin expression and literally translated means: "The die has been thrown". It describes the situation after an event / an action when the outcome has been determined but is not yet known (the cube is in the air, the outcome can no longer be influenced).
Traditionally it is translated slightly differently, namely as "the die has been cast" or - neglecting the number - "the die has been cast". In this form the saying is used as a proverb and is meant to mean that certain events are irreversible or inevitably imminent. A similar, also common meaning is "the matter is decided".
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Suetone
Our use of this expression in the Latin formulation goes back to Sueton's biography of Gaius Iulius Caesar : On January 10, 49 BC. He appeared with his army on the Rubicon , the border river between the province of Gallia cisalpina and the Italian heartland, which no Roman general was allowed to enter with his troops. First of all, Caesar is said to have said:
“Etiam nunc regredi possumus; quod si ponticulum transierimus, omnia armis agenda erunted. "
“We can still go back; if we cross this little bridge, everything will have to be carried out with weapons. "
While he was still undecided, a huge figure appeared, snatched the instrument from one of his trumpeters, sounded the alarm and crossed the river. Thereupon Caesar said:
"Eatur quo deorum ostenta et inimicorum iniquitas vocat. Iacta alea est . "
“It goes where the gods call signs and the enemy calls injustice. The die is thrown. "
With this, Caesar made it clear that his deed would have irrevocable consequences, the outcome of which, however, was not yet foreseeable.
Plutarch
According to the parallel sources, Caesar, as an educated patrician, used the Greek expression "ἀνερρίφθω κύβος" [anerriphtho kybos].
Plutarch reports :
"[7] [...] πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τῶν φίλων τοῖς παροῦσιν, ὧν ἦν καὶ Πολλίων Ἀσίνιος, συνδιηπόρησεν, ἀναλογιζόμενος ἡλίκων κακῶν ἄρξει πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἡ διάβασις, ὅσον τε λόγον αὐτῆς τοῖς αὖθις ἀπολείψουσι. [8] τέλος δὲ μετὰ θυμοῦ τινος ὥσπερ ἀφεὶς ἑαυτὸν ἐκ τοῦ λογισμοῦ πρὸς τὸ μέλλον , καὶ τοῦτο δὴ τὸ κοινὸν τοῖς εἰς τύχας ἐμβαίνουσιν ἀπόρους καὶ τόλμας προοίμιον ὑπειπὼν "ἀνερρίφθω κύβος" ὥρμησε πρὸς τὴν διάβασιν "
“[7] [...] He [Caesar] talked for a long time with his friends who accompanied him, including Asinius Pollio. He demonstrated the evils that crossing the river might entail and the judgment posterity would make of him. [8] Finally, passionately, he rejected all calculations and surrendered to what was to come. He spoke the words of those who are facing an uncertain and dangerous fate: "Throw up the dice" and set off to cross. "
The mention of Asinius Pollio suggests that Plutarch (like Suetonius) based his report on the eyewitness Pollio, who is known to have written a (now lost) historical work on the civil war. Horace's Ode II 1, dedicated to Asinius Pollio, also contains an allusion ( periculosae plenum opus aleae , verse 6) that supports this assumption.
In the life of Pompey , Plutarch explicitly reports that the saying was in Greek:
"Ἑλληνιστὶ πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας ἐκβοήσας " ἀνερρίφθω κύβος " διεβίβαζε τὸν στρατόν."
"In Greek, [Caesar] spoke to those present in a loud voice, 'Throw up the dice' and lead the army across."
Appian
Appian quotes the saying inverted and with an article:
"Καὶ πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας εἶπεν ἀνενεγκών" ἡ μὲν ἐπίσχεσις, ὦ φίλοι, τῆσδε τῆς διαβάσεως ἐμοὶ κακῶν ἄρξει, ἡ δὲ διάβασις πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ". καὶ εἰπὼν οἷά τις ἔνθους ἐπέρα σὺν ὁρμῇ, τὸ κοινὸν τόδε ἐπειπών: "ὁ κύβος ἀνερρίφθω". [ho kybos anerriphtho] "
"Again, attentively he [Caesar] said to those present: 'To forego this crossing, my friends, will be the worst evil for me to undertake it, the worst evil for all people.' Then, as if penetrated by inspiration, he said this common sentence: 'The dice are thrown up!' "
This also shows that it was an often used expression.
