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Rubicon

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Rubicon

Ancient name of the small river flowing into the Adriatic that, under the Roman Republic, marked the boundary between Italy proper and Cisalpine Gaul. When Caesar led his army across it 49 BC, he therefore declared war on the Republic; hence to ‘cross the Rubicon’ means to take an irrevocable step.

The Rubicon is believed to be the present-day Fiumicino, which flows into the Adriatic just north of Rimini.



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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
What a man is believing at a given moment is wholly determinate if we know the contents of his mind at that moment; but Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon was an historical physical event, which is distinct from the present contents of every present mind.
The Analysis of Mind by Russell, Bertrand View in context
The Rubicon, we know, was a very insignificant stream to look at; its significance lay entirely in certain invisible conditions.
Middlemarch by Eliot, George View in context
A pause--in which I began to steady the palsy of my nerves, and to feel that the Rubicon was passed; and that the trial, no longer to be shirked, must be firmly sustained.
Jane Eyre by Bronte, Charlotte View in context
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