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
Archive
Quotes
Luck takes the step that no one sees.
—Publilius Syrus, c. 50 BCWe do not suffer by accident.
—Jane Austen, 1813Some folks want their luck buttered.
—Thomas Hardy, 1886Misfortune, n. The kind of fortune that never misses.
—Ambrose Bierce, 1906Nothing is as obnoxious as other people’s luck.
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1938Fortune resists half-hearted prayers.
—Ovid, 8To put one’s trust in God is only a longer way of saying that one will chance it.
—Samuel Butler, c. 1890When the abbot throws the dice, the whole convent will play.
—Martin Luther, c. 1540Luck, in the great game of war, is undoubtedly lord of all.
—Arthur Griffiths, 1899It is weak and silly to say you cannot bear what it is your fate to be required to bear.
—Charlotte Brontë, 1847Those who trust to chance must abide by the results of chance.
—Calvin Coolidge, 1932Survivors look back and see omens, messages they missed.
—Joan Didion, 2005