Menander
According to Athenaeus of Naukratis , the saying itself is already in the 3rd century BC at the latest. BC at Menander :
"Α. […] Οὐ γαμεῖς, ἂν νοῦν ἔχῃς, τοῦτον καταλείπων τὸν βίον. Γεγάμηκα γὰρ καὐτος διὰ τοῦτό σοι παραινῶ μὴ γαμεῖν.
Β. Δεδογμένον τὸ πρᾶγμ '· ἀνερρίφθω κύβος . "
“A: If you have brains, you don't get married or give up the life you lead. I was married so I advise you not to do it.
B: Let's wait and see. The dice are thrown! "
Historical background
The crossing of the Rubicon can be seen as follows: In the triumvirate with Pompeius and Crassus , Caesar was clearly the weakest member. With the death of Crassus in 53 BC And his own successes in the Gallic War up to 51 BC. The balance had shifted in Caesar's favor. Pompey therefore planned to eliminate the opponent through a court case. To do this, he had to wait for the end of Caesar's governorship in Gaul and Illyria and then prevent Caesar from acquiring a new office, which would have brought him a new immunity .
Caesar's dilemma was that as provincial governor he was not allowed to enter Rome, but wanted to stand for election as consul in Rome. If he had resigned even for the short period of his application, he could have been charged, as his enemy Cato had already announced. The tribunes of the people had created an exception for Caesar so that he could apply for the consulate in absentia, but his opponent Pompey had overturned this rule.
The Rubicon was now the border between Caesar's province of Gaul and Italy. When Caesar on January 10, 49 BC BC crossed the Rubicon - ostensibly to protect the powers of the tribunes against the measures of Pompey - he committed a clear violation of the law. This revealed the hostility that had hitherto been subliminal and the civil war broke out. Caesar's opponents, who believed that he had invaded Italy with all his army, immediately fled. However, in order to be quicker, Caesar had advanced with only 5300 men. The real decision, however, was not made until several months later in the battle of Pharsalus .
The verdict relates on the one hand to the now irrevocable legal consequences of the violation of the law committed - the dice is in the air and no longer in the hand - and on the other hand to the risk of an unclear outcome: the dice can fall on either side. The difference to the common German translation becomes particularly clear here.
Back translations
The following incorrect back translations are common:
- "Aleum iactum est" (assuming there is a singular aleum )
- "Alea iacta sunt" (as above, but in the plural )
The word alea in the singular means the "dice game" as a whole. Accordingly, the spelling “Aleae iactae sunt” would be a correct plural, but would mean several dice games . In fact, alea can be translated both in the singular and in the plural. In Latin, however, the associated verb is definitely in the singular.
See also
Web links
- Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 31-32 - Latin / English
- Plutarch: Caesar's Rubico Crossing . In: Livius.org (English)
- Plutarch, Pompey, 60 - Greek / Latin / French
- Atheneus of Naukratis, Banquet of Scholars XIII, 1-20 - French
- Athenaeus of Naukratis, Banquet of the Scholars XIII, 1-20 - Greek
- Appian, The Civil Wars II - English at LacusCurtius
- Appian, The Civil Wars II, 32-37 - Greek
- The free role-playing game of the same name ( Memento from July 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Remarks
- ↑ Cornelius Hartz: Roman writers. von Zabern, Mainz 2010, p. 45.
- ↑ Wilhelm Xylander translated this in 1567 with Alea iacta esto
- ↑ To be found on page 319 in Menander, the principal fragments with an English translation by Francis G. Allison. The work is digitized in various formats at archive.org .
- ↑ Appian, The Civil Wars II, 32.