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

若你看到某人得到過大的權力，你會嘗試阻止他嗎？

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

就算他是你最親密的友人和同盟也一樣？

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

這些問題在西元前44年不斷困擾著羅馬元老議員馬爾庫斯·尤利烏斯·布魯圖斯

the year Julius Caesar would be assassinated.

也就是尤利烏斯·凱撒遭到暗殺的那年

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，不只是政治考量

it was a personal one.

更有個人因素

He claimed dissent from Lucius Junius Brutus,

他稱自己與盧基烏斯·尤利烏斯·布魯圖斯政見相左

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

這人曾協助推翻暴君──「高傲者塔克文」的統治

Instead of seizing power himself,

但他並未自擁權力

the elder Brutus led the people in a rousing oath

老布魯圖斯帶領人民進行覺醒的宣示：

to never again allow a king to rule.

「羅馬將永遠脫離君主的統治」

Rome became a republic

羅馬開始實施共和

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

根據的原則即是「沒有人可以獨掌過大的權力」

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

現在，四個半世紀過後，這項原則受到了威脅

Julius Ceasar's rise to the powerful position of consul

尤利烏斯·凱撒崛起成為執政官

had been dramatic.

以驚人姿態獲取權力

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

多年的軍功使他成為全羅馬最有錢的人

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培之後

his power was at its peak.

他的權力達到顛峰

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

他獲得的勝利與主動分送土地給窮人等行為

had made him popular with the public,

使他深受群眾歡迎

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

許多議員競相逢迎諂媚以博得青睞

Statues were built, temples were dedicated,

為他樹立雕像、為他奉獻廟宇

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

甚至為他重新命名月份，至今七月仍以凱撒為名

More importantly, the title of dictator,

更重要的是，獨裁官的頭銜

meant to grant temporary emergency powers in wartime,

本意在戰爭期間授予暫時性的緊急權力

had been bestowed upon Caesar several times in succession.

卻已接連數次被賦予凱撒

And in 44 BCE, he was made dictator perpetuo,

在西元前44年，他成為「永遠的獨裁官」

dictator for a potentially unlimited term.

即沒有任期限制的終身獨裁官

All of this was too much for the senators

對於議員而言，這一切太超過了

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

有人擔心會回到自己祖先曾致力廢除的君主制狀態

as well as those whose own power and ambition

其中也有部分人的權力和野心

were impeded by Caesar's rule.

被凱撒的統治阻撓了

A group of conspirators calling themselves the liberators

有一群謀反者自稱為解放者

began to secretly discuss plans for assassination.

開始祕密地討論暗殺計畫

Leading them were the senator Gaius Cassius Longinus

主導者為議員蓋烏斯·卡西烏斯·朗基努斯

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

以及他的朋友兼妹夫──布魯圖斯

Joining the conspiracy was not an easy choice for Brutus.

參與此陰謀對於布魯圖斯並不是簡單的選擇

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

即便在內戰中，布魯圖斯投靠的是戰敗的龐培陣營

Caesar had personally intervened to save his life,

凱撒卻曾私下干預，救了他一命

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

不只寬恕了他，甚至將他當作貼身幕僚

and elevating him to important posts.

更拔擢他到重要崗位

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

布魯圖斯對於背叛一個將自己視如己出的人感到很猶豫

but in the end,

然而，到了最後

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於凱撒野心的恐懼戰勝了

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

他們等待已久的時機在3月15日到來

At a senate meeting

元老院會議之中

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

在凱撒準備啟程前往下一次軍事戰役之前

as many as 60 conspirators surrounded him,

60多位謀反者包圍住他

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

自寬外袍中抽出匕首，從四面八方刺向他

As the story goes,

據說

Caesar struggled fiercely until he saw Brutus.

凱撒奮力地抵抗，直到他看見布魯圖斯

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

雖然莎士比亞曾寫下傳世名句「吾兒，亦有汝焉？」

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

但我們並不知道凱撒真正的遺言為何

Some ancient sources claim he said nothing,

根據部分古老文獻的記載，他什麼也沒講

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

但其他文獻則記載下一句話「還有你嗎，我的兒子？」

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

為布魯圖斯是凱撒私生子的猜測提供了有力佐證

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

但無庸置疑的是：當凱撒在攻擊者中看見布魯圖斯之後

he covered his face and gave up the fight,

他掩面放棄了抵抗

falling to the ground after being stabbed 23 times.

在身中23刀後倒地身亡

Unfortunately for Brutus,

對布魯圖斯而言，不幸的是，

he and the other conspirators had underestimated Caesar's popularity

他與其他的謀反者低估了

among the Roman public,

凱撒在羅馬人民當中的聲望

many of whom saw him as an effective leader,

許多人將他視為有力的領導者

and the senate as a corrupt aristocracy.

而把元老院當成腐敗的貴族

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

在凱撒遭到暗殺後，羅馬隨即陷入恐慌

Most of the other senators had fled,

大部分議員都逃離了

while the assassins barricaded themselves on the Capitoline Hill.

其他暗殺者則躲在卡比托利歐山丘

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,

迅速地掌握優勢

delivering a passionate speech at Caesar's funeral days later

在幾天後的凱撒喪禮發表了激昂的演說

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

煽動人們陷入悲傷與憤怒的狂潮

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,

隨之而來的權力真空導致一連串的內戰

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

在此期間，布魯圖斯因為面臨某些挫敗而自殺了

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:

與謀反者最初期望的目標完全相反：

the end of the Republic

羅馬共和至此結束

and the concentration of power under the office of Emperor.

權力集中在羅馬皇帝之手

Opinions over the assassination of Caesar were divided from the start

對於暗殺凱撒的意見從初始便存在分歧

and have remained so.

至今依然

As for Brutus himself,

對布魯圖斯本人來說

few historical figures have inspired such a conflicting legacy.

極少有歷史人物曾啟發這麼多彼此衝突的衍生角色

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

在但丁的《神曲》地獄篇中，他被放在地獄正中央

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

且因為背叛的罪行被撒旦本人無止盡地啃噬

But Swift's "Gulliver's Travels"

但在斯威夫特所著的《格列佛遊記》中

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

將他形容成世上最賢良仁慈的人之一

The interpretation of Brutus as either a selfless fighter against dictatorship

布魯圖斯要不是被當作對抗獨裁的無私鬥士

or an opportunistic traitor

就是被視為投機的叛徒

has shifted with the tides of history and politics.

這兩種解釋隨著歷史和政治的潮流不斷轉換

But even today, over 2000 years later,

即使到了兩千年後的今天

questions about the price of liberty,

自由的代價、

the conflict between personal loyalties and universal ideals,

個人忠誠與普世價值的衝突、

and unintended consequences remain more relevant than ever.

以及意外的結果，這些問題之間的關聯卻前所未有的緊密