If I may butt into this erudite discussion, I happen to have a copy of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations to hand. Under "the Die is Cast", it notes: . .. ."Often quoted in Latin, 'Iacta alea est' but originally spoken in Greek: Plutarch, Pompey, 60.2".. .. .From my latin lessons, which ceased in 1960 (even before Beagle's) I would have thought "Alea iacta est" to be correct, the noun coming first. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable gives this version but this, like my schoolteacher, might be influenced by a modern interpretation of Latin. Then again, over a period of forty-plus years, the mind can play tricks! . .. .Then again, again, why was Julius Caesar talking Greek? Or was that Plutarch talking Greek and making it up? Or am I completely out of my depth?. .. .Retires muttering to empty space on bookshelf........ . . . <small>[ 10 March 2002, 22:15: Message edited by: Groundgripper ]</small>