Archive

Quotes

A self-made man is one who believes in luck and sends his son to Oxford.

—Christina Stead, 1938

Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered.

—William Shakespeare, c. 1610

To hold a throne is luck; to bestow it, virtue.

—Seneca the Younger, c. 45

’Tis not a ridiculous devotion to say a prayer before a game at tables?

—Thomas Browne, 1642

Good fortune is light as a feather, but nobody knows how to hold it up. Misfortune is heavy as the earth, but nobody knows how to stay out of its way.

—Zhuangzi, c. 300 BC

Those who trust to chance must abide by the results of chance.

—Calvin Coolidge, 1932

You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.

—Cormac McCarthy, 2005

Survivors look back and see omens, messages they missed.

—Joan Didion, 2005

Nothing is as obnoxious as other people’s luck.

—F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1938

Luck is believing you’re lucky. 

—William Carlos Williams, 1947

Luck takes the step that no one sees.

—Publilius Syrus, c. 50 BC

Casting lots causes contentions to cease, and keeps the mighty apart.

—Book of Proverbs, c. 350 BC

Luck, in the great game of war, is undoubtedly lord of all.

—Arthur Griffiths, 1899