Archive

Quotes

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

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

—Seneca the Younger, c. 45

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

—Samuel Butler, c. 1890

Good fortune turns aside destruction by a great god.

—Instructions of Ankhsheshonqy, c. 100 BC

Nothing is as obnoxious as other people’s luck.

—F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1938

Some folks want their luck buttered.

—Thomas Hardy, 1886

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

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

—Thomas Browne, 1642

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

—Calvin Coolidge, 1932

We do not suffer by accident. 

—Jane Austen, 1813

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

—E.B. White, 1944

Survivors look back and see omens, messages they missed.

—Joan Didion, 2005

Good or ill fortune is very little at our disposal.

—David Hume, 1742