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
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Quotes
A self-made man is one who believes in luck and sends his son to Oxford.
—Christina Stead, 1938To put one’s trust in God is only a longer way of saying that one will chance it.
—Samuel Butler, c. 1890Those who trust to chance must abide by the results of chance.
—Calvin Coolidge, 1932When the abbot throws the dice, the whole convent will play.
—Martin Luther, c. 1540You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.
—Cormac McCarthy, 2005It is weak and silly to say you cannot bear what it is your fate to be required to bear.
—Charlotte Brontë, 1847Luck takes the step that no one sees.
—Publilius Syrus, c. 50 BCTo hold a throne is luck; to bestow it, virtue.
—Seneca the Younger, c. 45Fortune resists half-hearted prayers.
—Ovid, 8Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.
—E.B. White, 1944Casting lots causes contentions to cease, and keeps the mighty apart.
—Book of Proverbs, c. 350 BCLuck is believing you’re lucky.
—William Carlos Williams, 1947