Shakespeare Quote Meaning?

Question

"There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. But omitted, and the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves -- or lose the ventures before us." -- William Shakespeare, "Julius Ceaser"

But mostly what does this part mean:

"There is a tide in the affairs of men."

Answer 1

It means there are opportunities in life....

We must take them, or be condemned to the "shallows" of life.

Answer 2

"There is a tide in the affairs of men."  Without the clauses that follow it, this line can be misleading.  Tides rise and fall.  So William is saying that like the tides, our affairs or opportunities rise and fall.  When he continues the sentence he says, "taken at the flood", meaning the high water level or high tide.  Then he finishes the statement by telling you what the results will be, I.E. "leads on to fortune".

If you are familiar with the phrase, "Strike while the iron is hot", it is very similar.  I have always considered that to be a branding iron used on cattle.  If the iron is not really hot, as in glowing, all it will do is burn off the hair; it will not permanently brand the cow.  The problem is, if you brand with a cold iron it looks fine at the moment but within a few months to a year the hair will re-grow and the animal will be nothing more than another range cow with no obvious owner.

The same is true with the "tide of affairs".  If you take the tide after it has peaked and is beginning to fall, it seems as though you are doing well but all that will happen is you will be left aground by the receding tide.

Very deceptive, "these affairs of men".  Oil prices have dropped about $1 a day for the last 10 days.  If you had entered early, while the tide was rising and rode it to its peak you would be fine.  But, if you had waited until 10 days ago to feel certain that prices would continue to climb then you were in too late and would have lost your shirt.

There are many other examples but I will await your request if you want more.  I do accept email at my profile.

Answer 3

I think they are meaning something similar to a crossroads that they come to and which road they decide to take

Answer 4

It means, you have a choice, you can take the easy road or not. If you take the easy road your life will be unfulfilling and meaningless. You miss out on life. If you take the hard road you will find happiness and a meaningful life.

Now for "There is a tide in the affairs of men." It simply sets the stage for the words that follows. The tide is either the flood or the shallows. We as man kind can do/have done one or the other.