Vol. 08 · Shakespeare ·Julius Caesar, Act I.ii ·Cassius
"The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars but in ourselves."
Not quite the line.
How it's usually quoted
"The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars but in ourselves."
What Shakespeare actually wrote
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings." Cassius — Julius Caesar, Act I.ii
Why it matters
Shakespeare wrote "is," not "lies" — a verb swap seeded by centuries of paraphrase. The "underlings" is almost always dropped, which turns an argument for action into a bromide.
More from the canon.
Browse the rest of the shelf, or try a cold reading.