Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.”
- Source
- Julius Caesar
- Date
- c. 1599
- Local voice
- Fictional character · Brutus
Meaning of “There is a tide in the affairs of…”
Brutus uses the tide metaphor to argue that judgment includes timing: opportunities can require action before circumstances change.
Where does it come from?
Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene 3, in the 1919 Yale Shakespeare edition edited by Lawrence Mason. Brutus argues for marching to Philippi and compares opportunity to a tide that must be taken at the flood; the metaphor belongs to a disputed military decision inside the play rather than a context-free guarantee of success.
Why the local voice matters
Brutus argues in Julius Caesar, Act 4, Scene 3, that the present military opportunity should be taken rather than postponed.
