Can someone find the metaphor here?

[gregdrummeraz]

You must note beside
That we have tried the utmost of our friends,
Our legions are brimful, our cause is ripe.
The enemy increaseth every day;

We, at the height, are ready to decline.

There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves

Or lose our ventures.


Please help very quickly.

Thanks in advance.


Greg.

 

[camobag]

I think this excerpt is from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Basically, the question Brutus and Cassius are discussing is whether or not to advance to Phillipi to engage in battle. Brutus is trying to persuade Cassius (and the others) to advance to Phillipi (instead of waiting) and justifies this decision with the metaphor of the sea at high tide.

"our cause is ripe...We, at the height, are ready to decline."

Brutus is likening the army that they have to the sea tide. Like a sea tide that ebbs and flows, the the time to act is now - at the point when the tide is as high as it will get. If the army omits action now - at high tide - their lives will be bound in "miseries."

 

[gregdrummeraz]

Thanks,

I went with... Didn't know if it were right or wrong Guess we will find out haha

"We, at the height, are ready to decline.

There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves "


Thanks again for the help


Greg.

 

[Rhosfelt]

Thanks,

I went with... Didn't know if it were right or wrong Guess we will find out haha

"We, at the height, are ready to decline.

There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves "


Thanks again for the help


Greg.

I'd go with that.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

No, but I never metaphor I didn't like