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Quotes

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

Good or ill fortune is very little at our disposal.

—David Hume, 1742

Some folks want their luck buttered.

—Thomas Hardy, 1886

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

—Samuel Butler, c. 1890

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

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

—Christina Stead, 1938

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

—Martin Luther, c. 1540

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

—Oscar Wilde, 1895

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

—E.B. White, 1944

Luck takes the step that no one sees.

—Publilius Syrus, c. 50 BC

Luck is believing you’re lucky. 

—William Carlos Williams, 1947