Resolved: That Yosemite Sam Is Clearly Modeled After The Gallic Warriors Cassivellaunus, Caractacus, and Vercingetorix

Resolved: That Yosemite Sam Is Clearly Modeled After The Gallic Warriors Cassivellaunus, Caractacus, and Vercingetorix

Come now, let us be serious. This is Yosemite Sam:

William Blake's Head of Caractacus

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And this fellow on the horse, with the flowing red mustaches; this, too, is Yosemite Sam:

Surrender of Vercingetorix

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Here is Yosemite Sam, once called Cassivelaunus, who led British armies against Julius Caesar's second expedition in 54 BCE:

Cassivelaunus

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And here is Yosemite Sam, far left, as the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix, beautifully surrendering his weapons after the Battle of Alesia:

William Rainey, Vercingetorix Threw his Arms

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And you cannot tell me this statue of Ambiorix, prince of the Eburonic Gauls, is not Yosemite Sam! You simply cannot:

Statue of Ambiorix in Tongeren

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And here, of course, we see finally Caractacus (sometimes his name is spelled without the second c) delivering his famous speech to the Senate which spared his life:

If the degree of my nobility and fortune had been matched by moderation in success, I would have come to this City as a friend rather than a captive, nor would you have disdained to receive with a treaty of peace one sprung from brilliant ancestors and commanding a great many nations. But my present lot, disfiguring as it is for me, is magnificent for you. I had horses, men, arms, and wealth: what wonder if I was unwilling to lose them? If you wish to command everyone, does it really follow that everyone should accept your slavery? If I were now being handed over as one who had surrendered immediately, neither my fortune nor your glory would have achieved brilliance. It is also true that in my case any reprisal will be followed by oblivion. On the other hand, if you preserve me safe and sound, I shall be an eternal example of your clemency. And if permitted to live, I shall capture and kill that confounded rabbit Bugs Bunny, and bear his pelt through the streets of Rome.
Caractacus

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