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Quotes

Fortune resists half-hearted prayers. 

—Ovid, 8

There 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, 1897

We do not suffer by accident. 

—Jane Austen, 1813

To put one’s trust in God is only a longer way of saying that one will chance it.

—Samuel Butler, c. 1890

Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered.

—William Shakespeare, c. 1610

Misfortune, n. The kind of fortune that never misses.

—Ambrose Bierce, 1906

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

—Calvin Coolidge, 1932

When the abbot throws the dice, the whole convent will play.

—Martin Luther, c. 1540

Good or ill fortune is very little at our disposal.

—David Hume, 1742

It is weak and silly to say you cannot bear what it is your fate to be required to bear. 

—Charlotte Brontë, 1847

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

—Book of Proverbs, c. 350 BC

Luck is believing you’re lucky. 

—William Carlos Williams, 1947

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