Quote

[plutherus]

Sometimes I view random other people's journals. Well, not always random, this time I went to my own userinfo screen, and, under the interests section, clicked Propaganda, and the top of the list of other users with that interest was "Genesis", a journal with swastika background and the slogan "Fight Jewish Supremacism" at the bottom of their entry. What do I have in common with this guy? For one, we both liked the following quote enough to paste it into our livejournals:

The Drums of War:

"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind.

And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar."

-- Julius Caesar

I don't know if this is a real quote or where it comes from. Maybe 31seel will know?

Comments

Oh yeah...

[31seel.livejournal.com]

I remember it like it was yesterday, me and Julius were sitting around the empty senate building and he said the whole thing in this psuedo rap style (the Latin has a more adaptable beat rythm). We then had some stuffed tomatoes and a Ceasar Salad.

It's most likely a fabrication...

[thrasus.livejournal.com]

A quick Google search on "beware the leader" and "julius" brought up several references to this quote, none of them pointing to an actual primary source. Instead, a good number of them questioned the quotes authenticity, the most interesting being Matt Drudge's smear of Barbara Streisand for using this quote in a speech she gave at a DNC gala. Ms. Streisand has since conceded that the quote is most likely a Internet fabrication.