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Quotes

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

—Arthur Griffiths, 1899

Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.

—E.B. White, 1944

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

Some folks want their luck buttered.

—Thomas Hardy, 1886

Survivors look back and see omens, messages they missed.

—Joan Didion, 2005

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

Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered.

—William Shakespeare, c. 1610

We do not suffer by accident. 

—Jane Austen, 1813

Luck is believing you’re lucky. 

—William Carlos Williams, 1947

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

One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards.

—Oscar Wilde, 1895