Horace - Alfred Lord Tennyson - William Shakespeare - Daniel Defoe - George Orwell - Robert McGough - Horace Walpole - Andre Malraux - Brad Meltzer TV - Star Trek: The Next Generation TV - Karl Popper - Thomas Campbell - Evgeny Baratynsky - Ovid - The Matrix 1999 - John Dyer - Novalis - Dante Alighieri - Ralph Waldo Emerson - Friedrich Nietzsche - Vladimir Nabokov - Arthur Conan Doyle - Marcus Aurelius - G K Chesterton - Napoleon Bonaparte - John Ford - Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Dunkirk 2017 - Albert Einstein - Benjamin Disraeli - Arthur Schopenhauer -
Drop the question what tomorrow may bring, and count as profit every day that Fate allows you. Horace, Odes
For man is man and master of his fate. Alfred Lord Tennyson, Idylls of the King
O God, that one might read the book of fate,
And see the revolution of the times. William Shakespeare, II Henry IV III i 44-45, King Henry to Warwick
Men at sometime were masters of their fates. William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar I ii 140, Cassius to Brutus
What can be avoided
Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods? ibid. II ii 27-28, Caesar to Calpurnia
There is a 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. ibid. IV ii 270-274, Brutus to Cassius
Our wills and fates do so contrary run
That our devices still are overthrown. William Shakespeare, Hamlet III ii 199-200
Who can control his fate? William Shakespeare, Othello V ii 272, Othello
The best of men cannot suspend their fate:
The good die early, and the bad die late. Daniel Defoe, 1660-1731
For the ordinary man is passive. Within a narrow circle (home life, and perhaps the trade unions or local politics), he feels himself master of his fate, but against major events, he is as helpless as against the elements. So far from endeavouring to influence the future, he simply lies down and lets things happen to him. George Orwell
And though poets I admire have published poems
Whose imperfections reflect our own decay,
I could never being a poem; ‘When I am dead’
In case it tempted Fate, and Fate gave way. Robert McGough, 1982 poem
Perhaps those, who, trembling most, maintain a dignity in their fate, are the bravest: resolution on reflection is real courage. Horace Walpole
Art is a revolt against fate. Andre Malraux, Le Voix du silence, 1951
The secrets of our future, our fate, may be found in the work of Leonardo da Vinci ... The ultimate Renaissance man. Brad Meltzer’s Decoded: Da Vinci, History 2011
Fate: it protects fools, little children, and ships named Enterprise. Star Trek: The Next Generation s2e11: Contagion, Riker
We have become makers of our fate when we have ceased to pose as its prophets. Karl Popper
To bear is to conquer our fate. Thomas Campbell
Providence has given human wisdom the choice between two fates: either hope and agitation, or hopelessness and calm. Evgeny Baratynsky, 1800-1844, Russian poet
Far be that fate from us! Ovid, Amores
Do you believe in fate, Neil? The Matrix 1999 starring Keanu Reeves & Laurence Fishburne & Carrie-Anne Moss & Hugo Weaving & Joe Pantoliano & Gloria Foster & Marcus Chong & Julian Arahanga & Matt Doran & Belinda McClory et al, directors Andy & Lana Wachowski
But transient is the smile of fate:
A little rule, a little sway,
A sunbeam in a winter’s day,
Is all the proud and mighty have
Between the cradle and the grave. John Dyer, 1700-58, Grongar Hill, 1726
Fate and character are the same conception. Novalis, 1772-1801, German poet and novelist
Do not be afraid; our fate
Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift. Dante Alighieri, Inferno
Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Whatever limits us we call fate. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Amor Fati – Love Your Fate – which is in fact your life. Friedrich Nietzsche
We all have such fateful objects – it may be a recurrent landscape in one case, a number in another – carefully chosen by the gods to attract events of specific significance for us: here shall John always stumble; there shall Jane's heart always break. Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita
Now is the dramatic moment of fate, Watson, when you hear a step upon the stair which is walking into your life, and you know not whether for good or ill. Arthur Conan Doyle
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
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
There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed. Napoleon Bonaparte
Tempt not the stars, young man, thou canst not play
With the severity of fate. John Ford, The Broken Heart, 1633
95,165. Or renounce life altogether! Accept fate obediently as it is, once and for all, and stifle everything in myself, renouncing any right to act, to live, to love. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
Fate pushed through the bowels of men. Dunkirk ***** 2017 starring Tom Hardy & Mark Rylance & Cilliam Murphy & Kenneth Branagh & Barry Keoghan & James D’Arcy & Aneurin Bernard & Harry Styles & Jack Lowden & Tom Glynn-Carney & Fionn Whitehead et al, director Christopher Nolan, bloke on boat
To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself. Albert Einstein
Upon the education of the people of this country the fate of this country depends. Benjamin Disraeli, speech House of Commons 15th June 1874
There is not much to be got anywhere in the world. It is filled with misery and pain; if a man escapes these, boredom lies in wait for him at every corner. Nay more; it is evil which generally has the upper hand, and folly that makes the most noise. Fate is cruel and mankind pitiable. Arthur Schopenhauer, The Wisdom of Life