Archive

Quotes

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

—Martin Luther, c. 1540

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

—Thomas Browne, 1642

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

—Christina Stead, 1938

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

We do not suffer by accident. 

—Jane Austen, 1813

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

Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered.

—William Shakespeare, c. 1610

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

—E.B. White, 1944

Some folks want their luck buttered.

—Thomas Hardy, 1886

Nothing is as obnoxious as other people’s luck.

—F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1938

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

—Calvin Coolidge, 1932

Fortune resists half-hearted prayers. 

—Ovid, 8