Good fortune turns aside destruction by a great god.
—Instructions of Ankhsheshonqy, c. 100 BCQuotes
Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered.
—William Shakespeare, c. 1610A self-made man is one who believes in luck and sends his son to Oxford.
—Christina Stead, 1938’Tis not a ridiculous devotion to say a prayer before a game at tables?
—Thomas Browne, 1642Good or ill fortune is very little at our disposal.
—David Hume, 1742There are two times in a man’s life when he should not speculate: when he can’t afford it, and when he can.
—Mark Twain, 1897To put one’s trust in God is only a longer way of saying that one will chance it.
—Samuel Butler, c. 1890To hold a throne is luck; to bestow it, virtue.
—Seneca the Younger, c. 45It is so difficult not to become vain about one’s own good luck.
—Simone de Beauvoir, 1963It is weak and silly to say you cannot bear what it is your fate to be required to bear.
—Charlotte Brontë, 1847Misfortune, n. The kind of fortune that never misses.
—Ambrose Bierce, 1906Casting lots causes contentions to cease, and keeps the mighty apart.
—Book of Proverbs, c. 350 BCWhen the abbot throws the dice, the whole convent will play.
—Martin Luther, c. 1540