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All Site ContentJulius CaesarAct 2Scene 3
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Fates
Allusion
Act 2,
Scene 3
Lines 8-13

An explanation of Artemidorus’ allusion to the Fates in Act 2, Scene 3 of myShakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Artemidorus

Here will I stand till Caesar pass along,
And as a suitor will I give him this.
My heart laments that virtue cannot live
Out of the teeth of emulation.
If thou read this, O Caesar, thou mayst live;
If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive.
[Exit.]

The Fates are three mythological goddesses who determined the future. Artemidorus suggests that if his letter does not reach Caesar, than the Fates are conspiring with the conspirators, and Caesar will die.

(The Three Fates, Bernardo Strozzi, c. before 1644)