quotations about fate
In this world whatever is gained is gained only by self-effort; where failure is encountered, it is seen that there has been slackness in effort. This is obvious, but what is called fate is fictitious, and is not seen. Self-effort, Rama, is that mental, verbal and physical action which is in accordance with the instructions of a holy person well-versed in the scriptures. It is only by such effort that Indra became king of heaven, that Brahma became the creator, and the other deities earned their place. Self-effort is of two categories: that of past births and that of this birth. The latter effectively counteracts the former. Fate is none other than self-effort of a past incarnation. There is constant conflict between these two in this incarnation; and that which is more powerful triumphs.
VANKATESANANDA
The Concise Yogi Vasistha
Fate slew him, but he did not drop;
She felled--he did not fall--
Impaled him on her fiercest stakes--
He neutralized them all.
She stung him, sapped his firm advance,
But, when her worst was done,
And he, unmoved, regarded her,
Acknowledged him a man.
EMILY DICKINSON
"Fate slew Him
Fate isn't something you control; it's something you inherit.
JOSEPH J. LUCIANI
Self-Coaching
Fate often enough will spare a man if his courage holds.
JOHN GARDNER
Grendel
A bald man felt the sun's fierce rays
Scorch his defenseless head,
In haste to shun the noontide blaze
Beneath a palm he fled:
Prone as he lay, a heavy fruit
Crashed through his drowsy brain:
Whom fate has sworn to persecute
Finds every refuge vain.
BHARTRHARI
"The Praise of Destiny"
Dumb Fate whispers in no man's ear his coming doom;
Each thinks--"not I--not I."
DINAH CRAIK
"Looking Death in the Face"
He alone is great Who by a life heroic conquers fate.
SARAH KNOWLES BOLTON
"The Inevitable"
Insofar as the meaning of temporal events is not comprehended, time is encountered as fate. Fate is the brute succession of events as such. But events are not merely inflicted on men by the movements of insensible objects. They transpire among men. That is, fate is 'the necessity of the Spirit' itself, an inexorable procession within its own life. Fate, in other words, is historical time, the temporality of human intention.
STEPHEN CRITES
attributed, Hegel's Quest for Certainty
Whatever be thy fate today,
Remember, this will pass away!
JOHN GODFREY SAXE
"The Old Man's Motto"
Fate never tires. He is always at work. His plots are delicate and subtle. The cruelties of his tableaux are veiled in the darkness of secrecy.
JOSEPH HATTON
Clytie
He who has to explain fate must be just as ambiguous as fate is.
SOREN KIERKEGAARD
The Living Thoughts of Kierkegaard
There is a dark fate that awaits the wicked, when the consequences of their deeds are revealed; there is a brighter fate, a fate of peace, rest, knowledge, and honor for those who have struggled to live life well and with nobility and wisdom. In this, you must always trust. These dark mysteries of consequence belong to the Underworld, to the Fate-weaver herself, and the powerful king below, and they are not often spoken of. Whatever becomes of each of the journeying dead, it is for them to know and endure. The lesson here is that we should always strive to live well, and with clean intentions.
ROBIN ARTISSON
The Flaming Circle
Fate is the union of the moment with eternity.
KEIJI NISHITANI
The Self-Overcoming of Nihilism
Our life is determined for us--and it makes the mind very free when we give up wishing, and only think of bearing what is laid upon us, and doing what is given us to do.
GEORGE ELIOT
The Mill on the Floss