FATE QUOTES III

quotations about fate

But God has wisely hid from human sight
The dark decrees of future fate,
And sown their seeds in depth of night.

JOHN DRYDEN

"The 29th Ode of the First Book of Horace"


Yet they, believe me, who await
No gifts from Chance, have conquer'd Fate.

MATTHEW ARNOLD

Resignation


Fate always tests those whom she would exalt; she tries them in the wilderness. The years of exile will flit by and you will come home in glory.

RAMESH MENON

The Mahabharata


I stand upon the downs of life,
And watch two barks of Fate sail in;
The waves and winds are all at strife,
I sadly wonder who will win.

MARY CLEMMER AMES

"The Yachts"


There is no armour against fate.

JAMES SHIRLEY

The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses


To bear is to conquer our fate.

THOMAS CAMPBELL

"Lines Written on Visiting a Scene in Argyleshire"


Fate is not an eagle, it creeps like a rat.

ELIZABETH BOWEN

The House in Paris


Fate steals along with ceaseless tread,
And meets us oft when least we dread;
Frown in the storm with threatening brow,
Yet in the sunshine strikes the blow.

WILLIAM COWPER

attributed, Benedicta


And now it goes as it goes
and where it ends is Fate.
And neither by singeing flesh
nor tipping cups of wine
nor shedding burning tears can you
enchant away the rigid Fury.

AESCHYLUS

Agamemnon


Why should we try to shield people from fate? Isn't that always wrong? One is fated to be born the child of a certain father, and one can no more escape the consequences of his father's misdeeds than the doer himself can. Perhaps the pain and the shame come from the wish and the attempt to do so, more than from the fact itself. The sins of the fathers shall be visited upon the children. But the children are innocent of evil, and this visitation must be for their good, and will be, if they bear it willingly.

WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS

A Pair of Patient Lovers


Each fate is just, since each individual chooses it freely.

ROBERT APATOW

The Spiritual Art of Dialogue


Our fate isn't in the hands of some non-existent Lady Luck. We don't need rabbit feet to bring good luck and keep bad luck away. God has promised that if we love and trust him, that he will lead us the way we should go.

ED STRAUSS

The 2:52 Ultimate Devo for Boys


Fate is a fickle bitch who dotes on irony.

GLEN COOK

The Black Company


I would not fear nor wish my fate,
But boldly say each night,
To-morrow let my sun his beams display,
Or in clouds hide them; I have lived to-day.

ABRAHAM COWLEY

Of Myself


What is Fate? Fate is the name given to the unfolding of all events, all worlds, realms, lives and powers, and the final end that awaits them, before they are regenerated at the hands of the Fate-weaver, who is the Old Veiled One.

ROBIN ARTISSON

The Flaming Circle


The planets are bells on his motley,
He fleers at the stars in their state,
He banters the suns burning hotly--
The Jester whose nickname is Fate.

ARTHUR GUITERMAN

"Fate


Thy fate is seeking thee,
Fear not! Fear not!
Nor hither, thither run, with puny strain
Of frenzied fingers on this closèd door,
Or that, to find her. Leave thy worse than vain
And feverish seeking; fret thy soul no more,
Nor vex the heavens with ineffectual cries;
Fate will adjust her perfect harmonies
And weave thee in.

CLARA MARCELLE FARRAR GREENE

"Thy Fate Is Seeking Thee"


In a curious sense, we all must admit that our fate is indeed a part of our existence. Whether we like it or not, we are beings who do not control all, or even most, of what goes on to make us who we are. So, on the one hand, if we appeal to fate as some kind of explanatory force we are grossly mistaken about how concepts explain; but if we deny that our fate is indeed an essential part of who we are, we are likewise grossly mistaken, and existentially beguiled.

MICHAEL GELVEN

Truth and Existence


In the classical Greek view, human affairs are subject to the will and whim of the gods. Good and ill fortune alternate in quite unpredictable ways. Hence, knowledge has the purpose of fortifying the soul and assuaging the envy of the gods. The wise man always reflects upon the extreme vicissitudes of fate. In times of the greatest triumph he bears in mind the transitoriness of life; in times of the greatest calamity he reflects upon the unpredictability of fortune, perhaps even the possibility of a renewal. Knowledge is virtue where it helps men attain inner peace in the midst of the fate that is their lot.

REINHARD BENDIX

Force


Deep in the man sits fast his fate
To mould his fortunes, mean or great.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Fate