kcurie, observe a real-life example of what I was talking about this morning...

Elco, if you've no clue, it was in the vein that the Dutch and our lovely neighbours are making fun of each other and not attacking each other embassies in response.

I had two questions: one the meaning of the phrase, what, if any, historical or cultural resonance the phrase would invoke.

If I had looked for the historical resonance first I would have found not only a grammatical translation of  "Sois mon frere ou je te tue" but also it was uttered by Sébastien Roch Nicolas Chamfort as a splendid little piece of snark during the French Revolution, viz.

French writer and conversationalist, whose maxims became popular bywords during the French Revolution.

Shocked by the excess of the Reign of Terror, Chamfort came into conflict with Marat, the editor of L'Ami du Peuple, and Robespierre, one of the leading figures of the revolution. "Be my brother, or I will you" (Sois mon frère ou je te tue), was his version of the revolutionary watchword, "Fraternity or Death", painted on all walls.

Even though he was a Jacobite

In 1793 Chamfort and some other librarians were denounced by another library employee as "sly aristocrats" and "false patriots". Chamfort was arrested and taken with most of his employees to the Madelonettes prison, known for its unhygienic conditions, vermin, and poor food, and then released. The forty-eight hour prison stint was enough for Chamfort and he resigned from his post. His former co-director Carra was executed.

Damn librarians.  Can't ever trust 'em.  

When Chamfort was again threatened with imprisonment in November 1793, he attempted suicide. He first shot himself in the head and blew out his right eye, and then he tried to cut his throat, but the blade slipped. In January 1794 Chamfort was given complete freedom by the Committee of Public Safety. The bullet which had shattered his nasal wall remained in his head. After the festering ceased, Chamfort started to translate Greek epigrams and write poetry. "I feel livelier than ever," he said, "what a pity that I no longer care about living."

Alas he never fully recovered and after selling most of his possessions including his bathtub.  (His bathtub?)  Chamfort eventually died on April 13, 1794.

And then somebody stole some of his manuscripts.

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So.

If only I had researched my second question first I would have never asked the question on EuroTrib - that Jerome so kindly answered - and then I would have never have written this post and you would live your whole life in bliss sans knowledge of Sébastien Roch Nicolas Chamfort.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre