In Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 1 ([2] p.237), Caesar says

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　　Et tu,Brute? ── Then fall,Caesar.

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This “Et tu,Brute?” is not English.

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et (French, Latin and)

tu (French, Latin you)

Brute (Latin Brutus (vocative))

brut(e) (French, Eng. barbarous)

Brutus (Latin, French, Eng. Brutus)

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So we can regard “Et tu, Brute?” both as Latin and French. Usually it is regarded as Latin which means “And you Brutus?” simply . Julius Caesar is based on an incident in Roman times, and “Et tu, Brute?” can be read naturally as a Latin phrase. As French it means “And you barbarous?”, and to emphasize the pun of “brute” and “Brutus”, the capital letter B is used. But French word “brute” is feminine. It is bizarre to call male Brutus with such feminine word. This use of a feminine word “blute” is intentional. It must be based on the predominance of men over women. In fact we can find it in a speech by Portia, wife of Brutus, in Julius Caesar Act 2, Scene 1. ([2] pp.215-216.)

 

     PORTIA

     If this were true, then I should know this secret.

　　 I grant I am a woman：but withal

　　 A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife.

　　 I grant I am a woman：but withal

　　 A woman well reputed, Cato’s daughter.

　　 Think you I am no stronger than my sex

　　 Being so fathered and so husbanded?

 

  The strength about which Portia speaks here is of mental meaning, it is the steadfastness of will. She has biased view that the women have all in all weak mentality. It is a public view in the drama, too. So Caesar’s French feminine “brute” means barbarousness which comes from injudiciousness rather than from violence. So French “Et tu,Brute?” means “And you injudicious (like an injudicious woman)?”. This is a warning, with full of sarcasm, to Brutus who has been embroiled in the conspiracy. “And you violent?” is the second meaning. The accusation against the violence is not the first but the second. French phrase is thus lofty, deep, and appropriate for the last of the emperor. It is certain that the audience never notice such deep meaning in French, behind the simple Latin speech. So “Et tu, Brute ?” should be spoken in French rather than Latin. In addition, there is another reason why that never be Latin speech. We will refer to Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 1 ( [2] p. 237).

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     CINNA

　     　O Caesar－

     CAESAR Hence！Wilt thou lift up Olympus?

     DECIUS Great Caesar－

     CAESAR Doth not Brutus bootless kneel?

     CASKA Speak hands for me!　　They stab Caesar.

     CAESAR Et tu,Brute ?──Then fall, Caesar.  Dies.

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In this Caesar’s speech, we meet a metaphor “lift up Olympus”, a pun “bootless kneel”, and “Et tu, Brute ?” in this order. Metaphor and pun show Caesar’s mental leeway. To the contrary, sudden change to simple Latin which follows them is too rustic. This indicates that Brutus’ behavior is not within Caesar’s forecastable bounds. But Caesar emerges as a ghost in the presence of Brutus, even after own death. At Julius Caesar Act 4, Scene 3 ([2] p.296), we find

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                                       Enter the Ghost of Caesar

                How ill this taper burns. Ha! Who comes here?

                 I think it is the weakness of mine eyes

                That shapes this monstrous apparition.

                 It comes upon me: art thou any thing?

                Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil,

                That mak’st my blood cold, and my hair to stare?

                Speak to me what thou art.

         GHOST

                Thy evil spirit, Brutus.

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“Thy evil spirit” proves that Caesar sees through Brutus’ mental suffering. In Julius Caesar Act 5, Scene 3 ([2] p.313), we find further

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        BRUTUS

                O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet.

                Thy spirit walks abroad and turns our swords

                In our own proper entrails.

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Mighty Caesar must know the hesitation and possible hostility of Brutus before “Et tu, Brute?”

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  As a result, the Latin phrase produces cheap Caesar being frantic with the assassinators. So the Latin phrase must be shouted. But if Caesar shouted, he would impair his own dignity, and he would be equal to shouting Caska. Caesar must be deeper than Caska. Latin shouting Caesar is nowhere near French cold Caesar.

