The motto selected for the obverse of the Virginia seal is "Sic semper tyrannis", or in English, "Thus always to tyrants". This is a derived quote from the famous events in Roman history, attributed to Brutus upon his participation in the slaying of Julius Caesar. (Caesar had been named perpetual dictator of Rome in the same year, and some Senators believed he had ambitions to abolish the Roman Republic and establish himself as a monarch.)