A wise man turns chance into good fortune.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
The man who glories in his luck may be overthrown by destiny.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
Fortune reveres the brave, and overwhelms the cowardly.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
People will ignore their misfortunes and their interests when they are in competition with their pleasures.
—French Proverb
Men rush to California and Australia as if the true gold were to be found in that direction; but that is to go to the very opposite extreme to where it lies. They go prospecting farther and farther away from the true lead, and are most unfortunate when they think themselves most successful.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Every possession and every happiness is but lent by chance for an uncertain time, and may therefore be demanded back the next hour.
—Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German Philosopher
Probably any successful career has X number of breaks in it, and maybe the difference between successful people and those who aren’t superachievers is taking advantage of those breaks.
—Joan Ganz Cooney (b.1929) American TV Personality, Musician
We make our own fortunes and we call them fate.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
There is something in the misfortune of our best friends which does not displease us.
—French Proverb
Combine common sense and the Golden Rule, and you will have very little bad luck.
—Unknown
Fortune does not so much change men, as it unmasks them.
—Unknown
Misfortune does not always result in harm.
—Italian Proverb
I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
Behind every great fortune there is a crime.
—Honore de Balzac (1799–1850) French Novelist
Against change of fortune set a brave heart.
—French Proverb
Ovid finely compares a broken fortune to a falling column; the lower it sinks, the greater weight it is obliged to sustain. When a man’s circumstances are such that he has no occasion to borrow, he finds numbers willing to lend him; but should his wants be such that he sues for a trifle, it is two to one whether he will be trusted with the smallest sum.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
No one is truly free, they are a slave to wealth, fortune, the law, or other people restraining them from acting according to their will.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
We create our fate every day … most of the ills we suffer from are directly traceable to our own behavior.
—Henry Miller (1891–1980) American Novelist
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Many have been ruined by their fortunes, and many have escaped ruin by the want of fortune. To obtain it the great have become little, and the little great.
—Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann (1728–95) Swiss Philosophical Writer, Naturalist, Physician
Fortune favors the bold, but abandons the timid.
—Latin Proverb
Chance never helps those who do not help themselves.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
We do not know what is really good or bad fortune.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) Swiss-born French Philosopher
It is fortune, not wisdom, that rules man’s life.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
No man ever wetted clay and then left it, as if there would be bricks by chance and fortune.
—Plutarch (c.46–c.120 CE) Greek Biographer, Philosopher
Luck is good planning, carefully executed.
—Unknown
He is a good man whom fortune makes better.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
Good fortune will elevate even petty minds, and give them the appearance of a certain greatness and stateliness, as from their high place they look down upon the world; but the truly noble and resolved spirit raises itself, and becomes more conspicuous in times of disaster and ill fortune.
—Plutarch (c.46–c.120 CE) Greek Biographer, Philosopher
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
There sometimes wants only a stroke of fortune to discover numberless latent good or bad qualities, which would otherwise have been eternally concealed; as words written with a certain liquor appear only when applied to the fire.
—George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick (1746–1816) British Nobleman, Politician
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