|
In English, the dogs of war is a phrase from Act 3, Scene 1, line 273 of William Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar'': "Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war". In a literal reading, "dogs" are the familiar animals; "havoc" is a military order permitting the seizure of spoil after a victory and "let slip" is to release from the leash.〔From the fourteenth century an unauthorised call to "havoc" during battle was punishable by death. 〕〔Bate & Rasmussen (2007), p. 1834.〕 Shakespeare's source for ''Julius Caesar'' was ''The Life of Marcus Brutus'' from Plutarch's ''Lives'' and the concept of the war dog appears in that work, in the section devoted to the Greek warrior Aratus.〔Bate & Rasmussen (2007), p. 1803.〕〔''Lives'' Volume XX, chapter 24, in the Bernadotte Perrin translation.〕 Apart from the literal meaning, a parallel can be drawn with the prologue to ''Henry V'', where the warlike king is described as having at his heels, awaiting employment, the hounds "famine, sword and fire".〔Cornwall (1843), p. 517.〕 Along those lines, an alternative proposed meaning is that "the dogs of war" refers figuratively to the wild pack of soldiers "let slip" by war's breakdown of civilized behavior and/or their commanders' orders to wreak "havoc", i.e., rape, pillage, and plunder.〔(The Phrase Finder ) - "Cry Havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!"〕〔Peter Pappas, "Shakespeare for All Time" blog. "(Cry Havoc and Let Slip the Dogs of War )".〕 Yet another reading interprets "dog" in its mechanical sense ("any of various usually simple mechanical devices for holding, gripping, or fastening that consist of a spike, bar, or hook").〔(Merriam-Webster.com )〕 The "dogs" are "let slip" - referring to the act of releasing. Thus, the "dogs of war" are the political and societal restraints against war that operate during times of peace. Victor Hugo used "dogs of war" as a simile for cannon fire in chapter XIV of ''Les Misérables:'' In modern English usage "dogs of war" means mercenaries. The phrase has entered so far into general usage - in books, music, film and television - that it is now regarded as a cliché. ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The dogs of war (phrase)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|