Sic semper tyrannis
Sic semper tyrannis is a Latin phrase . Literally translated, it means: "So always the tyrant !" The sentence is usually rendered in German with: "So it goes with the tyrant!" Or "The tyrant always suffers the same fate". A freer translation would be “Death to the tyrants!” The exclamation Sic semper tyrannis is attributed to Marcus Junius Brutus , who is said to have said it when Gaius Julius Caesar was murdered .
Virginia's state motto
The motto was proposed in 1776 by George Mason , the "father of the Bill of Rights, " the Virginia Convention . After the Revolutionary War , it became the state motto and the motto of the US - the State of Virginia .
The seal shows the personification of virtue , sword in hand, foot on the chest of the tyrant whose crown lies next to him. It was designed by George Wythe, who signed the United States Declaration of Independence and taught Thomas Jefferson law.
Further use
Sic semper tyrannis is also the slogan of the nuclear submarine USS Virginia , the nuclear cruiser USS Virginia and the city of Allentown , the third largest city in the US - state of Pennsylvania . It is the official state anthem of the US - the State of Maryland taken.
According to some witnesses and an excerpt from the diary of actor John Wilkes Booth , he proclaimed the verdict after the assassination of US President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865 in Ford's Theater in Washington . Both his father and brother were named Junius Brutus .
Timothy McVeigh wore a t-shirt that read Sic semper tyrannis and had a picture of Abraham Lincoln when he was arrested on April 19, 1995, after the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City .
Use in the media
Movie
The 2007 film Legacy of the Secret Book shows the murder of Abraham Lincoln. Later on, some of the main characters speak about the death of Abraham Lincoln and the exclamation Sic semper tyrannis is also given.
The 2005 film Into the Blue also took up the motto, which was engraved in Latin on the found revolver of a pirate who had escaped from slavery and which ultimately provided information about the identity of the person who wore the revolver.
In the US fantasy film comedy Teuflisch from 2000, the assassin calls out this motto shortly before he wants to shoot the protagonist Brendan Fraser aka Elliot Richards, who, however , can save himself by using his pager .
TV Shows
In an episode of Seinfeld ("The Pilot"), Jerry Seinfeld is interrupted during his monologue by "Crazy" Joe Davola , who yells "Sic semper tyrannis!" (From Jerry freely in "Death to tyrants" / "Tod den Tyrannen") translated) and then jumps out of the audience from the uncovered grandstand onto the set in an attempt to attack Jerry.
The American Sketch - comedy troupe Whitest Kids U'Know used the phrase in a satirical sketch about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, in which John Wilkes Booth in Abraham Lincoln's box jumps and pelted him with random objects. In another sketch ("It's illegal to say") Sic semper tyrannis is used as the slogan of a group that always meets on Friday midnight under the Brooklyn Bridge .
The motto was also used in an episode of Venture Bros. ("I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills") and in an episode of the series The Punisher .
A modified version of this phrase can be found in the sixth episode of Clerks: The Animated Series . Dante complains that envy of the “Golden Girls” doesn't cost as trouble. Randal replies with “I have no regrets! Sic semper Bea Arthur ! ".
In Rome , Cassius, but not Brutus, used the phrase immediately after Caesar's murder. In fact, in this interpretation, Brutus even shows a clear rejection of the use of the phrase.
In the post-apocalyptic drama series The Last Ship , the motto is used by the assassin, who in the last episode of the 2nd season the main character Dr. Rachel Scott shoots down.
In the series Navy CIS: New Orleans , the first episode of the second season (2.01) is originally called "Sic semper tyrannis" " (German title:" The enemy inside "), in which a separatist movement uses this motto as its slogan. An assassin , who was placed on a military convoy after a bomb attack, calls out this slogan before shooting himself, and Special Agent Pride immediately connects the statement by John Wilkes Booth , Lincoln's murderer. In episode 2.08 ( Confluence / The apology ) is at the end after the failed assassination attempt on Pride the assassin in the hospital and is visited there by a man whose face is not shown and who also says this phrase (before he, as one can assume, kills the assassin so that he can can no longer talk).
On Apple's The Morning Show , Chip Black says "Sic semper tyrannis" to Rena Robinson in season 1 episode 10 ("The Interview") when they plan to overthrow Fred Micklen, the show's president, for helping out to cover up Mitch Kessler's sexual machinations. She replies: "Questionable reference. But I know what you mean! ... Sic semper tyrannis!"
music
The phrase was also used in politically motivated songs:
- The progressive metal - band Architect used it as the title of a song of her published in January 2007 album "All Is Not Lost".
- The rock band Mae from Norfolk , Virginia wrote a so-titled song for her in August 2007 released album "Singularity".
- The eighth track on the album "Change is a Sound" of hardcore punk - band Strike Anywhere is called "SST", which as a shortcut for Sic semper tyrannis stands. The band later released a t-shirt with the song name on the front.
- The melodic metal band Sic Semper Tyrannis from Vienna, Austria makes use of this phrase and uses it as an independent band name.
Video games
The phrase appears as a short gag in Mass Effect . There's a place there where space insects bully an entire research facility. If you don't have the right code to turn it off, the main character emits this phrase as an incomprehensible murmur.
There was another reference to this phrase in Mass Effect (or in the planning phase of it). The ship, which is a core component, should not be called "Normandy SR-1", but "Normandy SST (-1)". In an early published artwork you can still see the abbreviation on the wings. When the "Normandy" was completely redesigned, the name was also changed.