[ti:'Beware the Ides of March'] [ar:Anna Matteo] [al:Words and Their Stories] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories. [00:11.66]People who believe in luck and bad luck -- [00:16.46]that is to say, those considered superstitious ¨C [00:21.51]may think that some days or events are unlucky. [00:27.16]In the United States, [00:29.46]Friday the 13 is known as an "unlucky" day by superstitious people. [00:36.03]Another famously unlucky day for some is March 15, [00:41.97]also known as, "The Ides of March." [00:45.67]The Ides of March is so unlucky [00:48.99]that it is often spoken as a warning: "Beware the Ides of March." [00:55.19]First, what exactly is an "ides?" [00:59.25]The Latin root of "ides," a singular word, means "to divide." [01:05.79]So, the ides of any month falls in its middle. [01:10.49]The Roman calendar set ides on the 15th in March, [01:15.69]May, July and October or on the 13th in the other months. [01:22.86]The ides of a month usually falls on the first day of a full moon. [01:28.98]In Roman times, [01:31.15]the Ides of March was known as a date for paying off debts. [01:36.72]But this connection was quickly lost [01:40.08]because of different timing between calendar months [01:44.95]and changes in the moon's appearance. [01:48.04]The Ides of March was also a time people celebrated Mars, [01:54.02]the god of war. [01:55.99]But why do some people still use the expression, [02:00.72]"Beware of the Ides of March"? [02:03.40]Why do they consider it an unlucky day? [02:07.25]March 15 was very unlucky for one man a very long time ago. [02:13.99]On that date in the year 44 BC Julius Caesar was killed. [02:21.26]The British playwright William Shakespeare [02:25.84]takes this incident from Roman history [02:28.81]and freezes it forever in literature. [02:32.11]In Act 1, Scene 2 of "Julius Caesar," [02:36.76]Shakespeare writes about a meeting [02:39.78]between the dictator and a "soothsayer," [02:43.37]someone who can predict the future. [02:46.46]"Beware the Ides of March," says the soothsayer. [02:52.25]Caesar asks, "What man is that?" [02:55.84]And Brutus, Caesar's loyal friend answers, [03:00.29]"A soothsayer says to (bids you) beware the Ides of March. [03:04.44]Caesar does not listen to the warning. [03:08.55]He should have. [03:10.93]In Act III, Scene I, Shakespeare's famous line [03:15.48]seems to show that Caesar is asking for trouble. [03:19.88]Caesar says to the Soothsayer, "The Ides of March are come." [03:25.85]The Soothsayer answers, "Aye, Caesar, but not gone." [03:31.03]Caesar's friend Brutus will be among the attackers [03:35.41]who kill him on the Ides of March. [03:37.99]When he sees that Brutus has turned against him, he says, [03:42.98]"Eh tu, Brutus?" This means "You too, Brutus?" [03:48.33]This expression is widely used in Western culture [03:52.47]when someone is betrayed by a friend. [03:57.02]"The Ides of March" is also the name of a U.S. film made in 2011. [04:06.72]George Clooney directed the film. [04:09.53]He also stars in it as a promising presidential candidate. [04:14.55]While no one gets assassinated, [04:18.01]"The Ides of March" is a film about a friend [04:22.20]being disloyal to a friend in the world of politics. [04:27.10]Often in politics, loyalty and friendship do not go hand-in-hand. [04:33.84]Julius Caesar learned this the hard way on the Ides of March. [04:40.57]I'm Anna Matteo, thanking Christopher Jones-Cruise for playing Julius Caesar [04:46.46]and Jonathan Evans for playing Brutus. [04:50.00]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com