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Any one who is prosperous may by the turn of fortune's wheel become most wretched before evening.

— Ammianus Marcellinus

Quivis beatus, versa rota fortunæ, ante vesperum potest esse miserrimus.

Original text (Latin)

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More quotes by Ammianus Marcellinus

No power or virtue of man could ever have deserved that what has been fated should not have taken place.

The language of truth is unadorned and always simple.

The plain and simple religion of the Christians he obscured by a dotard's superstition, and by subtle and involved discussions about dogma.

Wicked deeds are generally done, even with impunity, for the mere desire of occupation.

Wicked acts are accustomed to be done with impunity for the mere desire of occupation.

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O Fortune, cruellest of heavenly powers,
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Vicissitudes of fortune, which spares neither man nor the proudest of his works, which buries empires and cities in a common grave.

Edward Gibbon The History of the Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire (1776)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Ammianus Marcellinus (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.