All things are by fate, but poor blind man sees but a part of the chain, the nearest link, his eyes not reaching to that equal beam which poises all above.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
Sail on ship of state, sail on, I union, strong and great! Humanity with all its fears, with all its hopes of future years, is hanging on thy fate!
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
Fortune is like the market, where many times, if you can stay a little, the price will fall.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate.
—Donald Trump (b.1946) American Businessperson, Head of State
They… who await
No gifts from Chance, have conquered Fate.
—Matthew Arnold (1822–88) English Poet, Critic
Dreadful is the mysterious power of fate; there is no deliverance from it by wealth or by war, by walled city or dark, seabeaten ships.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
A strict belief in fate is the worst kind of slavery; on the other hand there is comfort in the thought that God will be moved by our prayers.
—Epicurus (c.341–270 BCE) Greek Philosopher
Ill fortune never crushed that man whom good fortune deceived not.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
All is created and goes according to order, yet o’er our lifetime rules an uncertain fate.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
There is tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries; on such a full sea we are now afloat; and we must take the current the clouds folding and unfolding beyond the horizon. when it serves, or lose our ventures.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.
—Marcus Aurelius (121–180) Emperor of Rome, Stoic Philosopher
Fate is not the ruler, but the servant of Providence.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
Thought presides over all.—Fate, that dead phantom, shall vanish from action, and providence alone be visible in heaven and on earth.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
Full of wisdom are the ordinations of fate.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
We shun the rugged battle of fate where strength is born.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
How a person masters his fate is more important than what his fate is.
—Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835) German Philosopher, Linguist, Statesman
Just because fate doesn’t deal you the right cards, it doesn’t mean you should give up. It just means you have to play the cards you get to their maximum potential.
—Les Brown
I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Accept fate, and move on. Don’t yield to the seductive pull of self-pity. Acting like a victim threatens your future.
—Unknown
A bald man scorched by the rays on sun on his head, seeking shade, guided by his fate, took shelter under a palm tree hoping to get some relief. Even there, a big fruit fell from the tree, with a loud noise broke his head and killed him. Usually, troubles always follow an unlucky person wherever he goes.
—Neetishatakam
When an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside, as fate.
—Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) Swiss Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Philosopher
Destiny has two ways of crushing us—by refusing our wishes and by fulfilling them.
—Henri Frederic Amiel (1821–81) Swiss Moral Philosopher, Poet, Critic
Whatever may happen to thee, it was prepared for thee from all eternity; and the implication of causes was, from eternity, spinning the thread of thy being, and of that which is incident to it.
—Marcus Aurelius (121–180) Emperor of Rome, Stoic Philosopher
Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, “This is what I need”. It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment—not discouragement—you will find the strength there. Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege!! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow. Then, when looking back at your life, you will see that the moments which seemed to be great failures, followed by wreckage, were the incidents that shaped the life you have now. You’ll see this is really true. Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not. The crisis throws you back, and when you are required to exhibit strength, it comes.
—Joseph Campbell (1904–87) American Mythologist, Writer, Lecturer
Destiny: A tyrant’s authority for crime and a fool’s excuse for failure.
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Short-story Writer, Journalist
Throw a lucky man into the sea, and he will come up with a fish in his mouth.
—Arabic Proverb
A God without dominion, providence, and final causes, is nothing else but fate and nature.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
Fate! there is no fate.—Between the thought and the success God is the only agent.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
When it rains, it pours.
—Common Proverb
All things are ordered by God, but his providence takes in our free agency, as well as his own sovereignty.
—Tryon Edwards American Theologian
Seek not to know what must not be reveal, for joy only flows where fate is most concealed. A busy person would find their sorrows much more; if future fortunes were known before!
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
Granting our wish is one of Fate’s saddest jokes.
—James Russell Lowell (1819–91) American Poet, Critic
Fate is the endless chain of causation, whereby things are; the reason or formula by which the world goes on.
—Zeno of Citium (c.334–c.265 BCE) Greek Philosopher
There’s much to be said for challenging fate instead of ducking behind it.
—Diana Trilling (1905–96) American Literary Critic, Author
The experiences of camp life show that a man does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress. We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way. The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity—even in the most difficult circumstances—to add a deeper meaning to life.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
Fate steals along with silent tread, Found oftenest in what least we dread; Frowns in the storm with angry brow, But in the sunshine strikes the blow.
—William Cowper (1731–1800) English Anglican Poet, Hymn writer
Fate is not an eagle, it creeps like a rat.
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973) Irish Novelist, Short-story Writer
Everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be.
—Marcus Aurelius (121–180) Emperor of Rome, Stoic Philosopher
When fate hands us a lemon, make lemonade.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
Fate throws fortune, but not everyone catches.
—Polish Proverb
Men at sometime are the masters of their fate.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
One must either be the hammer or the anvil.
—German Proverb
Our wills and fates do so contrary run, that our devices still are overthrown; our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
He cannot complain of a hard sentence, who is made master of his own fate.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
The less we deserve good fortune, the more we hope for it.
—Moliere (1622–73) French Playwright
Wherever the fates lead us let us follow.
—Virgil (70–19 BCE) Roman Poet
The lofty pine is oftenest shaken by the winds; High towers fall with a heavier crash; And the lightning strikes the highest mountain.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them as we will.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
All human things are subject to decay,
And, when Fate summons, monarchs must obey;
This Flecknoe found, who like Augustus young
Was call’d to empire, and had govern’d long:
In prose and verse, was own’d, without dispute
Through all the realms of nonsense, absolute.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
The bitterest tragic element in life to be derived from an intellectual source is the belief in a brute Fate or Destiny.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher