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We read on the forehead of those who are surrounded by a foolish luxury, that Fortune sells what she is thought to give.

— Jean de La Fontaine

Il lit au front de ceux qu'un vain luxe environne,
Que la fortune vend ce qu'on croit qu'elle donne.

Original text (French)

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Luck

More quotes by Jean de La Fontaine

Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish.

Fables (1668)

Dressed in the lion's skin, the ass spread terror far and wide.

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Beware, as long as you live, of judging people by appearances.

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Patience and time do more than strength or passion.

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The opinion of the strongest is always the best.

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In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind.

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Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.

William Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1601)

O Fortune, cruellest of heavenly powers,
Why make such game of this poor life of ours?

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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: Jean de La Fontaine (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.