Gene Wilder
Actor, comedian
"I never used to believe in fate. I used to think you make your own life and then you call it fate. That's why I call it irony."
Fate quotes
Fate
2.5K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Henri Nouwen
Theologian, Author
"Friendship is one of the greatest gifts a human being can receive. It is a bond beyond common goals, common interests, or common histories. It is a bond stronger than sexual union can create, deeper than a shared fate can solidify, and even more intimate than the bonds of marriage or community. Friendship is being with the other in joy and sorrow, even when we cannot increase the joy or decrease the sorrow. It is a unity of souls that gives nobility and sincerity to love. Friendship makes all of life shine brightly."
Viktor E. Frankl
Psychiatrist, Neurologist
"We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life even when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed. For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into a triumph, to turn one's predicament into a human achievement. When we are no longer able to change a situation-just think of an incurable disease such as inoperable cancer-we are challenged to change ourselves."
Carl Jung
Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."
Le Corbusier
Architect, Designer, Urban Planner
"Genius is personal, decided by fate, but it expresses itself by means of system. There is no work of art without system."
Quote collection
Fate quotes (page 1 of 123)
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another."
Read quote
173 likes
"Do not be afraid; our fate Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift."
Read quote
154 likes
"No one but myself can be blamed for my fall. I have been my own greatest enemy-the cause of my own disastrous fate."
Read quote
150 likes
"The most beautiful fate, the most wonderful good fortune that can happen to any human being, is to be paid for doing that which he passionately loves to do."
Read quote
136 likes
"We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise."
Read quote
132 likes
"I haven't a single friend; I must live alone. But well I know that God is nearer to me than to the others of my art; I associate with Him without fear, I have always recognized and understood Him, and I have no fear for my music,-it can meet no evil fate. Those who understand it must become free from all the miseries that the others drag with them."
Read quote
121 likes
"You must know that I do not love and that I love you, because everything alive has its two sides; a word is one wing of silence, fire has its cold half. I love you in order to begin to love you, to start infinity again and never to stop loving you: that’s why I do not love you yet. I love you, and I do not love you, as if I held keys in my hand: to a future of joy- a wretched, muddled fate- My love has two lives, in order to love you. -Sonnet XLIV"
Read quote
116 likes
"How prone all human institutions have been to decay; how subject the best-formed and most wisely organized governments have been to lose their check and totally dissolve; how difficult it has been for mankind, in all ages and countries, to preserve their dearest rights and best privileges, impelled as it were by an irresistible fate of despotism."
Read quote
116 likes
"My only desire is an intimate infusion with nature, and the only fate I wish is to have worked and lived in harmony with her laws."
Read quote
114 likes
"A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it."
Read quote
96 likes
"Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and brother people, to fight one another. I do not feel happy for this victory of mine. On the contrary, I would be glad, brothers, if I had all of you standing here next to me, since we are united by the same language, the same blood and the same visions."
Read quote
91 likes
"Know that death comes to everyone, and that wealth will sometimes be acquired, sometimes lost. Whatever griefs mortals suffer by divine chance, whatever destiny you have, endure it and do not complain. But it is right to improve it as much as you can, and remember this: Fate does not give very many of these griefs to good people."
Read quote
89 likes
"The Fate of good men who refuse to become involved in politics is to be ruled by evil men."
Read quote
87 likes
"...remember one thing only: that it's you-nobody else-who determines your destiny and decides your fate. Nobody else can be alive for you; nor can you be alive for anybody else."
Read quote
85 likes
"The fate of the living planet is the most important issue facing mankind."
Read quote
81 likes
"We are the masters of our fate, the captains of our souls, because we have the power to control our thoughts."
Read quote
79 likes
"Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free. Nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government. Nature, habit, opinion has drawn indelible lines of distinction between them."
Read quote
75 likes
"The fate of animals is of greater importance to me than the fear of appearing ridiculous; it is indissolubly connected with the fate of men."
Read quote
74 likes
"But what can be done, the one who loves must share the fate of the who is loved."
Read quote
71 likes
"Losing your way on a journey is unfortunate. But, losing your reason for the journey is a fate more cruel."
Read quote
69 likes