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Quotes

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

—Ambrose Bierce, 1906

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

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

—Christina Stead, 1938

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

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

—Arthur Griffiths, 1899

Luck takes the step that no one sees.

—Publilius Syrus, c. 50 BC

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

—Charlotte Brontë, 1847

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

—E.B. White, 1944

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

—Martin Luther, c. 1540

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

—Book of Proverbs, c. 350 BC

We do not suffer by accident. 

—Jane Austen, 1813

Good or ill fortune is very little at our disposal.

—David Hume, 1742

Luck is believing you’re lucky. 

—William Carlos Williams, 1947
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