On Sat, Apr 14, 2001 at 12:52:41AM +0100, Robin Szemeti wrote:
> On Sat, 14 Apr 2001, you wrote:
>
> > Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war! - is one of my all time
> > favourite quotes
>
> :) ... I am never sure whether the exclamation mark is on havoc or the
> end of the quote.
If you take it in its original context, the reading becomes apparent.
Anthony, somewhat distraught at his recent treasonous act, says:
... And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war,
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.
(Julius Caesar, Act 3 scene 1, 271-275)
Ate, incidentally, is a contraction of Hecate, which wouldn't have scanned
as well. She was a goddess of the underworld, who just happened to have
a pack of rather large dogs.
--
David Cantrell | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | http://www.cantrell.org.uk/david/
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