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All Site ContentJulius CaesarAct 1Scene 3
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"you tyrants do defeat"
Language
Act 1,
Scene 3
Lines 89-97

An explanation of the phrase "Therein, ye gods, you tyrants do defeat" in Act 1, Scene 3 of myShakespeare's Julius Caesar. 

Cassius

I know where I will wear this dagger then;
Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius.
Therein, ye gods, you make the weak most strong;
Therein, ye gods, you tyrants do defeat.
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass,
Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron,
Can be retentive to the strength of spirit;
But life, being weary of these worldly bars,
Never lacks power to dismiss itself.

Shakespeare often places the direct or indirect object of a sentence in front of the verb. Here, when Cassius says, “Therein, ye gods, you tyrants do defeat”, he means, “In this way, you gods defeat tyrants.”