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At act 3 scene 2 of Hamlet, we see the use of the English word “brute” with the same meanings as our French “Brute”. ([3] pp.293-294)

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        Pol.   I did enact Julius Caesar. I was killed i`th’ Capitol.

              Brutus killed me.

        Ham. It was a brute part of him to kill so capital a calf

              there. Be the players ready?

        Ro.　Ay, my lord, they stay upon your patience.

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This “brute” has the same meanings as out French “Brute”. Here we will discuss on this speech of Hamlet precisely. “so capital a calf ” means a specially capital calf. The words capital and Capitol make a pun. A calf to be killed at “the temple of Jupitor Capitolinus” must be a sacrifice. Here Hamlet regards Caesar who is to be killed at the temple as a calf for sacrifice. This sacrifice is not an ordinary calf but the emperor. It is certainly “so capital”. The last word “there” in Hamlet’s speech  appears in 2nd Quarto ([11]), but it cannot be found in the 1st Quarto ([10]). So the word “there” has been added when the quarto was revised. By this addition it has become more obvious that this calf means a sacrifice. The idea that Caesar who is to be killed is a sacrifice can be seen at Brutus’ speech in Julius Caesar Act 2 Scene 1 ([2] p.208) too.

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        Let`s be sacrificers but not butchers, Caius.

        We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar,

        And in the spirit of men there is no blood.

        O that we then could come by Caesar’s spirit

        And not dismember Caesar! But,alas,

        Caesar must bleed for it. And, gentle friends,

        Let’s kill him boldly, but not wrathfully:

        Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods,

        Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds.

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So the prime meaning of the word “calf” in Hamlet’s speech is a sacrifice, which refers to the role of Caesar, and not to Polonius who played the role. This makes us clarify the prime meaning of the word brute in Hamlet’s speech. The word brute means primary “injudicious”, and secondary “violent”. Violent is to kill a calf, whether it is capital or not. However, to use capital calf as a sacrifice is nothing but an injudicious dissipation. To regard “violent” as the primary meaning leads us to ignore the emphasis of “capital”, that is inadequate. So the meanings of this “brute” are perfectly same as the meanings of our French “Brute”.

Now we refer to Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 1, again ([2] p.237).

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    CINNA

　   　O Caesar－

    CAESAR     Hence！Wilt thou lift up Olympus?

    DECIUS     Great Caesar－

    CAESAR    Doth not Brutus bootless kneel?

    CASKA       Speak hands for me!　　They stab Caesar.

    CAESAR     Et tu,Brute ?──Then fall, Caesar.    Dies.

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In this Caesar’s speech, we meet a metaphor “lift up Olympus”, a pun “bootless kneel”, and Frehch “Et tu, Brute ?” which also gives us simple Latin phrase with same spelling.

But it is difficult to show this dual language structure to the audience by speech. Now you are an actor who performs the role of Caesar. And the author requires you to take full advantage of the function of the words. But we can find the duality not by our ears, but by our eyes. However the actor speaks the speech, and never shows it. At very this point, the difficulty arises. You may wish the audience could copy out your phrase by their hands. Looking into the script, you must be surprised. There is the phrase you have spoken right now, “Speak hands for me!”. It is a voice of the author.

The difficulty of this phrase indicates the risk that only Latin shouting may have been done since its premiere. In fact we can find Hamlet’s speech, which suggests the auther’s grief for shouting Latin, at the beginning of Act 3 Scene 2 in Hamlet. ([3] pp.287-288)

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    Ham. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to

             you,trippingly on the tongue; but if you mouth it as

             many of your players do, I had as lief the town-crier

             spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with

             your hand, thus, but, use all gently; for in the very

             torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of

             your passion, you must acquire and begat a temper-

             ance that may give it smoothness.O, it offends me

             to the soul to hear a robustious perwig-pated fellow　

             tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to spirit the ears

             of the groundlings, who for the most part are capable

             of nothibg but inexplicable dumb-shows and noise.

             I would have such a fellow whipped for o’erdoing

             Termagant. It out-Herods Herod. Pray you avoid it.