English Translations: Anthea Bell & Derek Hockridge
Copyright © 1970 Goscinny & Uderzo
Abstract
Julius Caesar tries psychological warfare to defeat the little Gaulish village and sends expert troublemaker Tortuous Convolvulus to set friend against friend and almost succeeds: see jealousy spread as the Gauls become suspicious of each other! Can Asterix and Obelix, with the expert aid of the druid Getafix, outwit the weedy but wily Convolvulus and get the village back to normal?
Table 15.1. Asterix and the Roman Agent - Annotations
| Page, Panel | Comment |
|---|---|
| Page 1, Panel 4 | Pleb = member of the lowest class in Roman society; Plebiscite = a popular vote on some matter |
| Page 1, Panel 5 | Mon repos: (French) My rest; Mea Requies: My rest. A popular name for houses in the British countryside. |
| Page 2, Panel 4 | 'Et tu Brute' = See Asterix the Gladiator. Strangely, in the Frech version Caesar says "Tu quoque, fili" meaning "You too, my son". Perhaps because 'Et Tu Brute' was the Anglo Saxon Shakespeare's version. |
| Page 3, Panel 4 | I over VIII = "One over eight". Meaning drunk |
| Page 5, Panel 7 | Coventry: banishment. Used by the Cavaliers in the 17th century since the town was strongly Roundhead allied. |
| Page 7, Panel 4 | Auri sacra fames = cursed craving for gold! (Virgil, Aeneid iii.6) |
| Page 9, Panel 1 | The centurion is the Italian born French actor Lino Ventura (1919-87). He acted in many gangster movies. |
| Page 26, Panel 8 | Quid? = What? |
| Page 30, Panel 6 | Munda = town in Spain where Caesar won a victory over the sons of Pompet in 45 BC |
Table 15.2. Asterix and the Roman Agent - Names